How to say "in-law" in Japanese

• 姻戚いんせき
  nounCovers in-laws — relatives by marriage — usually thought of as a group or a relationship rather than one specific person. Being a less common word, it is seldom what you want in everyday conversation.
• 姻族いんぞく
  nounThe same territory as 姻戚 — in-laws or relatives by marriage, and the abstract relation by affinity — but a formal or literary term, and like 姻戚 rarely the everyday word for a particular in-law.
• 義理ぎりJLPT N1approx.Common
  no-adjectiveThe common everyday choice for the in-law relationship: relatives connected through marriage, such as a spouse's family. The word also has senses unrelated to kinship, so rely on context.

For everyday references to in-laws, 義理 is the common choice; 姻戚 and 姻族 are less common words for relatives by marriage, with 姻族 the formal or literary one of the pair.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 姻戚いんせきin-law
• 姻族いんぞくin-law
• 義理ぎりin-law