Spanish Family Vocabulary: Talk About Family Members in Spanish

Learning Spanish family vocabulary is one of those foundational steps that actually makes conversations feel real. When you can talk about your brother, ask someone about their grandparents, or understand what "mi tía" means when someone mentions their aunt, you're dealing with words that come up constantly in everyday Spanish. This isn't abstract grammar stuff. These are the terms you'll use whether you're chatting with a language partner, watching a telenovela, or just trying to explain your family tree to someone. Let's break down everything you need to know about family member vocabulary in Spanish.👪

Understanding la familia basics

The Spanish word for family is "la familia," and it's feminine, which means you'll say "mi familia" (My family) or "la familia de Juan" (Juan's family). This is your starting point for talking about relatives in Spanish.

Here's the thing about Spanish family vocabulary: gender matters. Every family member term has a masculine and feminine form, and you need to match the word to the person you're describing. A brother is "hermano" but a sister is "hermana." Your grandfather is "abuelo" while your grandmother is "abuela." This pattern shows up everywhere, so getting comfortable with it early saves you headaches later.

Spanish speakers also distinguish between formal and informal terms pretty consistently. You'll hear both "madre" and "mamá" for mother, or "padre" and "papá" for father. The shorter versions (mamá, papá) are what you'd actually use in conversation most of the time, kind of like how English speakers say "mom" and "dad" more than "mother" and "father."

Immediate family members in Spanish

Let's start with the core family members you'll reference most often. These are the people in your immediate household or closest relatives.

Parents are "padres" (Plural), but individually your father is "padre" or "papá" and your mother is "madre" or "mamá." When talking about them in conversation, you'd typically say "mi papá" or "mi mamá" unless you're in a formal context.

For siblings, a brother is "hermano" and a sister is "hermana." The plural "hermanos" can mean brothers specifically, or it can refer to siblings in general (Brothers and sisters together). Spanish uses masculine plural forms when talking about mixed-gender groups, which trips up a lot of learners at first.

Children vocabulary works similarly. A son is "hijo" and a daughter is "hija." The plural "hijos" means sons, or children in general when you're talking about both sons and daughters together. You might hear someone say "Tengo tres hijos" (I have three children) even if they have both sons and daughters.

Your spouse is "esposo" (Husband) or "esposa" (Wife). Some regions prefer "marido" for husband, but "esposo" works everywhere. The word "pareja" means partner and works for any relationship regardless of marital status or gender.

Extended family vocabulary

Once you move beyond immediate family, the vocabulary expands pretty quickly. These are the relatives you might see at family gatherings or mention in conversation.

Grandparents are "abuelos" (Plural). Individually, grandfather is "abuelo" and grandmother is "abuela." The informal versions "abuelito" and "abuelita" are super common and add affection, kind of like "grandpa" and "grandma" in English. Great-grandparents add "bis" to the word: "bisabuelo" for great-grandfather and "bisabuela" for great-grandmother. Great-grandchildren work the same way: "bisnieto" and "bisnieta."

For aunts and uncles, your uncle is "tío" and your aunt is "tía." These terms get used pretty broadly in Spanish-speaking cultures. Sometimes close family friends get called "tío" or "tía" even without blood relation, especially when kids are addressing adults.

Cousins are "primos" (Masculine or mixed) or "primas" (All female). A male cousin is "primo" and a female cousin is "prima." Unlike English, Spanish doesn't distinguish between first cousins, second cousins, and so on in everyday speech. They're all just "primos."

Nieces and nephews follow the same gender pattern. A nephew is "sobrino" and a niece is "sobrina." The plural "sobrinos" covers nephews specifically or nieces and nephews together.

Family by marriage

When you get married, you acquire a whole new set of relatives, and Spanish has specific terms for all of them.

In-laws use "político" or "política" added to the family term, but more commonly, they have their own words. Your father-in-law is "suegro" and mother-in-law is "suegra." These are the terms you'll actually hear in conversation.

Brother-in-law is "cuñado" and sister-in-law is "cuñada." This applies whether they're your spouse's siblings or your sibling's spouses. The word covers both relationships.

