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.
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.