Does Japanese have different words for older and younger brother?

Yes – “兄” (ani) is an older brother, “弟” (otōto) is a younger one.

What's the Swedish word for a maternal grandmother?

“Mormor” – literally the mother's mother, kept separate from “farmor”, the father's mother.

Why does German “Mutter” need “die” in front of it?

German marks every noun's gender with its article, and “die” is required for feminine nouns like “Mutter”.

One word, 26 languages

Family in 26 languages

English uses one word each for “brother”, “sister” and “grandmother”, no matter who is older or which side of the family they're from. Many of the 26 languages below split those categories further. Mandarin, Japanese and Korean all use different words for an older sibling than a younger one, and Swedish keeps a maternal grandmother separate from a paternal one. Below you can hear a range of family words and check the sounds that catch English speakers out first.

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Spanish

la madre

lah MAH-dreh

Family

One word, 26 languages

Language	mother	father	brother	sister	son	daughter	child	grandmother	grandfather	aunt	uncle
Arabic	أُمّOOM	أَبAHB	أَخAHKH	أُخْتOOKHT	اِبْنIB-n	بِنْتBINT	طِفْلTIF-uhl	جَدَّةJAD-dah	جَدّJAD	عَمَّةAM-mah	عَمّAHM
Austrian	MuattaMOO-ah-tah	VodaFOH-dah	BruadaBROO-ah-dah	SchwestaSHVES-tah	BuaBOO-ah	DirndlDEERN-dul	Kindkint	OmaOH-mah	OpaOH-pah	Tanttahnt	OnkelON-kel
Bulgarian	майкаMY-kah	бащаBASH-tah	братbraht	сестраses-TRAH	синseen	дъщеряduhsh-teh-RYAH	детеdeh-TEH	бабаBAH-bah	дядоDYAH-doh	леляLEH-lyah	чичоCHEE-choh
Chinese	妈妈mah-mah	爸爸bah-bah	哥哥older brotherguh-guh弟弟younger brotherdee-dee	姐姐older sisterjyeh-jyeh妹妹younger sistermay-may	儿子are-dzuh	女儿nyew-are	孩子hi-dzuh	奶奶nigh-nigh	爷爷yeh-yeh	阿姨ah-yee	叔叔shoo-shoo
Croatian	majkaMY-kah	otacOH-tats	bratbraht	sestraSES-trah	sinseen	kćik'CHEE	dijetedee-YEH-teh	bakaBAH-kah	djed	tetaTEH-tah	ujakOO-yahk
Danish	mor	farfah	brorbroar	søsterSUHS-tah	sønsurn	datterDAH-tah	barnbahn	bedstemorBES-teh-mor	bedstefarBES-teh-fah	tanteTAN-teh	onkelON-kel
Dutch	moederMOO-dur	vaderFAH-dur	broerbroor	zus	zoonzohn	dochterDOKH-tur	kindkint	omaOH-mah	opaOH-pah	tanteTAHN-tuh	oomohm
English	mother	father	brother	sister	son	daughter	child	grandmother	grandfather	aunt	uncle
Finnish	äitiAI-tee	isäEE-sah	veliVEH-lee	siskoSEES-koh	poikaPOY-kah	tyttöTEWT-ter	lapsiLAHP-see	isoäitiEE-soh-ai-tee	isoisäEE-soh-ee-sah	tätiTAH-tee	setäSEH-tah
French	la mèrelah mair	le pèreluh pair	le frèreluh frair	la sœurlah sur	le filsluh fees	la fillelah fee	l'enfantlahn-FAHN	la grand-mèrelah grahn-MAIR	le grand-pèreluh grahn-PAIR	la tantelah tahnt	l'oncleLOHN-kluh
German	die Mutterdee MOO-tah	der Vaterdair FAH-tah	der Bruderdair BROO-dah	die Schwesterdee SHVES-tah	der Sohndair zohn	die Tochterdee TOKH-tah	das Kinddahs kint	die Großmutterdee GROHS-moo-tah	der Großvaterdair GROHS-fah-tah	die Tantedee TAHN-teh	der Onkeldair ON-kel
