Cousins

[Ju]

Cousins can be male or female. If I want to specify they are girls or boys.
Should I say,

1. "They are my female cousins."

2. "They are my male cousins."

Thanks.

 

[Amelot]

Both of those are good everyday English and say what you mean.

 

[Ju]

Both of those are good everyday English and say what you mean.

Can I say, "Boy/girl cousin" for children and "man/woman cousin" for grown up?

 

[Rover_KE]

I suppose so, but that's not what we normally do.

If it's important for my listener/reader to know the gender of my cousins, and can't infer this from their names, I'd say 'I have three cousins: Rupert, Daphne and Chris (that's Christine—not Christopher)'.

Or 'My cousin Sam (that's Samantha—not Samuel) is a professional bassoonist'.

 

[Skrej]

Can I say, "Boy/girl cousin" for children and "man/woman cousin" for grown up?

If I really needed to specify, I'd probably use 'male/female', especially in lieu of 'man/woman'. If I really needed to indicate age, I'd probably modify with either 'young' or 'adult'. However, context will likely make it unnecessary to specify.