いとこ

also: じゅうしまい

い

と

こ

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

noun

cousin (female)

usually written using kana alone

Refers specifically to a female cousin. The male counterpart is 従兄弟 (いとこ). In modern Japanese, いとこ is often used gender-neutrally in kana.

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉といとこ同どう士しだto be cousins with someone
私わたしたちはいとこ同どう士しです。
We are cousins.

Kanji

従accompany, obey, submit to
姉elder sister
妹younger sister

Related words

親しん戚せきN4
従姉妹 names one specific type of relative (a female cousin), while 親戚 is the broad, generic word for any relative and can't be used to mean specifically 'cousin'.

Don't confuse with

いとこN3
従姉妹 refers to a female cousin while 従兄弟 refers to a male cousin, but both are usually just written いとこ in kana, so the kanji distinction is easy to overlook.

Counted with

名めいN2
counter for people (honorific) · first name; given name · famous; great; noted · name; title · noun (grammar)

Written forms

従姉妹Usage100%
- いとこ
  gikun (meaning-based reading) or jukujikun
  Kanji spelling specifically for a female cousin. Rare in practice; the word is usually written in kana.
- じゅうしまい
  Alternate reading for the kanji spelling. Very rare and not in common use.
じゅうしまい

Etymology

The kanji 従姉妹 literally mean 'follow', 'elder sister', 'younger sister', indicating a female relative of the same generation. The reading いとこ is a native Japanese word, and the kanji are jukujikun (assigned by meaning).