Names of Family Members in Spanish

Names of Family Members in Spanish Who are the members of your family, how many are there, and what do they do? These are among the first questions you may be asked when you meet and first become acquainted with a native Spanish speaker. Depending on your age, you may be asked about your parents and what they do for a living, or you may be asked if you are married or have any children. Learn the words on this page as well as a few words to describe your family members, then bring a photo along, and even if youre a beginner and know only simple grammar, you can engage in conversation. Gender and Family Members Keep in mind that masculine plurals in Spanish can refer to mixed groups of males and females. Thus cuatro hijos can mean either four sons or four children, depending on the context. And while it may sound strange to the ear attuned to English, padres is a grammatically correct way to refer to both a mother and father, even though padre alone refers to a father. Also, note that the word pariente means relative in general; the Spanish-English cognate  doesnt refer only to parents. Vocabulary of the Family Following are the names for the most common relatives and some of the uncommon ones: padre: fathermadre: motherhermano: brotherhermana: sistersuegro: father-in-lawsuegra: mother-in-lawcuà ±ado: brother-in-lawcuà ±ada: sister-in-lawesposo, marido: husbandesposa, mujer: wifeabuelo: grandfatherabuela: grandmotherbisabuelo: great-grandfatherbisabuela: great-grandmothertatarabuelo: great-great-grandfathertatarabuela: great-great-grandmotherhijo: sonhija: daughternieto: grandsonnieta: granddaughterbisnieto: great-grandsonbisnieta: great-granddaughtertataranieto: great-great-grandsontataranieta: great-great-granddaughtertà ­o: uncletà ­a: aunttà ­o abuelo: great-uncletà ­a abuela: great-auntprimo: cousin (male)prima: cousin (female)primo carnal, prima carnal, primo hermano, prima hermana: first cousinprimo segundo, prima segunda: second cousinsobrino: nephewsobrina: niecepadrastro: stepfathermadrastra: stepmotherhijastro: stepsonhijastra: stepdaughterhermanastro: stepbrotherhermanastra: stepsistermedio hermano, hermano de padre, hermano de madre: half brothermedia her mana, hermana de padre, hermana de madre: half sister concuà ±ado: husband of ones spouses sisterconcuà ±ada: wife of ones spouses brotherconsuegro: father-in-law of ones son or daughterconsuegra: mother-in-law of ones son or daughterprometido, novio: fiance, boyfriend, groomprometida, novia: fiancà ©e, girlfriend, bridecompaà ±ero: male partner in a couple relationshipcompaà ±era: female partner in a couple relationshippadrino: godfathermadrina: godmotherahijado: godsonahijada: goddaughteramigo: friend (male)amiga: friend (female)conocido: acquaintance (male)conocida: acquaintance (female) Miscellaneous Family Terms La familia polà ­tica  or los polà ­ticos may be used as the equivalent of the in-laws. In other words, the terms refer to people to whom one is related by marriage. (In a different context, polà ­ticos can also refer to politicians.) The term amigovio or amigovia can be used colloquially in some areas to a person with whom a person has a romantic or sexual relationship that hasnt necessarily been formalized, such as a friend with benefits or a live-in lover where there isnt necessarily an expectation of marriage. This is a word of fairly recent origin, so its meaning isnt uniform in all areas. Note that while marido refers to a husband, there is no corresponding feminine form, marida, in standard use. Sample Sentences Referring to Family Members Here are some simple sample sentences you can use as models for your own: Mi padre es carpintero. (My father is a carpenter.)Mi tà ­a es dentista.(My aunt is a dentist.)Mi madre es ama de casa. (My mother is a housewife.)Tengo dos hermanos y una hermana. (I have two brothers and a sister.)Tengo cuatro hermanos. (This sentence can be seen as ambiguous by English speakers. It can be correctly translated as either I have four brothers or I have four siblings.)Tengo nueve tà ­os. (I have nine aunts and uncles or I have nine uncles.:)Mi madrastra vive en el estado de Nueva York. (My stepmother lives in New York state.)Mis sobrinas viven en Chicago. (My nieces live in Chicago.)Mi padre est muerto. (My father is dead.)Mi prima est muerta. (My female cousin is dead.)Mi madre est viva. (My mother is alive.)Otto y Edith Frank fueron los padres de Ana Frank. (Otto and Edith  Frank were the parents of Anne Frank.)Los primos no pueden casarse segà ºn nuestra cultura. (Cousins cannot marry accoridng to our culture.)Los suegras siempre tienen mala reputacià ³n. (Mo thers-in-law always have a bad reputation.)