Family Life (家族のかぞく)
What you must know
Family vocabulary is the backbone of this domain: 家族 (family), 両親 (parents), 父/母 (my father/mother), お父さん/お母さん (someone else's father/mother), 兄/姉/弟/妹 (older brother, older sister, younger brother, younger sister) and 一人っ子 (only child). Learn counters for people (一人, 二人, 三人) and the question 何人いますか (how many people are there?). Describe members with 〜は〜です patterns and adjectives: やさしい (kind), こわい (scary/strict), 若い (young), 元気 (well). Age uses 〜歳 (さい): 父は五十歳です.
Traps to watch
- Politeness switching. When talking about your own family to others, use humble/plain forms (父, 母, 兄). When asking about the listener's family, use honorific forms (お父さん, お母さん, お兄さん). Mixing these is the most common error.
- Particle が vs は with existence. 家族は四人です (topic) but 弟が二人います (new information with が).
- Counting people. 一人 (ひとり) and 二人 (ふたり) are irregular; do not write いちにん.
- Question words + も. だれもいません means "nobody is there" - a negative answer is required.
Rule of thumb
Ask yourself: Whose family am I describing? If it is mine, use short plain nouns (父, 母). If it is the listener's, add お and さん. This single check fixes most politeness mistakes.
Worked example
Translate: "I have two younger sisters. My mother is kind."
- Sisters are mine → plain noun 妹, counter 二人, existence verb います: 妹が二人います。
- Mother is mine → 母; adjective sentence: 母はやさしいです。 Full: 妹が二人います。母はやさしいです。