1.
nuclear family
A family unit consisting of parents and their children only, without extended family members such as grandparents. A sociological term that has become common in everyday Japanese.
核家族が増えている。
Nuclear families are increasing.
うちは核家族で、祖父母は別に暮らしている。
Our family is a nuclear family; our grandparents live separately.
核家族化が進んだことで、育児の負担が親に集中するようになった。
As nuclear families became more common, the burden of childcare became concentrated on the parents.
USAGE NOTES:
核家族 is contrasted with 大家族 (extended family) or 三世代同居 (three generations living together). The trend toward 核家族 has been a major social change in postwar Japan.
COMMON COMPOUNDS:
- 核家族化: the trend toward nuclear families
- 核家族世帯: nuclear family household
OPPOSITE:
- 大家族: large/extended family