Greek	μητέραmee-TEH-rah	πατέραςpah-TEH-rahs	αδερφόςah-thehr-FOHS	αδερφήah-thehr-FEE	γιοςyohs	κόρηKOH-ree	παιδίpeh-THEE	γιαγιάyah-YAH	παππούςpah-POOS	θείαTHEE-ah	θείοςTHEE-ohs
Italian	la madrelah MAH-dreh	il padreeel PAH-dreh	il fratelloeel frah-TEL-loh	la sorellalah soh-REL-lah	il figlioeel FEEL-yoh	la figlialah FEEL-yah	il bambinoeel bahm-BEE-noh	la nonnalah NOHN-nah	il nonnoeel NOHN-noh	la zialah TSEE-ah	lo zioloh TSEE-oh
Japanese	お母さんoh-kah-sahn	お父さんoh-toh-sahn	兄older brotherah-nee弟younger brotheroh-toh-toh	姉older sisterah-neh妹younger sisteree-moh-toh	息子moo-soo-koh	娘moo-soo-meh	子供koh-doh-moh	おばあさんoh-baa-sahn	おじいさんoh-jii-sahn	おばさんoh-bah-sahn	おじさんoh-jee-sahn
Korean	어머니uh-muh-nee	아버지ah-buh-jee	형older brother (of a man)hyawng오빠older brother (of a woman)oh-bbah동생younger siblingdohng-seng	누나older sister (of a man)noo-nah언니older sister (of a woman)uh-nee동생younger siblingdohng-seng	아들ah-deul	딸ddahl	아이ah-ee	할머니hahl-muh-nee	할아버지hah-rah-buh-jee	이모ee-moh	삼촌sahm-chohn
Low German	MudderMOO-dah	VadderFAH-dah	BroderBROH-dah	SüsterZEWS-tah	Söhnzern	DochderDOKH-tah	Kindkint	OmaOH-mah	OpaOH-pah	Tanttahnt	ÜnkelEWN-kel
Norwegian	mormoor	farfahr	brorbroor	søsterSERS-ter	sønnsern	datterDAHT-ter	barnbahrn	bestemorBES-teh-moor	bestefarBES-teh-fahr	tanteTAHN-teh	onkelON-kel
Polish	matkaMAHT-kah	ojciecOY-chets	bratbraht	siostraSHOS-trah	synsin	córkaTSOOR-kah	dzieckoJETS-koh	babciaBAHP-chah	dziadekJAH-dek	ciociaCHOH-chah	wujekVOO-yek
Portuguese	mãemy	paipie	irmãoeer-MOWN	irmãeer-MAH	filhoFEE-lyoo	filhaFEE-lyah	criançakree-AHN-sah	avóah-VAW	avôah-VOH	tiaTEE-ah	tioTEE-oo
Romanian	mamăMAH-muh	tatăTAH-tuh	frateFRAH-teh	sorăSOH-ruh	fiufee-OO	fiicăfee-EE-kuh	copilkoh-PEEL	bunicăboo-NEE-kuh	bunicboo-NEEK	mătușămuh-TOO-shuh	unchioonk
Russian	матьmaht	отецah-TYETS	братbraht	сестраsye-STRAH	сынsin	дочьdohch	ребёнокree-BYOH-nuk	бабушкаBAH-boosh-kah	дедушкаDYEH-doosh-kah	тётяTYOH-tyah	дядяDYAH-dyah
Spanish	la madrelah MAH-dreh	el padreel PAH-dreh	el hermanoel ehr-MAH-noh	la hermanalah ehr-MAH-nah	el hijoel EE-hoh	la hijalah EE-hah	el niñoel NEEN-yoh	la abuelalah ah-BWEH-lah	el abueloel ah-BWEH-loh	la tíalah TEE-ah	el tíoel TEE-oh
Swedish	mammaMAH-mah	pappaPAH-pah	brorbroor	systerSEWS-ter	sonsohn	dotterDOT-ter	barnbahrn	mormorMOOR-moor	farfarFAHR-fahr	mosterMOOS-ter	farbrorFAHR-broor
Syrian Arabic	أمIMM	أبAHB	أخAHKH	أختOOKHT	ابنIH-bin	بنتBINT	طفلTIF-el	ستّوSIT-toh	جدّوJID-doh	عمّةAM-meh	عمّوAM-moh
Turkish	anneAHN-neh	babaBAH-bah	erkek kardeşair-KEK kar-DESH	kız kardeşkuhz kar-DESH	oğulOH-ool	kız evlatkuhz ev-LAHT	çocukchoh-JOOK	büyükannebew-YEWK-ahn-neh	büyükbababew-YEWK-bah-bah	teyzetay-ZEH	amcaAHM-jah
Ukrainian	матиMAH-tih	батькоBAHT-koh	братbraht	сестраseh-STRAH	синsin	донькаDOHN-kah	дитинаdih-TIH-nah	бабусяbah-BOO-syah	дідусьdee-DOOS	тіткаTEET-kah	дядькоDYAHD-koh

