The niece meaning is your brother's or sister's daughter, and by marriage, the daughter of your husband's or wife's brother or sister. If your sister has a baby girl, that girl is your niece and you become her aunt or uncle.
English uses this one word whether the girl is your brother's child or your sister's, and whether the link is by blood or by marriage. The matching word for a boy is nephew, and together they are your sibling's children.
Entry at a glance
Meaning
Daughter of your sibling or of your spouse's siblingPart of speech
Noun; plural niecesPronunciation
NEESS, rhymes with "piece" and "peace"Male form
nephewYou are her
aunt or uncleExtended forms
grandniece or great-niece (your sibling's granddaughter)Origin
Old French niece, from Latin neptis, granddaughter; in English from about 1300
Who counts as your niece
A girl or woman is your niece if she is:
- Your brother's daughter.
- Your sister's daughter.
- Your spouse's brother's or sister's daughter. People sometimes call this a niece by marriage, but in everyday speech she is simply your niece.
- Your half-sibling's or step-sibling's daughter. Families use the word here too, sometimes adding "half" or "step" only if detail matters.
Age does not change the word. A forty-year-old woman is still the niece of her father's younger brother. Your cousin's daughter, however, is not your niece; she is usually called your first cousin once removed, though many families just say "niece" informally.
Niece in everyday sentences
- I am flying home for my niece's first birthday next month.
- Her niece helped her set up the new phone over the weekend.
- He has three nieces and one nephew, all under ten.
- My husband's niece is staying with us while she studies in the city.
- As the eldest niece, she gave a short speech at her grandparents' anniversary.
Niece meaning on a family tree
| Relative | What you call her | What she calls you |
|---|---|---|
| Your sister's daughter | niece | aunt / uncle |
| Your brother's daughter | niece | aunt / uncle |
| Your niece's daughter | grandniece or great-niece | great-aunt / great-uncle |
| Your sibling's son | nephew | aunt / uncle |
| Your parent's sibling's daughter | cousin | cousin |
Grandniece and great-niece mean the same thing; both are correct. Some English speakers in India and elsewhere prefer more exact family words in their own languages, since English does not show whose side of the family the niece is on.
Spelling: the i before e trap
Niece is one of the most commonly misspelled family words. The correct order is n-i-e-c-e. The memory rhyme "i before e except after c" actually works here, since the i and e come before the c. A handy trick: a niece is a piece of the family, and both words end in -iece.
Keep it apart from Nice, the French city, or the adjective nice. They look close on the page but sound different: nice rhymes with "ice", niece rhymes with "geese".
From Latin granddaughter to English niece
English has used niece since around 1300, taking it from Old French niece, which goes back to Latin neptis, "granddaughter", a word that in later Latin also came to mean niece. For several centuries English used niece loosely for a granddaughter or other younger female relative as well, and the narrower modern sense settled in by about 1600. It replaced an older English word, nift. The male partner word nephew comes from the related Latin nepos, which also sits behind nepotism, favoring relatives with jobs or power.
Frequently asked questions
What is my sister's daughter called?
She is your niece. You are her aunt if you are a woman, or her uncle if you are a man.
Is my wife's sister's daughter my niece?
Yes. Your spouse's nieces are your nieces too. Some people say niece by marriage when they want to be exact, but plain niece is normal.
How do you pronounce niece?
It sounds exactly like "neese", one syllable that rhymes with peace. That c makes a hissing sound, never a k.
What is the difference between grandniece and great-niece?
There is no difference in meaning. Both describe your niece's or nephew's daughter. Great-niece is more common in everyday speech, and grandniece is often used in legal or family history writing.
Is my cousin's daughter my niece?
Strictly, no. She is your first cousin once removed. In casual family talk, though, many people call her a niece because of the age gap.
What is the male version of niece?
The male version is nephew. Your sibling's son is your nephew, and your sibling's daughter is your niece.