How to Talk About Your Spouse and Children

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Japanese by JapanesePod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about your spouse and children in Japanese.

For example, "This is my husband, son, daughters, and me." is

おっととむすことむすめたちとわたしです。 (Otto to musuko to musume tachi to watashi desu.)

Megumi Sasaki is studying with her Japanese teacher, Tomoko Tanaka.

The teacher notices a picture on Megumi's computer and asks about the people visible in the picture.

Before you hear their conversation, let's preview some of its key components.

おっと (otto)

"husband"

おっと (enunciated)

おっと

むすこ (musuko)

"son"

むすこ (enunciated)

むすこ

むすめ (musume)

"daughter"

むすめ

Listen to the conversation and focus on the response.

Ready?

ささきさんのかぞくですか。(Sasaki-san no kazoku desu ka.)

はい。おっととむすことむすめたちとわたしです。(Hai. Otto to musuko to musume tachi to watashi desu.)

Once more with the English translation.

ささきさんのかぞくですか。(Sasaki-san no kazoku desu ka.)

"Is this your family?"

はい。おっととむすことむすめたちとわたしです。(Hai. Otto to musuko to musume tachi to watashi desu.)

"Yes. This is my husband, son, daughters and me."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how the teacher asks,

"Is this your family?"

ささきさんのかぞくですか。(Sasaki-san no kazoku desu ka.)

First is ささきさん (Sasaki-san), "Ms. Sasaki." ささきさん.

This starts with Megumi's family name, Sasaki, in Japanese. ささき (Sasaki), さ-さ-き. ささき.

After this is さん (san), a polite suffix attached to a person's name. さ-ん. さん.

This suffix can be used with any gender and translates as "Ms." in Megumi's case.

Together, it's ささきさん (Sasaki-san), "Ms. Sasaki." ささきさん.

Next is the particle, の (no), the possessive-marking particle. の.

Think of の (no) as a way to indicate possession, like the ‘s in Megumi's family. The word it follows possesses the thing that comes after it. In this sentence, it marks ささきさん (Sasaki), Ms. Sasaki, as the possessor.

Together, ささきさんの (Sasaki-san no) is "Ms. Sasaki's." ささきさんの.

After this is かぞく (kazoku). "Family." か-ぞ-く. かぞく.

Together, ささきさんのかぞく (Sasaki-san no kazoku) literally means "Ms. Sasaki's family." ささきさんのかぞく.

But it translates as “your family.”

In Japanese, it’s more common and polite to address a person by their name and polite suffix rather than directly with words like "your" or "you."

Next is です (desu). In this case, it’s like the "is" in "Is [this] your family?" で-す. です.

Last is the particle, か (ka), the question-marking particle. This turns the sentence into a question. か.

All together, it's ささきさんのかぞくですか (Sasaki-san no kazoku desu ka). This literally means "Ms. Sasaki's family [this] is," but it translates as "Is [this] your family?"

ささきさんのかぞくですか。(Sasaki-san no kazoku desu ka)

Note that “this” is understood from the context of the conversation, as the teacher is pointing at the picture when she asks the question,

ささきさんのかぞくですか。 (Sasaki-san no kazoku desu ka.)

Remember this question. You'll hear it again later.

Let's take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Megumi says,

"Yes. [This] is [my] husband, son, daughters and me."

はい。おっととむすことむすめたちとわたしです。(Hai. Otto to musuko to musume tachi to watashi desu.)

There are two parts to the response.

The first part is はい (hai), meaning, "yes." は-い. はい.

It answers the teacher’s yes-or-no question, "Is [this] your family?" ささきさんのかぞくですか。(Sasaki-san no kazoku desu ka.)

In the second part, Megumi lists the different members of her family while pointing at each family member.

おっととむすことむすめたちとわたしです。(Otto to musuko to musume tachi to watashi desu.)

"[This] is [my] husband, son, daughters and me."

おっととむすことむすめたちとわたしです。(Otto to musuko to musume tachi to watashi desu.)

First is おっと (otto). Literally, "husband," but translates as, “[my] husband.” お-っ-と. おっと.

Note: the “my” is understood from context.

Next is the particle, と (to), meaning "and," in this context. と.

