Japanese for Beginners: Politely Asking About Someone's Family
Learn to ask 'Do you have any siblings?' and 'What do your parents do?' in polite Japanese, and how to show interest in the answers.
By PookieFriends & plans · Yapr Learn
Talking about your own family is one skill; asking someone else about theirs is another. In Japanese, questions about family use different words from statements about your own family, and the polite question form is essential when you first meet someone. This lesson teaches you two core questions — asking whether someone has siblings and asking what their parents do — plus short, natural replies that show you are listening. You will practise the polite -masu question form, the question particle か, and the important difference between ご家族 (go-kazoku), used for someone else's family, and 家族 (kazoku), used for your own.
By the end, you can…
- politely ask whether someone has siblings.
- ask what someone's parents do for work.
- show interest in the answer with short follow-up phrases.
- use ご家族 for someone else's family and 家族 for my own.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
ご家族は何人ですか。
How many people are in your family?
go-kazoku wa nan-nin desu ka
A polite opening question. Use ご家族 (go-kazoku) when asking about the other person's family; 家族 (kazoku) alone is used for your own.
ご兄弟はいますか。
Do you have any siblings?
go-kyōdai wa imasu ka
ご兄弟 (go-kyōdai) covers both brothers and sisters. います (imasu) is used for people and animals, not あります (arimasu).
ご両親は何をしていますか。
What do your parents do?
go-ryōshin wa nani o shite imasu ka
A natural way to ask about someone's parents' work. ご両親 (go-ryōshin) is the polite form for someone else's parents.
お父さんは何の仕事をしていますか。
What kind of work does your father do?
o-tōsan wa nan no shigoto o shite imasu ka
More specific than the previous phrase. お父さん (o-tōsan) is the polite way to refer to someone else's father.
そうなんですね。
I see, that's interesting.
sō nan desu ne
A soft, friendly response that shows you are listening. It does not mean you agree; it means you have understood and are engaged.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
To ask a polite yes/no question, take a polite -masu verb and add か (ka) at the end. います (imasu, 'to exist' for people) becomes いますか (imasu ka). To ask an open question, use a question word such as 何 (nani, 'what') or 何人 (nan-nin, 'how many people') before the verb: ご家族は何人ですか (go-kazoku wa nan-nin desu ka). The particle は (wa) marks the topic, so ご兄弟は (go-kyōdai wa) means 'as for siblings'. Keep the word order: topic first, then question word, then verb, then か.
When to use it
Use these questions with acquaintances, colleagues, classmates, or a host family — people you have just met but want to know better. Avoid asking a much older person or a superior about their parents' jobs unless the conversation naturally turns there; it can feel too personal. With friends your own age, casual forms are fine: 兄弟いる？ (kyōdai iru?) and 親は何してる？ (oya wa nani shiteru?). In polite settings, always keep ご (go-) on ご家族, ご兄弟, and ご両親 when talking about the other person's relatives.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
ご家族は何人ですか。
How many people are in your family?go-kazoku wa nan-nin desu ka四人です。両親と姉と私です。
Four people. My parents, my older sister, and me.yo-nin desu. ryōshin to ane to watashi desuそうなんですね。ご両親は何をしていますか。
I see. What do your parents do?sō nan desu ne. go-ryōshin wa nani o shite imasu ka父は会社員で、母は教師です。
My father is a company employee, and my mother is a teacher.chichi wa kaishain de, haha wa kyōshi desuA little context goes a long way
Japanese has two sets of family words: humble words for your own family (父 chichi, 母 haha, 姉 ane) and respectful words for someone else's (お父さん o-tōsan, お母さん o-kāsan, お姉さん o-nēsan). Mixing them sounds odd, so when you answer about your own parents, use 父 and 母, not お父さん and お母さん. Adding ご (go-) to 家族, 兄弟, and 両親 when asking about the other person is a simple, reliable sign of politeness.
One thing to watch for
Using あります (arimasu) to ask about siblings: ご兄弟はありますか。
Try this instead: Use います (imasu) for people and animals: ご兄弟はいますか (go-kyōdai wa imasu ka). あります is for things, not people.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you politely ask 'Do you have any siblings?'
Show a sample answer
ご兄弟はいますか。 (go-kyōdai wa imasu ka)
This uses the polite ご兄弟 for the other person's siblings, the topic particle は, and いますか for people. ご兄弟がありますか would be wrong because あります is for things.
2Which word should you use for your own parents when answering: ご両親 or 両親?
Show a sample answer
両親 (ryōshin)
Use the plain form 両親 for your own parents and reserve ご両親 for the other person's parents. Some speakers may also use 父 and 母 when naming them individually, which is equally correct.
3What does そうなんですね signal in a conversation?
Show a sample answer
It shows you are listening and have understood, keeping the conversation warm.
It is a soft acknowledgement, not strong agreement. Other valid responses include へえ (hee) or なるほど (naruhodo), depending on how casual the situation is.
Ask about someone else's family with ご家族, ご兄弟, and ご両親 plus a polite -masu question ending in か; answer about your own family with plain words like 家族, 父, and 母.
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