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In [a recent
comment](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/28196/%e3%81%aa%e3%81%97-used-
for-both-animate-and-inanimate-things#comment59151_28196), Sjiveru wrote:

> 親たち isn't really valid for 'one's two parents', it means more of 'a group of
> parents (necessarily several families' worth)'. Outside of very modern uses
> with personal pronouns, たち can't be used for just two people.

To which mirka wrote [a thoughtful
reply](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/28196/%e3%81%aa%e3%81%97-used-
for-both-animate-and-inanimate-things#comment59154_28196):

> Interesting, you'd never call your parents 親たち, but you would call your two
> children 子供たち, or your siblings お姉ちゃんたち, 弟たち, etc. I wonder why that is.

Is there a restriction on using 〜たち for just two people? If so, is this a rule
with exceptions, as in mirka's comment?

Or is there a better explanation for why you'd never call your parents 親たち?
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question
plural-suffixes
Is 〜たち used for groups of only two people?
To answer the specific question: No, there is no restriction. You can use
`〜たち` with two people but you aren't exactly saying "two people", you are
saying "groups of ~"; the definition given by JDIC being `pluralizing suffix`.
`〜たち` is used to refer a group and this group could very well include only two
"animate objects" (or groups of "animate objects"); the number is
indeterminate.

To specifically address what Sjiveru said: you would never call **your own
parents** `親達`. His point is valid in that `親` means parent/parents and if
someone wanted to refer to their own parents as a group/couple, they would
just say `親`.

Referencing [weblio for 親達](http://ejje.weblio.jp/content/%E8%A6%AA%E9%81%94)
gives the following example.

> 息子が卒業すると親達が安心する。
>
> The parents are made happy by their son completing his education.

and `親たち` is used because the `親たち` is not the speaker's own parents. You
could just as well use `親` here but that would come off as, at least to my
ears, as more direct and less polite.

As to why you would not use `親たち` with your own parents, I don't have a
concrete explanation. If I heard a native speaker refer to their own parents
as `親たち`, to my ears it would indicate some weird distance between the speaker
and their parents. If you, as a non-native speaker, said `親たち` in reference to
your own parents, it would be understood by the context but it would be
unnatural in the same way that non-native speakers overuse `私` and `あなた` in
situations where the subject is already understood; they know you most likely
have two parents, you don't have to add `たち` and (over) explain it to them.

Referring to mirka's comment, I also don't have a concrete answer. I suspect
the reason is because `子ども` does not have a "strong implication to mean a
father + mother" like `親` does and so whether or not `子ども` is being used as a
singular or plural noun is less easy to determine from context. Also, in a lot
of cases the specifics of `親` doesn't matter. If I tell my son he can't do
something, he'll say to his friends:

> 親がダメと言った。

Whether `親` means father, mother, or both isn't important. His `親`-figure said
"no" and that's all that matters.

My guess is that with `子ども`, in addition to the noun's person being harder to
determine from context, whether or not it is plural matters more when
understanding the sentence.
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answer
In this case, I think it's simply because we already have a specific and
common word which refers to "one's both parents": **両親【りょうしん】**. There is no
reason not to use 両親 in formal situations.

I feel I sometimes hear (私の)親たちは旅行中だよ (instead of 両親は旅行中だよ) in casual
conversations.
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The single/plural duality of 親 _as a concept_ is actually not that different
from 子供, in that these phrases parallel each other:

  * 親のいない家庭／子供のいない家庭
  * 親同伴／子供同伴
  * 親の目が届かない場所／子供の手が届かない場所
  * 親に反対された／子供に反対された

I was thinking about this further, and noticed one good reason that 親たち is so
infrequently used.

# It is rude

親 is simply rude when referring _actual parents_ , and not the _concept of
parent_.

  1. Within the family and with casual acquaintances, you are likely to refer to your parents by what you actually call them — 「お父さんお母さんどこ行った？」「パパたち帰ってきたよ」「お袋たちに聞いてみよう」. (`〜たち` is often suffixed to one of the parents to mean both parents)
  2. To people you are on 敬語 terms with, you refer to your own parents humbly but politely, as 両親, 父母, 父と母.
  3. People outside the family will refer to your parents politely, as ご両親, 親御さんたち, 親御さん方, お父様方, お母様方 etc. (`〜たち` is suffixed very naturally to 親御さん, the polite form of 親)

So, since _actual_ parents are referred to politely, and the _concept_ of
parent already includes some sense of plurality, there is very little need for
the word 親たち. It is only used to emphasize that you are talking about concept-
parent in plural (i.e., sets of parents), and almost never used to talk about
actual-parent in plural.
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