むすこ (Musuko). "Son." む-す-こ. むすこ.

After this, と (to) "and." と.

むすめ (Musume). "Daughter." む-す-め. むすめ.

Next is the suffix, たち (tachi), a pluralizing suffix for people. It turns the word むすめ (musume), "daughter" into "daughters." た-ち. たち.

Again, と (to) "and." と.

わたし (watashi) translates as "me" in this context. わ-た-し. わたし.

Last is です (desu). In this case, it's like the "is" in "This is my husband...." It's a linking verb. です.

All together, it’s おっととむすことむすめたちとわたしです (Otto to musuko to musume tachi to watashi desu)。This literally means, "Husband and son and daughters and me [this] is," but it translates as, "[This] is [my] husband, son, daughter and me."

Note: "this" is understood from context and refers to the group of family members in the photograph Karen and Tomoko are looking at.

Notice this Japanese sentence doesn't include a specific word that means "my" like in English. Instead, it is understood through context.

Again, おっととむすことむすめたちとわたしです。(Otto to musuko to musume tachi to watashi desu.)

The sentence pattern is:

{family member} と (to) {family member} と (to) {family member} とわたしです。(to watashi desu.)

"{family member}, and {family member}, and {family member} and me."

Note the particle と (to) follows each family member.

This is an important pattern for your task.

To use this pattern, simply replace the {family member} placeholders with members of your family.

Imagine your family members are your wife, your son, your daughter and you.

つま (Tsuma), "wife." つ-ま. つま.

Say

"This is my wife, my son, my daughter and me."

Ready?

つまとむすことむすめたちとわたしです。(Tsuma to musuko to musume tachi to watashi desu.)

"My wife, my son, my daughters and me."

つまとむすことむすめたちとわたしです。(Tsuma to musuko to musume tachi to watashi desu.)

When talking about your own husband or wife, use the words:

おっと (Otto), “husband,” and つま, “wife.”

However, when referring to another person’s husband or wife, use the following words:

だんなさん (danna-san), “husband.” だんなさん

おくさん (oku-san), “wife.” おくさん

In addition, when referring to someone else’s son or daughter:

むすこさん (musuko-san). "Son." むすこさん.

むすめさん (musume-san). "Daughter." むすめさん.

Note the suffix -san attached to each word.

You should be aware of these terms referring to other people’s family members, but you won’t need them for this lesson.

Again, the key pattern is

{family member} と (to) {family member} と (to) {family member} とわたしです。(to watashi desu.)

"{family member}, and {family member}, and {family member} and me."

Let's look at some more examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

おっととむすことむすめたちとわたしです。(Otto to musuko to musume tachi to watashi desu.)

"This is my husband, son, daughters, and me."

おっととむすことむすめたちとわたしです。(Otto to musuko to musume tachi to watashi desu.)

つまとむすことむすめたちとわたしです。(Tsuma to musuko to musume tachi to watashi desu.)

"This is my wife, son, daughters, and me."

つまとむすことむすめたちとわたしです。(Tsuma to musuko to musume tachi to watashi desu.)

つまとむすめとわたしです。(Tsuma to musume to watashi desu.)

"This is my wife, daughter, and me."

つまとむすめとわたしです。(Tsuma to musume to watashi desu.)

おっととむすことわたしです。(Otto to musuko to watashi desu.

"This is my husband, son, and me."

おっととむすことわたしです。(Otto to musuko to watashi desu.)

おっととむすこふたりとわたしです。(Otto to musuko futari to watashi desu.)

"This is my husband, two sons, and me."

おっととむすこふたりとわたしです。(Otto to musuko futari to watashi desu.)

Did you notice how the last speaker indicates that she has two sons?

おっととむすこふたりとわたしです。(Otto to musuko futari to watashi desu.)

"[This] is [my] husband, two sons and me."

むすこふたり (musuko futari), “two sons.” むすこふたり。

First is むすこ (musuko). "Son.” むすこ.

Next is ふたり (futari), meaning "two people." ふ-た-り. ふたり.

Together, むすこふたり (musuko futari) literally means "son two people," but it translates as "two sons." むすこふたり.

