cousin
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- 1 cousin
A general kinship term for a cousin—the child of one of your parent’s siblings. It does not specify gender or relative age.
cousin
Refers to the child of an aunt or uncle, without indicating whether the cousin is male or female, older or younger.
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เราเป็นลูกพี่ลูกน้องกัน raw pen lûuk phîi lûuk nɔ́ɔŋ kan We are cousins. เราเป็นลูกพี่ลูกน้องกัน details
Learning notes
Explanation
This is the standard, neutral Thai term for a cousin, normally meaning the child of one of your parent’s siblings. Although the word contains พี่, meaning an older sibling, and น้อง, meaning a younger sibling, the full expression ลูกพี่ลูกน้อง does not identify a cousin’s gender or relative age. It is best learned as a single kinship term. Gender can be specified with words such as ผู้ชาย (male) or ผู้หญิง (female). Since cousins are people, คน is used when counting them: ลูกพี่ลูกน้องสามคน means “three cousins.”
Usage
It is commonly used when describing family relationships or talking about reunions, weddings, visits, and other family events. Use ลูกพี่ลูกน้องของ… for “someone’s cousin” and เป็นลูกพี่ลูกน้องกัน for “to be cousins.”
Caution
Do not interpret the พี่ or น้อง inside this word as specifying an older or younger cousin. Also, หลาน means a grandchild, niece, or nephew, so it describes a different family relationship.