How to say "kin" in Japanese

• 親戚しんせきJLPT N3approx.Common
  nounThe everyday word for relatives or kin — one's relations generally, whether close or distant. Use it when talking about family members outside the nuclear household, such as relatives one visits or gathers with.
  クニ子くにこは長井ながいさんと親戚しんせきです。↗

  Kuniko is related to Mr Nagai.
• 親族しんぞくCommon
  nounCovers the same sense of relatives or kin, with a somewhat formal, legal or official flavour; it is the word typically seen in documents and discussions of relatives as a defined category rather than in casual talk.
  私の親族しんぞくは皆みなこの町まちに住すんでいる。↗

  All my relatives live in this city.
• 親類しんるいJLPT N2approx.Common
  nounAlso means relatives or kin, close in meaning to 親戚. It is a fine word for one's relations, though many learners will encounter 親戚 more often in speech; use this when it appears or for variety.
  彼かれは親類しんるいの者ものと意見いけんが合あわない。↗

  He disagrees with his relatives.
• 一門いちもんCommon
  nounMeans a family or clan — kin in the sense of a whole house or lineage treated as a group, as in a noble or samurai family. It is not a word for individual relatives; for those, use 親戚 or 親族.

All four translate 'kin' broadly; 親戚, 親族, and 親類 are near-synonymous words for relatives, while 一門 covers 'kin' only in the sense of a family or clan as a group.

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

• 親戚しんせきrelative
• 親族しんぞくrelative
• 親類しんるいrelative
• 一門いちもんfamily
• 斤きんkin
• ウタリkin
• 血続きちつづきblood relation