For the longest time I was using 肉親 for a blood relative however I have seen
血族 being used. I was wondering if I could get more context on the two. I have
looked up the individual kanji in the words.
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question
word-choice
Which kanji is more appropriate to write blood relative: 肉親 or 血族. Will the kind of relationship have any bearing on what is the more appropriate?
Simply put, 肉親 means your family and 血族 the broader blood relatives.

[大辞泉](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/%E8%82%89%E8%A6%AA/#jn-166516) says it
means your parents or siblings. Practically it more often refers to your
parents. In some contexts like 遺産をめぐり肉親で争う (conflicts over inheritance among
family members), it includes your relatives.

血族 includes your aunts, uncles, cousins etc. So marriages among relatives are
called 血族結婚. FYI, not a common word, but there seems to be the word
[血族親](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/thsrs/5182/meaning/m1u/%E8%A1%80%E6%97%8F/),
which means relatives within 6 steps in the family tree.
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answer