1.
relative by marriage; in-law; affinity by marriage
A relative connected not by blood but by marriage — the family and relatives of one's spouse, and by extension the network of kinship ties created by marriage. A formal term used in legal, genealogical, and literary contexts rather than everyday family conversation.
姻戚関係にある。
To be related by marriage.
姻戚関係を結ぶ。
To establish kinship through marriage.
両家は江戸時代から続く姻戚関係にある。
The two families have had ties by marriage going back to the Edo period.
Compound of 姻 ('marriage tie'; the same element as in 婚姻) and 戚 ('relative; kin'). Refers specifically to kinship created through marriage, as opposed to 血縁 ('blood relation'). A dignified, somewhat literary word, common in legal, historical, and formal family contexts but rare in ordinary conversation.
USAGE:
- Appears mainly in the set phrase 姻戚関係 ('relationship by marriage; in-law relationship').
- Used in historical and genealogical writing to describe political alliances cemented by marriage — for example between noble families, feudal lords, or merchant houses.
- In everyday speech, people refer to specific in-laws by term (義母, 義父, etc.) or use general phrases like 妻の家族 ('wife's family') rather than 姻戚.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 姻戚関係: relationship by marriage; in-law relationship
- 姻戚関係を結ぶ: to establish a marriage-based relationship
- 姻戚関係にある: to be related by marriage
- 姻戚関係を持つ: to have a marriage tie
- 遠い姻戚: a distant relative by marriage
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 血縁: blood relation — the antonym; kinship through shared ancestry rather than marriage.
- 親戚: relatives — everyday umbrella term covering both blood and marital relatives; the word most people use in conversation.
- 縁戚: relative; kinsman — near-synonym that emphasizes the connection by ties, covering both blood and marriage.
- 義理の家族: in-laws — informal everyday expression literally meaning 'obligated family'.
- 婚姻: marriage; wedlock — the formal legal term for marriage, sharing the 姻 kanji.