Translation guide
The English word "relative" covers two main areas: family members and comparisons. In Japanese, these are expressed with completely different words and structures. This guide breaks down the key meanings and shows how to express each naturally.
Referring to a person connected by blood or marriage.
I'm visiting relatives. · She's a distant relative. · All my relatives live nearby.
General term for relative, including extended family. Used in both formal and casual contexts.
Refers to one's own family or close relatives, often with a nuance of intimacy or in-group. Common in casual speech.
We celebrated with just close relatives.
Formal or legal term for relative, often used in official documents or contexts like inheritance.
Hold a family council.
Expressing that something is considered in comparison or connection to another thing.
Everything is relative. · It's relatively cheap. · Relative to his income, he spends a lot.
Adjectival phrase meaning 'relative' as opposed to absolute. Used in academic or technical contexts.
Happiness is relative.
Adverb meaning 'comparatively' or 'relatively'. Used to soften statements.
Pattern meaning 'compared to'. Used to show relative difference.
Noun form meaning 'relativity' or 'relative'. Often used in philosophy or physics.
Referring to words like 'who', 'which', 'that' introducing a relative clause.
the man who lives next door · the car that I bought · a friend whose brother is famous
Japanese does not have relative pronouns. Instead, a clause ending in the plain form of a verb/adjective directly modifies a noun, like 'the person who is running' → 走っている人.
The person (who/that) I met yesterday was kind.
The book (that) he bought is interesting.
The word 親戚 (shinseki) only means 'family relative'. It cannot be used for the comparative sense. Saying 親戚的な (shinseki-teki na) to mean 'relative' in the sense of 'not absolute' is incorrect.
親戚 is the standard word for relative. 身内 implies closer, more intimate family ties and is often used for those you feel emotionally close to. 親族 is formal and legal, used in official contexts.
Japanese relative clauses always come before the noun they modify. There is no equivalent to English relative pronouns. The verb in the clause must be in the plain form.
It's relatively warm today.
Compared to last year, it's relatively rainy this year.
theory of relativity