Your niece is the daughter of your brother or sister. If your sister has a daughter, that girl is your niece. If your brother has a daughter, she's your niece too. The word works the same way whether you're a man or a woman: both aunts and uncles have nieces.

The relationship goes both ways: if someone is your niece, then you are their aunt or uncle. These family connections matter because they create bonds that can last a lifetime. Many people develop close relationships with their nieces, teaching them new skills, sharing interests, or just spending time together.

The word can extend to include your spouse's family as well. Your wife's niece or your husband's niece becomes your niece through marriage, even though you're not related by blood. Some families use niece even more broadly for close family friends, though this is informal.

The male equivalent is nephew, your brother's or sister's son. Together, nieces and nephews make up what people sometimes call “the next generation” of a family.