Learn Hardcore Japanese: watasi no ryousin ha naka no ii huuhu desu. - My parents are a close, loving married couple.

両親 focuses on the pair as a whole, not on them individually.
父と母 literally “father and mother” – just lists the two people, a bit more casual/simpler.
When talking about your own parents in a neutral sentence like this, 私の両親 is very natural.
To talk about someone else’s parents politely, you’d usually say ご両親 (honorific prefix ご).

So:

私の両親は… = My parents …
父と母は… = My father and mother … (also correct, but stylistically a bit different)

What is the role of の in 私の両親 and in 仲のいい? Are they the same?

Both are written の, but the function is slightly different in feeling.

私の両親
- 私 = I / me
- の = possessive / “of”
- 両親 = parents
  → “my parents”
This is the standard possessive の: XのY = Y that belongs to X / X’s Y.
仲のいい
- 仲 = relationship / how well people get along
- いい = good
- 仲のいい literally “relationship-of good” → “(whose) relationship is good” / “close / on good terms”
Here, の links a noun (仲) to an adjective (いい) to create an attributive phrase before another noun (夫婦). It’s similar to:
- 色のきれいな花 = “flowers whose color is pretty”

So:

First の: normal possession (my parents).
Second の: makes a descriptive phrase (a couple whose relationship is good).

What does 仲 (なか) actually mean here?

仲 refers to the relationship between people, especially how well they get along.

In this sentence:

仲がいい = “have a good relationship / get along well / be close”
仲のいい夫婦 = “a couple that gets along well / a close, happily married couple”

Common patterns:

仲がいい = to be on good terms
仲が悪い = to be on bad terms
仲直りする = to make up (after a fight)

So 仲 is not “friend” itself; it’s the quality of the relationship between people.

Why is it 仲のいい夫婦 and not 仲がいい夫婦?

Both are possible, but they are structurally different:

仲のいい夫婦
- 仲のいい is treated like an adjectival phrase modifying 夫婦.
- Literal idea: “a couple whose relationship is good.”
- Pattern: Noun + の + Adjective + Noun
  (仲 + の + いい + 夫婦)
仲がいい夫婦
- This uses 仲がいい as a clause modifying 夫婦:
- Literally: “a couple that has a good relationship.”
- Pattern: [Clause] + Noun
  (仲がいい + 夫婦)

In everyday speech, 仲のいい夫婦 is very common and sounds smooth and natural.
仲がいい夫婦 is also grammatically correct and used, but の often feels a bit more “adjectival” and compact in front of a noun.

As a stand‑alone predicate, though, you normally say:

私の両親は仲がいいです。 (NOT 仲のいいです)
because here 仲がいい is the main “X is Y” part of the sentence.

What is the difference between 仲のいい夫婦です and 仲がいいです with 両親?

Compare:

私の両親は仲のいい夫婦です。
- Structure:
  [私の両親] は [仲のいい夫婦] です。
- Literally: “As for my parents, (they) are a couple whose relationship is good.”
- Emphasis: “They are (that kind of) couple.”
私の両親は仲がいいです。
- Structure:
  [私の両親] は [仲がいい] です。
- Literally: “As for my parents, (their) relationship is good.”
- Emphasis: “They get along well.”

Nuance:

仲のいい夫婦です: categorizes them as a type of couple.
仲がいいです: directly states how their relationship is.

Both are natural; the given sentence adds the nuance that they’re a good married pair (not just that they get along).

What exactly does 夫婦 (ふうふ) mean? Is it just “parents”?

No. 夫婦 means a married couple (husband and wife; by extension, spouses).

夫 = husband
婦 = wife
夫婦 = the two together → married couple

Important differences:

両親 = parents (the relationship to a child)
夫婦 = spouses (the relationship between the two adults)

So in the sentence:

私の両親 = my parents (father & mother)
夫婦です = they are a married couple
仲のいい夫婦です = they are a married couple who get along well / are close

The sentence focuses on their marital relationship, not on their role as parents.

Why is は used after 両親 and not が?

は marks the topic, while が typically marks the grammatical subject (especially when introducing or emphasizing it).

Here:

私の両親は仲のいい夫婦です。
私の両親 = “my parents”
は = “as for” / topic marker

This sentence is about my parents as a topic that is already known or easily assumed. The focus is on what is being said about them (that they are a close couple).

If you used が:

私の両親が仲のいい夫婦です。

This could sound like you’re contrasting your parents with someone else’s, or identifying them in response to “Which couple is the close one?”. Context might be something like:

A: どの夫婦が仲がいいですか。
B: 私の両親が仲のいい夫婦です。
“My parents are the couple that gets along well.”

In isolation, は is more natural for a simple statement “My parents are ~.”

Is 私 (わたし) really necessary here? Don’t Japanese speakers often drop subjects?

You can drop 私 if it’s clear from context that you are talking about your own parents.

So:

私の両親は仲のいい夫婦です。
両親は仲のいい夫婦です。

Both are possible.

Nuance:

私の makes it explicit that these are my parents.
In conversation where it’s already obvious you’re talking about your own family, just saying 両親は… is very natural.

If there’s any chance of confusion (e.g., are we talking about mine or yours?), 私の helps clarify.

How polite or casual is this sentence? Can I use it in most situations?

The sentence ends with です, which is polite (丁寧語) but not formal-honorific.

仲のいい夫婦です。 = polite, neutral
仲のいい夫婦だ。 = plain (casual) form

You can safely use です:

in everyday conversation with people you’re not very close to
in written self-introductions
in most normal speaking situations

If you were introducing your parents in a very formal or respectful context (e.g., to someone much higher in status), you might adjust the whole sentence, perhaps also using honorifics for parents (see next question), but grammatically this is already polite.

If I’m talking about someone else’s parents, should I say the same sentence?

When talking about someone else’s parents, you usually show respect with the honorific ご:

あなたのご両親は仲のいい夫婦ですね。
“Your parents are a close/happily married couple, aren’t they?”

Changes:

両親 → ご両親
(honorific prefix ご)

Talking about your own parents: normally no honorific prefix:

私の両親は仲のいい夫婦です。 ✅
私のご両親は… ❌ (sounds wrong or strange, like you’re honoring your own family in the wrong way)

So use ご両親 for others, 両親 for yourself.

Can I change the order and say 私の両親はいい仲の夫婦です?

Grammatically, いい仲の夫婦 is understandable, but it’s less natural than 仲のいい夫婦.

Native speakers strongly prefer:

仲のいい夫婦 (very natural)
仲の悪い夫婦 (for a bad relationship)

In Japanese, 仲がいい / 仲のいい is a set phrase, so reversing it to いい仲 feels slightly off or less idiomatic in this type of sentence.

Stick with:

私の両親は仲のいい夫婦です。 ✅

Could I leave out 夫婦 and just say 私の両親は仲がいいです? Would it mean the same thing?

Yes, you can say:

私の両親は仲がいいです。

This is natural and common. It means:

“My parents get along well / My parents have a good relationship.”

Difference in nuance:

仲がいいです: talks directly about their relationship.
仲のいい夫婦です: emphasizes that they are that kind of married couple (as a category).

In many contexts, the overall meaning is similar, and either is fine. The original sentence just adds the nuance of them as a married pair.