Breakdown of watasi ha kazoku to naka ga ii desu.
Questions & Answers about watasi ha kazoku to naka ga ii desu.
Literally:
- 仲 (なか) = the relationship / the terms between people
- いい = good
So 仲がいい is literally “the relationship is good.”
In natural English we don’t say “my relationship with my family is good” very often; we usually say:
- “I get along well with my family.”
- “I have a good relationship with my family.”
Japanese keeps it more literal: it’s not “I am good,” it’s “our relationship is good.”
The pattern here is:
A は B が 〜
Where:
- A is the topic (marked by は)
- B is the thing that actually has the property (marked by が)
In this sentence:
- 私 は – “as for me,” topic
- 仲 が いい – “(my) relationship is good”
So grammatically it’s:
“As for me, (my) relationship with my family is good.”
This A は B が〜 structure is very common:
田中さんは 背 が 高いです。
As for Tanaka, (his) height is tall. → “Tanaka is tall.”私は 日本語 が 好きです。
As for me, Japanese is liked. → “I like Japanese.”
So:
- が marks 仲 as the “subject” that is いい (good).
- は only sets up the overall topic.
Using は instead of が here (仲はいい) is possible in some contexts, but it changes the focus/contrast and is less neutral than 仲がいい in this simple statement.
と in 家族と means “with” in the sense of “in relation to / together with someone.”
So:
- 家族と = “with (my) family”
- 家族と仲がいい = “the relationship with my family is good”
This と is the same as in:
- 友だちと遊ぶ – play with friends
- 彼と話す – talk with him
You cannot just say 家族仲がいい at this level (though there is a compound word 家族仲, see below); と is what explicitly links the relationship (仲) to 家族.
家族 is a collective noun. It can be:
- “family” (as a unit)
- “family members” (plural idea)
In Japanese, there is no explicit singular/plural ending here.
In 私 は 家族 と 仲 が いい です, context makes it clear:
- It almost always means “my family / my family members” (the speaker’s own family).
You normally don’t say 私の家族 unless you need to emphasize or contrast, e.g.:
- 私の家族はアメリカにいます。 – My family is in the U.S. (as opposed to someone else’s).
So yes:
- 家族 here is understood as “my family (members).”
- Whether you translate as “family” or “family members” in English is just style; Japanese doesn’t mark the number.
Grammatically, 私は家族と仲がいいです。 is correct.
In natural speech, though, Japanese often omits 私 when it’s obvious who the subject is. So very commonly you’d just hear:
- 家族と仲がいいです。
or, in casual speech:
家族と仲がいい。
Including 私:
- can sound a bit more formal, explanatory, or textbook-like;
- is still perfectly fine, especially in writing, self‑introductions, or careful speech.
So:
- Natural spoken Japanese: usually drop 私.
- Textbook / clear sentence: 私は家族と仲がいいです。
They express related but different angles:
仲がいい
- Focus: the quality of the relationship (mutual).
- Implies: you get along, you don’t fight much, communication is smooth.
- Feels more objective: “Our relationship is good.”
家族が好きです
- Focus: your feelings toward your family.
- Means you like / love your family.
- Doesn’t necessarily say anything about how well you get along in practice.
So:
- 家族と仲がいいです。 → “I get along well with my family / we have a good relationship.”
- 家族が好きです。 → “I like/love my family.”
You can, of course, say both if you want to stress both points.
Not really. よく合う literally means “match well / fit well,” and is used more for:
- clothes: この靴はこのズボンによく合う。 – These shoes go well with these pants.
- tastes/preferences: 彼とは話が合う。 – I click with him / we see eye to eye.
With family and “getting along,” the natural, standard expression is:
- 家族と仲がいい
- Or, slightly different nuance: 家族と仲良くしている (I’m on good terms with my family / we behave nicely with each other).
家族とよく合います is grammatically possible, but sounds odd or unclear in normal conversation. Stick with 家族と仲がいい.
They’re close, but not identical:
仲がいい (relationship is good)
- Adjective phrase: 仲
- がいい
- Describes the state of the relationship.
- Ex: 二人は仲がいい。 – Those two get along well.
- Adjective phrase: 仲
仲良し
- Noun meaning “good friends / people who are close.”
- Often used like “best buddies,” “close pals,” or used adjectivally (especially in casual speech).
- Ex:
- 私たちは仲良しです。 – We’re close (friends).
- 仲良し夫婦 – a close/happy couple.
In the sentence you gave, you wouldn’t normally say:
- 家族と仲良しです – understandable, but less standard.
The most natural, neutral phrasing for “I get along well with my family” is still:
- 家族と仲がいいです。
Meaning: no difference. Both mean “have a good relationship.”
- いい can be written in kanji as 良い, but in modern Japanese it’s very common to write it in hiragana.
For this phrase, the most typical everyday spelling is:
- 仲がいい
You might see 仲が良い in more formal texts or where the writer prefers kanji, but pronunciation and meaning are the same.
Polite form:
- 私は家族と仲がいいです。
Casual / plain form:
- 家族と仲がいい。
- 俺は家族と仲がいい。 (male-ish, casual)
- 私(わたし)は家族と仲がいい。 (still casual; pronoun optional)
Changes:
- Drop です → use plain いい.
- Often drop 私 when obvious.
So to a close friend you’d most likely say simply:
- 家族と仲がいい。
You can, but it changes the nuance and feels a bit unnatural in most ordinary contexts.
私は家族と仲がいいです。
- Neutral: “I get along well with my family.”
家族と私は仲がいいです。
- Literally: “My family and I get along well.”
- Emphasizes the pairing “my family and I” as a unit.
- Might sound a bit stiff, or like you’re contrasting it with something (e.g., “My family and I get along well, but my relatives and I don’t.”)
Japanese word order is more flexible than English, but the default natural order here is:
(私 は) 家族 と 仲 が いい です。
Changing it is usually either for emphasis or poetic / stylized reasons.
Yes, very common. The pattern is:
X は Y が ADJECTIVE です。
Meaning: “As for X, Y is ADJECTIVE.”
Your sentence:
- 私 は – topic: me
- 家族と仲 が いいです – the thing that is “good” is 仲 (my relationship with my family)
So literally:
“As for me, the relationship with my family is good.”
Other frequent examples:
私は 日本語が 好きです。
As for me, Japanese is liked. → I like Japanese.田中さんは 頭が いいです。
As for Tanaka, (his) head is good. → Tanaka is smart.姉は 料理が 上手です。
As for my older sister, cooking is skillful. → My sister is good at cooking.
Recognizing this X は Y が〜 pattern will help you understand many sentences that have both は and が.