One of the most commonly heard Indianisms in English is 'cousin sister' or 'cousin brother'. But is this grammatically correct? Let's find out.
An 'Indianism' is an English expression used in India that is not standard in British or American English. Other examples: 'do the needful', 'prepone', 'out of station'.
In standard British and American English, the correct word is simply 'cousin' — with no need for 'sister' or 'brother'.
The word 'cousin' is gender-neutral in English — it can refer to either a male or female relative who is the child of your uncle or aunt.
This construction comes from the influence of Indian languages:
If you need to specify gender in English:
No. In formal or academic writing, always use just 'cousin'. 'Cousin sister' is informal conversational English used in India and is not accepted in formal contexts.
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