Splits English never makes

Sibling age matters in several languages here. Mandarin uses “哥哥” for an older brother and “弟弟” for a younger one, the same split Japanese makes with “兄” and “弟”, and Korean goes further, using different words depending on whether the speaker is male or female. English speakers used to one word for “brother” need to track age and, in Korean, their own gender.

Family side matters too: Swedish “mormor” (mother's mother) and “farfar” (father's father) keep grandparents apart by lineage, and the same split applies to Swedish aunts and uncles. Mandarin splits aunt and uncle by side too, while German and French mark every family word with a grammatical gender – “die Mutter”, “der Vater”, “la mère”, “le père” – something English articles never do.

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Sounds worth slowing down for

Swedish “mormor” stresses its first syllable and repeats a long “oo” vowel twice, MOOR-moor, with an “r” rolled at the front rather than swallowed. Japanese “お父さん” (father) ends in a nasal sound written ɴ, made further back in the throat than an English “n”.

Korean “아버지” (father) has no marked stress at all – keep its three syllables roughly even. Mandarin “妈妈” (mom) carries a level high tone on its first syllable, while “爸爸” (dad) instead falls from high to low – a tonal contrast worth hearing clearly, alongside their different opening consonants.

Where English habits fall short

The most common mistake is defaulting to a single English-style word when context calls for a choice. Using a generic word for “brother” in Mandarin or Japanese without checking his age, or reaching for “grandmother” in Swedish without knowing which side, both leave out information a native speaker expects.

The second is dropping grammatical gender in German and French. Saying “Mutter” without “die”, or “mère” without “la”, is understandable, but both languages expect the article every time.

Short everyday dialogues

Introducing your family at a homestay in Beijing

Host这是你哥哥吗？Is this your older brother?
You对，这是我哥哥。Yes, this is my older brother.

Talking about grandparents over dinner in Stockholm

FriendBor din mormor i Stockholm?Does your grandmother live in Stockholm?
YouJa, min mormor bor här.Yes, my grandmother lives here.

Meeting a friend's mother in Tokyo

Friendこれは私のお母さんです。This is my mother.
Youはじめまして、お母さん。Nice to meet you.

Meeting a friend's father in Berlin

FriendDas ist mein Vater.This is my father.
YouFreut mich, Sie kennenzulernen!Pleased to meet you!

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Frequently asked questions

Does Japanese have different words for older and younger brother?: Yes – “兄” (ani) is an older brother, “弟” (otōto) is a younger one.
What's the Swedish word for a maternal grandmother?: “Mormor” – literally the mother's mother, kept separate from “farmor”, the father's mother.
Why does German “Mutter” need “die” in front of it?: German marks every noun's gender with its article, and “die” is required for feminine nouns like “Mutter”.

Learn the language, not just the word.

Start learning

Family in 26 languages

One word, 26 languages

Splits English never makes

Sounds worth slowing down for

Where English habits fall short

Short everyday dialogues

ZHIntroducing your family at a homestay in Beijing

SVTalking about grandparents over dinner in Stockholm

JAMeeting a friend's mother in Tokyo

DEMeeting a friend's father in Berlin

Frequently asked questions

Learn the language, not just the word.

Introducing your family at a homestay in Beijing

Talking about grandparents over dinner in Stockholm

Meeting a friend's mother in Tokyo

Meeting a friend's father in Berlin