Wordstream: Niece vs. Nephew

I used to have a boyfriend who loved talking to me about his sister's child. All the while I thought the kid was male...but she turned out to be female.

How did I end up with that kind of misconception, you ask?

It's because of statements like these:

"You should meet my nephew, she's really cute."


"My nephew likes to play with my drums whenever she's around."

" She's my one and only nephew."

That was a gazillion years ago, but I will always remember him for those statements. 

While my mind was conjuring images of a cute boy, that ex-boyfriend of mine volunteered to show me a picture. Lo and behold it was a picture of a 6-year old girl. Oh my. I wanted to correct him and tell him that "nephew" wasn't the right word for your sibling's daughter. It was "niece," but I was too afraid of offending him that I kept quiet. 

Maybe it was because of this experience that I became an English teacher. It was to make up for this one instance when I failed to right a wrong.

 ...I wonder if someone ever had the guts to correct him.