Maltz was asked by a friend for the word for "cousin." He was happy to oblige, but before he got to "cousin," he said he needed to explain several other kinship terms.

There are four words for "aunt." {me'} is used to refer to one's mother's sister; {'e'mam} is one's father's sister. An aunt by marriage (the wife of one's parent's brother) is either {me'nal }(mother's brother's wife) or {'e'mamnal} (father's brother's wife).

Similarly, there are four words for "uncle." One's mother's brother is {'IrneH} and one's father's brother is {tennuS}. The husband of one's mother's sister is {'IrneHnal}, and the husband of one's father's sister is{ tennuSnal}.

Now on to "cousin." The child of one's {tennuS} or one's {me'} is called a {tey'}, while the child of one's {'IrneH} or one's {'e'mam} is called a {lor}. But these words are also used for "nephew" and "niece." A man will use {tey'} to refer to the child of his brother and {lor} to refer to the child of his sister, while a woman uses these terms the other way around: {tey'} is the child of her sister and {lor} is the child of her brother. To specify gender, {loD} "male" and {be'} "female" are added: {tey'loD} and {lorloD} mean "nephew, male cousin"; {tey'be'} and {lorbe'} mean "niece, female cousin."

If it is necessary to make a distinction between a nephew/niece and a cousin, one simply describes the relationship. For example: {loDnI' puqloD} "brother's son, nephew"' {me' puqbe'} "mother's sister's daughter, aunt's daughter, cousin." Unless specifically distinguishing between two individuals or explaining exactly how one is related to someone else, however, {tey'} and lor are much more common.

(Maltz speculated that there may be some connection between the noun {tey'} "cousin, nephew, niece" and the verb {tey'} "confide," since, at least according to Maltz, one tends to be closer to, and therefore more likely to confide in, one's {tey'} than one's {lor}.)

In addition to the specific terminology referring to cousins and siblings' offspring, there are four words that are more general in scope.

{yur} is used for a more distant cousin or niece or nephew. This would include second cousins, grandnephews, and the like. {yur} is not used to refer to a {lor} or a {tey'}, though the plural {yurpu'} may be used to refer to a group consisting of a {lor} or {tey'} or two along with some other, more distant relatives.

{vIn}, in its plural form {vInpu'}, is used for a group consisting of at least one {lor} and at least one {tey'} and no one who is not a {lor} or a {tey'}. Thus {vInpu'} may be translated "cousins, nieces, nephews." If it's not a mixed group, then, of course, the plural forms of {lor} and {tey'} would be used ({lorpu'}, {tey'pu'}). {vInpu'} might also be used if the speaker is unsure about the makeup of the group (but sure enough to know that {vInpu'} is a better choice than {yurpu'}). The singular form, {vIn}, is also sometimes used in place of {lor} or {tey'} when focusing on the {vIn} as a member of a group of {vInpu'} as opposed to his or her specific relationship to the speaker.

{'e'nal} refers to someone who married into the family, but does not specify the exact relationship.

{tuqnIgh} is used to refer to any member of a house. Thus, {qeng tuqnIgh} is "a member of the House of Kong," and {tuqnIghwI'} is "a member of my house."

While he was at it, Maltz offered several other kinship terms, but he made it clear that his list was not exhaustive (he left off words for "great-grandmother," "great-grandson," "great aunt" and the like). {puqnI'} is the word for "grandchild." If it is necessary to specify gender, {loD} or {be'} is added: {puqnI'loD} "grandson," {puqnI'be'} "granddaughter." Finally, there is a special word for "firstborn": {ghubDaQ}.