Ways to say it
| Latin | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| filia fratris | feminine | |
| nepta | alternative form | |
| neptia | ||
| fratruelis | [fraˈtru.ɛ.lɪs] (Classical Latin, narrow) [fraˈtruː.e.lis] (narrow) |
|
| sobrina | [sɔˈbriː.na] (Classical Latin, narrow) [soˈbriː.na] (narrow) |
|
| nepotia | ||
| filia sororis | feminine |
Latin uses different terms depending on whether you want to specify the niece's relationship to a brother or a sister. You can use the general noun neptia to refer to a niece, or you can use more descriptive constructions to be precise about her parentage. The masculine counterpart to neptia is nepos, which means nephew.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase filia fratris literally means daughter of a brother, while the phrase filia sororis literally means daughter of a sister.
Which one should you use?
While neptia (or the alternative spelling nepta) serves as a single-word noun for niece, the constructions filia fratris and filia sororis are used to explicitly specify whether the niece is the daughter of a brother or a sister.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of neptia is neptiae.
Did you know?
- The Latin term nepos for nephew is the ancestor of the English word 'nepotism', referring to the unfair favoring of relatives.
- The Latin word neptia is derived from the Classical Latin word neptis, which actually meant 'granddaughter'.
Examples in context
- Maria filia fratris mei est.Mary's my niece.This sentence shows how to use filia fratris to identify a person's niece.Tatoeba #8932845 by alexmarcelo, translation #1841597 by CK
- Salve, cara nepota mea!Hello, my dear niece!
- Mea carissima nepotaMy dearest niece
- Quid agis, dulcissima nepta?How are you doing, sweet niece?
- Amo te, filia sororis meae.I love you, daughter of my sister.
- Filia fratris mei parva est.The daughter of my brother is small.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Claudia and Quintus are talking about family members.
- ClaudiaVisne filiam fratris mei videre?Do you want to see my brother's daughter?
- QuintusIta, libenter eam videbo.Yes, I would gladly see her.
- ClaudiaHaec filia fratris est pulcherrima.This niece is very beautiful.
- QuintusRe vera, similis tibi est.Indeed, she looks like you.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “niece” translations and entries nepta, neptia, fratruelis, sobrina, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries filia, neptia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