Note: The Japanese word for son, むすこ (musuko), doesn’t change, as most Japanese nouns do not have plural forms. Instead, when talking about the number of something, the noun, むすこ, is followed by a number and counter, in this case FUTARI.

To say two daughters:

むすめふたり (Musume futari). "Two daughters." むすめふたり.

You should be aware of this pattern, but you will not need it for this lesson.

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speakers, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say “me?”

わたし (watashi)

(1)

わたし (watashi)

And how to say “and?”

と (to)

Do you remember the word for "daughter?”

むすめ (musume)

And the word for “son?”

むすこ (musuko)

Do you remember how Megumi says, "[my] husband?"

おっと (otto)

And how to say “yes?”

はい (hai)

(1)

はい (hai)

Do you remember how Megumi says,

"[This] is [my] husband, son, daughters and me."

おっととむすことむすめたちとわたしです。(Otto to musuko to musume tachi to watashi desu.)

Do you remember how to say “family?"

かぞく (kazoku)

And how the teacher addresses Megumi?

Hint: she uses her last name, Sasaki.

ささきさん (Sasaki-san)

Do you remember how the teacher says,

“Ms. Sasaki’s family?”

ささきさんのかぞく (Sasaki-san no kazoku)

Do you remember how the teacher asks,

"Is this your family?"

ささきさんのかぞくですか。(Sasaki-san no kazoku desu ka.)

Do you remember the word for "wife"?

つま (tsuma)

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Mark's colleague, Yoshi Nakamura.

You have a wife, つま (tsuma), and a daughter, むすめ (musuko).

Respond to Mark’s question referring to the photo.

Don’t forget to include the word for "yes" at the beginning of your response.

Ready?

なかむらさんのかぞくですか。 (Nakamura-san no kazoku desu ka.)

はい、つまとむすめとわたしです。(Hai, tsuma to musume to watashi desu.)

Listen again and repeat.

はい、つまとむすめとわたしです。( Hai, tsuma to musume to watashi desu.)

はい、つまとむすめとわたしです。(Hai, tsuma to musume to watashi desu.)

Let's try another.

Imagine you’re Mark's boss, Noriko Nagaoka.

You have a husband, おっと (otto), a daughter, むすめ (musume), and a son, むすこ (musuko).

Ready?

ながおかさんのかぞくですか。(Nagaoka-san no kazoku desu ka.)

はい、おっととむすめとむすことわたしです。(Hai, otto to musume to musuko to watashi desu.)

Listen again and repeat.

はい、おっととむすめとむすことわたしです。(Hai, otto to musume to musuko to watashi desu.)

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Mark's friend, Yoshimi Yamaguchi.

You have a husband, おっと (otto), and a son, むすこ (musuko).

Ready?

やまぐちさんのかぞくですか。(Yamaguchi-san no kazoku desu ka.)

はい、おっととむすことわたしです。(Hai, otto to musuko to watashi desu.)

Listen again and repeat.

はい、おっととむすことわたしです。(Hai, otto to musuko to watashi desu.)

In this lesson, you learned how to talk about your spouse and children in Japanese. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of talking about family. Let’s review the family members.

Do you remember the word for "younger sister"?

いもうと (imōto)

And the word for "younger brother"?

おとうと (otōto)

Do you remember the word for "mother"?

はは (haha)

And the word for "father"?

ちち (chichi)

Imagine you're Ben Lee, and you have a mother, father and sister.

Respond to your classmate Yukio Yamashita, who sees a picture in your wallet, and asks for the people in the picture.

Ready?

ベンさんのかぞくですか。(Ben-kun no kazoku desu ka.)

はい。ちちとははといもうととわたしです。

Listen again, and repeat.

はい。ちちとははといもうととわたしです。(Hai. Chichi to haha to imōto to watashi desu.)

Now imagine that you're Ben's mother, Karen Lee, and your friend asks about the people in the picture on your phone.

リーさんのかぞくですか。(Rī-san no kazoku desu ka.)

はい。おっととむすことむすめとわたしです。(Hai. Otto to musuko to musume to watashi desu.)

Listen again, and repeat.

はい。おっととむすことむすめとわたしです。(Hai. Otto to musuko to musume to watashi desu.)

Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Talk About Family unit of this course.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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Show us what you can do.

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