niece

IPA/niːs/
KK[nˈis]IPA/niːs/

niece — noun

  • niecesingular
  • niecesplural

1. the daughter of a person’s sibling, or the daughter of the sibling of that perso

1.nounB1
Definition

the daughter of a person’s sibling, or the daughter of the sibling of that person’s husband or wife

Example

Ravi took his niece Aiko to the zoo to see the pandas.

possessive + niece + personal name: identifying the niece directly

Every summer, Nadia’s niece spends two weeks helping at the family bakery.

possessive + niece as the subject of an action verb

Common collocations
  • young niece
  • little niece
  • teenage niece
  • beloved niece
  • only niece
  • adored niece
Antonyms
  • nephew

    the male child of one’s sibling or sibling-in-law

Grammar Patterns

possessive determiner + niece

possessive + niece + [name]

the + niece + of + [person]

Usage Note

Refers only to female children of one’s siblings or siblings-in-law. The male counterpart is 'nephew'. Some speakers also use 'niece' for the daughter of a very close family friend, though the traditional meaning is limited to blood or legal relations.

Common Mistakes

My neice is turning five years old tomorrow.
My niece is turning five years old tomorrow.
The spelling 'neice' is a common error; the correct order is 'i' before 'e'.
My nephew is my sister’s daughter.
My niece is my sister’s daughter.
'Niece' is female; 'nephew' is the male equivalent.

Word family

  • nephew
    nounB1
  • grandniece
    nounC1
  • great-niece
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Niece is the only standard English word for the daughter of one’s sibling or sibling-in-law; it has no true synonyms. It contrasts with nephew (male counterpart), which follows the same family–logic pattern. Godchild is a different kind of relationship — a child for whom one serves as a godparent, which may or may not overlap with being a niece or nephew. Cousin refers to the child of one’s aunt or uncle (a different generation level), not to a sibling’s child. In practical usage, the key distinction is that niece and nephew move one generation down from the speaker (child of sibling), whereas cousin stays at the same generation as the speaker.

nephew ↗godchildcousin ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • my niece
  • his niece
  • her niece
  • our niece
  • the niece of

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

From Old French 'niece', from Latin 'neptia' meaning 'granddaughter'. In Latin, the word referred specifically to a granddaughter, but over centuries the meaning shifted to refer to the daughter of one’s sibling.