いとこ

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. いとこと一緒に夏休みを過ごしました。▶ —
   I spent the summer holiday with my cousin.
2. 私のいとこは医者になりました。▶ —
   My cousin became a doctor.

Collocations

Mnemonic

Itoko (いとこ) is the generic cousin term — independent of gender and age, paralleling English "cousin." Far simpler than Korean (paternal / maternal + older / younger / brother / sister) or Chinese (表 / 堂 × four variants). In formal writing, kanji forms distinguish older male (従兄), younger male (従弟), older female (従姉), younger female (従妹), but speech almost always uses plain いとこ. Common in family essays and the relative section of a CV. Usually written in hiragana — kanji 従兄 etc. are literary / formal.

Quick check

1. Defining feature of itoko?

   • Gender / age neutral — matches English cousin
   • Only female cousin
   • Only father's older brother's son
   • Synonym of sibling