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Portuguese Family Vocabulary: Talk About Family in Portuguese With This Vocabulary List

Last updated: February 14, 2026

Family member vocabulary in Portuguese - Banner

Whether you're chatting with Brazilian friends, planning to visit Portugal, or just want to describe your relatives in conversation, you'll need to have learned Portuguese family words. The good news? Portuguese family vocabulary follows some clear patterns once you understand how gender and plurals work. I'm going to walk you through all the terms you need, from immediate family to those tricky in-law relationships, plus some cultural notes that'll help you sound more natural.

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The basics of family in Portuguese: Gender and plural forms

Before we jump into the vocabulary list, here's what you need to know about how Portuguese handles family terms. Every noun in Portuguese has a gender, either masculine or feminine. This affects the article you use (o for masculine, a for feminine) and often the ending of the word itself.

Most family words follow a pattern where masculine terms end in -o and feminine terms end in -a. When you're talking about multiple people, you'll usually add an -s to make it plural. Pretty straightforward compared to some other aspects of Portuguese grammar.

One thing that trips people up: when you have a mixed group (like brothers and sisters together), Portuguese defaults to the masculine plural form. So even if you have five sisters and one brother, you'd call them "irmãos" using the masculine plural.

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Immediate family members in Portuguese

Let's start with the core family members you'll use most often.

  1. Your parents are "pais" (Plural). Individually, your father is "pai" and your mother is "mãe". These are the standard formal terms, but you'll hear lots of variations in actual conversation. Brazilian kids often call their mom "mamãe" or just "mãe", while dad might be "papai" or "pai". In Portugal, you'll hear "papá" for dad pretty frequently.
  2. For children, the word is "filho" (Son) and "filha" (Daughter). The plural "filhos" can mean sons specifically, or children in general when you have both boys and girls. If someone asks "Você tem filhos?", they're asking if you have kids.
  3. Siblings in Portuguese are "irmão" (Brother) and "irmã" (Sister). The plural "irmãos" works the same way as filhos, referring to brothers specifically or siblings of mixed gender. If you want to be crystal clear you're talking about only sisters, you'd say "irmãs" with the feminine plural.

Here's a quick example: "Eu tenho dois irmãos e uma irmã" means "I have two brothers and one sister." If you wanted to refer to all three siblings together, you'd say "meus três irmãos" (My three siblings), using the masculine plural.

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Grandparents and grandchildren

Moving up a generation, your grandfather is "avô" and your grandmother is "avó". Notice that little accent mark, it actually changes the pronunciation and meaning. Together, grandparents are "avós".

But honestly? You'll hear the diminutive forms way more often in Brazil.

  1. "Vovô" for grandpa and "vovó" for grandma are super common and affectionate. Some families use "vô" and "vó" as even shorter versions. In Portugal, you might hear "avozinho" and "avozinha" instead.
  2. For grandchildren, you've got "neto" (Grandson) and "neta" (Granddaughter), with "netos" as the plural.
  3. Great-grandparents add "bisavô" and "bisavó", literally meaning "twice grandfather" and "twice grandmother."
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Extended family vocabulary

  1. Aunts and uncles are "tia" (Aunt) and "tio" (Uncle). The plural "tios" can mean uncles or aunts and uncles together. Brazilian families tend to be pretty close-knit, so you'll use these words a lot. Kids often call close family friends "tio" and "tia" as a sign of respect and affection, even when there's no blood relation.
  2. Cousins are interesting because Portuguese uses "primo" (Male cousin) and "prima" (Female cousin). Your "primos" would be your cousins as a group. Unlike English where "cousin" works for everyone, you need to pick the right gender in Portuguese.
  3. Nieces and nephews follow the same pattern: "sobrinho" (Nephew) and "sobrinha" (Niece), with "sobrinhos" as the plural form.
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In-law relationships and stepfamily

The in-law vocabulary in Portuguese adds "-genro", "-nora", or "sogro/sogra" depending on the relationship.

  1. Your mother-in-law is "sogra" and father-in-law is "sogro". Together they're your "sogros".
  2. For siblings-in-law, it gets a bit more specific. Your brother-in-law is "cunhado" and sister-in-law is "cunhada".
  3. If you marry someone, your son-in-law becomes "genro" and daughter-in-law is "nora".

Stepfamily terms use the prefix "padrasto" for stepfather and "madrasta" for stepmother. Stepson is "enteado" and stepdaughter is "enteada". Half-siblings are "meio-irmão" (Half-brother) and "meia-irmã" (Half-sister).

