親族

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 親族 is a noun read しんぞく, collectively referring to relatives connected by blood or marriage.
• Basic usage: Use 近しい親族だけ to limit a group to close relatives and 遠方の親族 for relatives who live far away.
  • 式には近しい親族だけを招いた。 says that only close relatives were invited to the ceremony; 遠方の親族から久しぶりに手紙が届いた。 describes receiving a letter after a long time from a distant relative.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• 親族だけを招く
  • だけ limits the invitees to close relatives, and を marks the people invited.
• 親族から手紙が届く
  • から marks the sender, while が marks the letter that arrives.
• 親族 and 家族
  • 家族 usually refers to the close members forming a family unit, while 親族 can include a broader circle related by blood or marriage.