What is the Kanji for "Family"?

If you are wondering what is the Japanese Kanji for "Family", you've come to the right place!

The Japanese Kanji for "Family" is "族".

This kanji has 1 reading:

Its onyomi reading is "Zoku".

kunyomi readings are based on the pronunciation of native Japanese words, and onyomi readings are based on the Chinese pronunciation of the character.

If you visually breakdown this kanji, you can see is made up of 3 parts:

The kanji "方" means "Direction" and can be read as "Hou" and "Kata". The kanji "矢" means "Arrow" and can be read as "Ya" and "Shi". And The radical "𠂉" means "Person" .

Now, let's make sure you understand this kanji the other way around too.

What does the kanji "族" mean in japanese?

"族" means "Family".

Japanese School Students learn this kanji in Third Grade, while foreigners may learn this kanji in preparation for the JLPT N4 exam.

Here are some words that use this kanji:

家族: "Family". The Japanese noun '家族 (かぞく)' refers to one's immediate family members, such as parents, children, siblings, and spouse. It can also be used more broadly to describe a group of people who are closely related or live together. '家族' emphasizes the close-knit bonds and relationships within a household. For example: My family is very close - (私の家族は非常に仲が良い). The family gathered for dinner - (家族で夕食を食べた).

民族: "Ethnic group". The Japanese noun '民族 (みんぞく)' means 'people' or 'ethnic group'. It refers to a group of people who share a common cultural, linguistic, or historical background. This term is often used in discussions about the diversity of cultures and ethnicities within a country or region. For example: The indigenous people of this region are an ethnic minority - (この地域の先住民は民族的少数派である). Our festival celebrates the culture and traditions of the local ethnic group - (私たちの祭りは地元の民族の文化と伝統を祝福している).

族: "Group". The Japanese suffix '族 (ぞく)' means 'group' or 'group/class of people'. It is commonly used to form nouns that refer to a specific group or category of people who share a common characteristic, occupation, ethnicity, or affiliation. For example: 学生族 (がくせいぞく) - Student group, 白人族 (はくじんぞく) - White people group.

水族館: "Aquarium". The Japanese noun '水族館 (すいぞくかん)' refers to an aquarium, which is a facility where aquatic animals and plants are kept and displayed for public viewing and study. Aquariums often feature a variety of marine life such as fish, sharks, rays, sea turtles, and corals. They are popular tourist attractions that allow people to observe and learn about the underwater world. For example: We went to the aquarium to see the sharks - (私たちは水族館に行って、サメを見ました).

貴族: "Noble". The Japanese noun '貴族 (きぞく)' refers to a person of high social status and rank, typically an aristocrat or member of the nobility. Nobles were the privileged upper class in pre-modern Japan and enjoyed special rights and privileges. They often held positions of power and influence in society. For example: The nobleman enjoyed great wealth and status - (貴族は豊かな財産と地位を得ていた). The empress was surrounded by her noble retainers - (女帝は自らの貴族の取り巻きに囲まれていた).

一族: "Clan". The noun '一族 (いちぞく)' means 'clan'. It refers to a family or group of people who are related by blood and share a common ancestor. This term is often used to describe powerful or influential families in Japan that have a long history. It can also be used more broadly to refer to any extended family group. For example: The powerful clan controlled the region - (強力な一族がその地域を支配していた). My family is part of the clan - (私の家族は一族の一員だ).

遺族: "Bereaved family". The Japanese noun '遺族 (いぞく)' refers to the bereaved family members of a deceased person. It is used to describe the surviving relatives of someone who has passed away. The term carries a sense of grief and loss, and is often used in formal contexts such as funeral arrangements or legal proceedings related to the deceased. For example: The bereaved family gathered for the funeral - (遺族は葬式のために集まった).

親族: "Relative". The noun '親族 (しんぞく)' refers to a person's relatives or family members. It can be used to describe immediate family members like parents, siblings, and children, as well as extended family like grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. This word emphasizes the close familial relationship between people. For example: My relatives are coming to visit - (私の親族が来る to 訪ねる). I am close with my relatives - (私は親族と仲がいい).

To make really sure you learn this Kanji, I've prepared an interactive lesson for you. You are going to learn the readings and meanings of this kanji.

But first, you need to know a little bit about Hiragana and Katakana.

Hiragana and katakana are japanese syllabaries, this means that each character represents a syllable.

This are the characters you need to know for this lesson:

The hiragana "ぞ" is read as "zo". And The hiragana "く" is read as "ku".

Heres a quick tutorial on how to use it. You'll be asked three type of questions: meaning, reading, and writing.

For meanings questions all you have to do is type the english meaning. If there is more than one meaning, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Reading questions you have to type the reading in romaji (roman letters, our normal alphabet) and it'll be automatically converted to hiragana if necessary. If there is more than one reading, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Writing questions some options will appear and all you have to do is select the correct ones.