Modern family structures have become more common across Brazil and Portugal, so you'll definitely encounter these terms in conversation. The language has adapted to include adopted family members too, using "filho adotivo" (Adopted son) or "filha adotiva" (Adopted daughter), though many families just use the regular terms without the modifier.

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Godparents and spiritual family

Godparents hold a special place in Portuguese-speaking cultures, especially in Brazil where Catholic traditions remain strong.

  1. Your godfather is "padrinho" and godmother is "madrinha". Together they're "padrinhos".
  2. If you're the godchild, you're an "afilhado" (Male) or "afilhada" (Female). These relationships often carry real weight in families, with godparents taking an active role in their godchildren's lives.

The term "compadre" (For men) and "comadre" (For women) refers to the relationship between parents and godparents. It's a bond of mutual respect and responsibility that goes beyond just the ceremonial aspect.

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Informal and affectionate family names in Portuguese vocabulary

Portuguese speakers love their diminutives and affectionate terms. You'll hear these way more than the formal versions in casual conversation.

For parents, beyond mamãe and papai, you might hear "mãezinha" (Little mom) or "paizinho" (Little dad) as extra affectionate versions. Siblings might call each other "mano" (Bro) or "mana" (Sis) in Brazil, which comes from "irmão" and "irmã" but sounds way more casual.

Grandparents get tons of nickname variations: vovô, vô, vovozinho, dindinho for grandfathers. Vovó, vó, vovozinha, dindinha for grandmothers. Each family tends to settle on their own preferred terms.

Baby talk and children's language uses even more variations. Little kids might say "papá" or "mamã" in Portugal, or "pai-pai" and "mãe-mãe" in some Brazilian families.

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Knowing the vocabulary is one thing, but you need some basic phrases to actually use these words in conversation.

  • To describe family members, you'd say something like "Meu pai é médico" (My father is a doctor) or "Minha irmã mora em São Paulo" (My sister lives in São Paulo).
  • When asking about someone's family, you can say "Você tem irmãos?" (Do you have siblings?) or "Como está sua família?" (How is your family?). The possessive pronouns change based on gender: "meu" for masculine nouns, "minha" for feminine.
  • To express relationships, use "Ele é meu primo" (He is my cousin) or "Ela é minha tia" (She is my aunt). Notice how the possessive agrees with the family member's gender, not yours.
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Has the Portuguese family terms changed over time

The core family terms have remained pretty stable, but modern Portuguese has added vocabulary for contemporary family structures. Terms for stepfamilies, adopted children, and same-sex parents have become more standardized and accepted.

You'll see more acceptance of terms like "pais" referring to two fathers or two mothers, or "mãe biológica" (Biological mother) and "mãe adotiva" (Adoptive mother) to clarify relationships in blended families. The language adapts as society changes.

Regional variations between Brazilian Portuguese and European Portuguese continue to exist, but globalization and media have made speakers more aware of both variants. Most Portuguese learners can understand both, even if they focus on one for speaking.

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Practice using family words in Portuguese

  1. The best way to lock in these words is to describe your actual family tree in Portuguese. Write out sentences about each family member: their name, relationship to you, where they live, what they do. This makes the vocabulary personal and memorable.
  2. Try creating a family tree diagram with Portuguese labels. Start with você (You) in the middle, add your pais above, your irmãos next to you, and build outward to include tios, primos, and avós. Visual learning really helps with this vocabulary category.
  3. When you're watching Brazilian shows or Portuguese movies, pay attention to how characters address family members. You'll pick up the affectionate terms and natural speech patterns that textbooks don't always teach.
  4. If you're using language learning apps or flashcard systems, make sure to practice both directions. You need to recognize "avó" when you hear it, but also be able to produce the word when you want to talk about your grandmother.

Anyway, if you want to learn Portuguese vocabulary through actual content you enjoy, Migaku's browser extension and app let you look up words instantly while watching Brazilian shows or reading Portuguese articles. Makes immersion learning way more practical. There's a 10-day free trial if you want to check it out.

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Learn Portuguese family vocabulary faster with immersion🎧

Reading and listening to Portuguese content accelerates your vocabulary learning way beyond memorizing lists. When you encounter family terms in context, in real sentences with emotion and meaning, they stick in your memory better.

If you consume media in Portuguese, and you understand at least some of the messages and sentences within that media, you will make progress. Period.

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