How to Talk About Family in Japanese: Saying 'I Have Two Sisters' and 'My Parents Live Abroad'
Learn beginner Japanese for describing family relationships: state how many siblings you have, say where your parents live, and use possessive phrasing like watashi no haha naturally.
By PookieFriends & plans · Yapr Learn
Introducing yourself in Japanese often means talking about your job, hobbies, or hometown. Talking about family is a different task: you describe relationships and where relatives live, not your own personal details. In this lesson you will learn to say things like 'I have two sisters' and 'My parents live abroad' in natural beginner Japanese. You will also learn the possessive pattern watashi no ('my'), which works differently from English 'my' because Japanese marks possession with a particle rather than a separate possessive adjective.
By the end, you can…
- say how many brothers or sisters I have using imasu.
- say where my parents or siblings live using sunde imasu.
- use watashi no to talk about my family members.
- ask a friend about their siblings politely.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
私は三人兄弟です。
I am one of three siblings.
wah-TAH-shee wah sahn-neen KYOH-dai dess
A very common way to state how many siblings you have in total, including yourself. Use it when someone asks 兄弟は何人ですか。
私は姉が二人います。
I have two older sisters.
wah-TAH-shee wah AH-neh gah foo-TAH-ree ee-mahs
Imasu is used for people and animals. Ane means older sister; futari means two people. Use this pattern for siblings older than you.
私は妹が一人います。
I have one younger sister.
wah-TAH-shee wah ee-MOH-toh gah hee-TOH-ree ee-mahs
Imōto means younger sister. Hitori means one person. Change the number and sibling word to describe different family members.
両親は海外に住んでいます。
My parents live abroad.
RYOH-sheen wah KAI-gai nee SOON-deh ee-mahs
Ryōshin means parents. Kaigai ni means 'abroad.' This sentence does not need watashi no because family is clear from context.
私の家族は東京に住んでいます。
My family lives in Tokyo.
wah-TAH-shee no kah-ZOH-koo wah TOH-kyoh nee SOON-deh ee-mahs
Watashi no means 'my.' Use it when you want to make the possessive relationship explicit, especially at the start of a topic.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
To say you have a certain number of people in your family, use: [person] wa [number + counter] imasu. For example, 私は姉が二人います means 'I have two older sisters.' Imasu is the polite verb for the existence of people and animals; arimasu is for objects. The particle ga marks the person or people that exist. To say where family members live, use [person] wa [place] ni sunde imasu, as in 両親は海外に住んでいます, 'My parents live abroad.'
When to use it
Use watashi no when you need to clarify whose family member you mean, for example 私の母は大阪に住んでいます, 'My mother lives in Osaka.' In many family conversations, watashi no is dropped because the context already makes it clear: 両親は海外に住んでいます is natural without it. When asking a friend about their family, use polite forms such as 兄弟は何人ですか, 'How many siblings do you have?' Avoid using anata no ('your') too often; Japanese speakers usually omit it or use the person's name.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
兄弟は何人ですか。
How many siblings do you have?KYOH-dai wah nahn-neen dess kah私は三人兄弟です。姉が二人います。
I have three siblings. I have two older sisters.wah-TAH-shee wah sahn-neen KYOH-dai dess. AH-neh gah foo-TAH-ree ee-mahsそうですか。両親も東京に住んでいますか。
I see. Do your parents also live in Tokyo?SOH dess kah. RYOH-sheen moh TOH-kyoh nee SOON-deh ee-mahs kahいいえ、両親は海外に住んでいます。
No, my parents live abroad.ee-EH, RYOH-sheen wah KAI-gai nee SOON-deh ee-mahsA little context goes a long way
In Japanese, family terms change depending on whether you talk about your own family or someone else's. When speaking about your own relatives to an outsider, use humble words such as haha (my mother), chichi (my father), ane (my older sister), and ani (my older brother). When referring to someone else's family, use respectful words such as okāsan, otōsan, onēsan, and onīsan. Using the wrong set can sound either too familiar or oddly distant, so match the form to whose family you mean.
One thing to watch for
私は二人姉妹がいます。
Try this instead: For 'I have two sisters,' say 私は姉妹が二人います or 私は姉が二人います。 The number and counter futari normally come after the person marked by ga, not before it. Shimai means sisters in general, while ane specifies older sisters and imōto specifies younger sisters.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How would you say 'I have one younger brother' in Japanese?
Show a sample answer
私は弟が一人います。
Otōto means younger brother and hitori means one person. The pattern [person] ga [number] imasu expresses having that many people. For one person, 私は弟が一人います is the natural phrasing.
2Translate into Japanese: 'My parents live in Osaka.'
Show a sample answer
両親は大阪に住んでいます。
Ryōshin means parents, Ōsaka ni means 'in Osaka,' and sunde imasu means 'are living.' Adding watashi no, as in 私の両親は大阪に住んでいます, is also correct when you want to emphasize 'my.'
3A friend asks 兄弟は何人ですか。 You have two older sisters and one younger brother. What can you say?
Show a sample answer
私は三人兄弟です。姉が二人と弟が一人います。
San-nin kyōdai includes you and your two siblings, so the total is three. You can then list them with ane ga futari and otōto ga hitori. Saying 私は三人兄弟です alone is also a complete answer.
Use [person] ga [number] imasu to say how many siblings you have, and [person] wa [place] ni sunde imasu to say where family members live. Add watashi no only when you need to make 'my' explicit.
Progress is saved on this browser.
Practice real time conversations on Yapr for faster learning.
Put today’s Japanese into a conversation with an AI tutor. Speak, make mistakes, and try again.
Practice on Yapr