Your son-in-law is "yerno" and daughter-in-law is "nuera." These terms are pretty straightforward and don't have the "político" addition that some other in-law terms might use in formal contexts.

Step-family and foster family terminology

Blended families are common everywhere, and Spanish has vocabulary to describe these relationships too.

Stepfather is "padrastro" and stepmother is "madrastra." The prefix "padr-" or "madr-" combined with "-astro/-astra" creates the step-relationship.

A stepson is "hijastro" and stepdaughter is "hijastra."

Stepbrothers and stepsisters are "hermanastro" and "hermanastra." Half-siblings (sharing one biological parent) can use the same terms, or sometimes people specify "medio hermano" or "media hermana" to clarify the half-sibling relationship.

Foster family vocabulary uses "adoptivo" or "acogida." A foster parent might be called "padre adoptivo" or "madre de acogida." An adopted child is "hijo adoptivo" or "hija adoptiva." The language around adoption and foster care can vary by country, so you might hear different terms depending on the region.

Godparents and godchildren

Godparent relationships carry significant cultural weight in many Spanish-speaking countries, way beyond just a ceremonial role.

A godfather is "padrino" and a godmother is "madrina." Together, godparents are "padrinos." These relationships often come with real responsibilities and close family ties, especially in Catholic traditions.

A godson is "ahijado" and goddaughter is "ahijada." The plural "ahijados" covers godsons or godchildren in general.

The relationship between the parents and godparents has its own special word: "compadre" (Between fathers or male relatives) and "comadre" (Between mothers or female relatives). This relationship is taken seriously and creates a lasting bond between families.

Using family vocabulary in sentences

Knowing the words is one thing, but you need to practice using them in actual sentences. The verb "ser" (To be) shows up constantly when describing family relationships.

Basic sentence structure goes like this: "Mi hermano es alto" (My brother is tall). You're stating a characteristic about a family member using "ser."

When introducing family members, you'd say something like "Ella es mi madre" (She is my mother) or "Él es mi tío" (He is my uncle). The verb "ser" connects the person to their family role.

To ask about someone's family, you might say "¿Cómo se llama tu padre?" (What is your father's name?) or "¿Tienes hermanos?" (Do you have siblings?). The verb "tener" (To have) is useful for talking about how many family members you have.

Describing relationships gets more complex: "Juan es el esposo de mi hermana" (Juan is my sister's husband) or "Ella es la abuela de mis hijos" (She is my children's grandmother). You're connecting multiple family members through possessive phrases.

Informal and colloquial variants

Spanish speakers use tons of diminutives and informal versions of family terms, especially when talking to or about family members affectionately.

Adding "-ito" or "-ita" to family words creates a more affectionate or diminutive form. "Abuelito" and "abuelita" for grandparents, "hermanito" and "hermanita" for younger siblings, "hijito" and "hijita" for children. These endings add warmth and familiarity to the terms.

Some regions have their own slang or variations. In some places, you might hear "viejo" or "vieja" (Literally "old man" or "old woman") used affectionately for parents, though this can sound disrespectful if you're not from that culture. Context matters a lot.

"Mami" and "papi" are even more informal than "mamá" and "papá," often used by young children or in romantic relationships (where they can mean something different entirely).

The word "pariente" means relative in general, useful when you want to talk about family members without specifying exactly who: "Voy a visitar a unos parientes" (I'm going to visit some relatives).

Common mistakes to watch out for

Practice activities and learning strategies

Looking for family Spanish vocabulary activities?

Anyway, if you want to practice this vocabulary with real Spanish content, Migaku's browser extension and app let you look up words instantly while watching shows or reading articles. You'll spot family terms constantly in actual Spanish media, and being able to click for instant definitions makes the learning stick better. There's a 10-day free trial if you want to check it out.

Any fun activities to practice the list of family members?

If you're not interested in making your own family tree, try making one for dramas or novels you're interested in! Imagine the complicated family relationship in the novel One Hundred Years of Solitude. Yeah, I made a family tree of that to understand the relationships throughout generations in that novel. It's both helpful and immersive for my understanding of the theme of the book. For learning a language is simple:

Success is the sum of small efforts!👑