Free Language Lessons
In Spanish, the words for family members are separated by gender (male and female). For example, a male cousin would be your “primo” and a female cousin would be your “prima”.
For many cousins, all male or both male and female, you use the masculine form or “primos” and for all female cousins use “primas”
When you are describing family members, it is always important to make sure that the adjectives you use agree in gender to the family member. For example, if you are saying your favorite cousin, you would say “mi primo favorite” for a male cousin and “mi prima favorite” for a female cousin. See list below for common words used for family members.
English Word/Spanish Word
Aunt tia
Brother hermano
Brother-in-law cuñado
Child niño, niña, niños, niñas Childhood niñez Cousin primo, prima, primos, primas Daughter hija Daughter-in-law nuera
Divorce divorcio
Father padre
Father-in-law suegro
Godson ahijado
Grandchild nieto
Granddaughter nieta
Grandfather abuelo
Great grandfather bisabuelo
Great great grandfather tatarabuelo
Grandmother abuela
Great Grandmother bisabuela
Great great grandmother tatarabuela
Grandson nieto
In-law pariente político
Marry casarse
Mother madre
Mother-in-law suegra
Nephew sobrino
Niece sobrina
Parents padres
Sister hermana
Sister-in-law cuñada
Son hijo
Son-in-law yerno
Stepbrother hermanostro
Stepchild hijastro
Stepdaughter hijastra
Stepfather padrastro
Stepmother madrastra
Stepson hijastro
Uncle tio
Here are a few sentences in Spanish using the family words:
Mis hijas viven en Chicago My daughters live in Chicago
Tengo nuevo tios I have 9 aunts and uncles
Tengo quarto ninos I have 4 children (this can be 4 boys or a mixture of boys and girls)
Tengo dos hermanos y una hermana I have 2 brothers and one sister.
Memorization of Spanish words will come with repetition. Practice saying these words out loud for at least 10 minutes per day to reinforce your learning.
Perriann Rodriguez
http://www.learnESPANOLfree.com