Explore 族 through family, relatives and peoples. Connect each reading with a complete word and a useful context.

The idea

族 has 11 strokes; follow the linked stroke-order diagram. Read 家族（かぞく）, 親族（しんぞく）, 民族（みんぞく） as whole words. The table shows each reading in context.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
家族かぞくThere are four people in my family.
親族しんぞくThe relatives gathered.
民族みんぞくI listen to music from different peoples.

Examples

  • 家族かぞくは四人よにんです。There are four people in my family.
  • 家族かぞくが来月らいげつ、日本にほんに来きます。My family is coming to Japan next month.
  • 家族かぞくと晩ばんご飯はんを食たべます。I eat dinner with my family.
  • 親族しんぞくが集あつまりました。The relatives gathered.
  • いろいろな民族みんぞくの音楽おんがくを聞ききます。I listen to music from different peoples.
  • 親族しんぞくに手紙てがみを送おくります。I send a letter to my relatives.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

家族 means family and 親族 means relatives. 民族 refers to a people or ethnic group, not automatically to nationality. Compare 族 with 旅: notice their different parts.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 家族 in hiragana.

    Show answer or example answer

    かぞく

    家族 is read かぞく. In context: There are four people in my family. Learn the reading with the whole word.

  2. Write the reading of 親族 in hiragana.

    Show answer or example answer

    しんぞく

    親族 is read しんぞく. In context: The relatives gathered. Learn the reading with the whole word.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: 民＿（みんぞく）［族／旅］.

    Show answer or example answer

    族

    族 completes 民族, read みんぞく. In context: I listen to music from different peoples.

Use it today

Write 族 using the stroke-order diagram. Cover the table, read 家族 and 親族, and make a sentence with one of them.