Skip to main content
UploadLanguage (EN)Support
BusinessMobileSocial MediaMarketingTechnologyArt & PhotosCareerDesignEducationPresentations & Public SpeakingGovernment & NonprofitHealthcareInternetLawLeadership & ManagementAutomotiveEngineeringSoftwareRecruiting & HRRetailSalesServicesScienceSmall Business & EntrepreneurshipFoodEnvironmentEconomy & FinanceData & AnalyticsInvestor RelationsSportsSpiritualNews & PoliticsTravelSelf ImprovementReal EstateEntertainment & HumorHealth & MedicineDevices & HardwareLifestyle
Joyce Wilches, profile picture
Uploaded byJoyce Wilches
PPTX, PDF2,183 views

Family Members

The document defines and provides additional terms for various family members in English. It discusses nuclear family members like mother, father, children, son, daughter, siblings, brother and sister. It also covers extended family such as grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins, nieces/nephews. Terms related to marriage and partnerships are explained like husband, wife, partner, girlfriend/boyfriend. Related terms involving step and half relatives as well as in-laws are also defined. The document provides a comprehensive overview of vocabulary for describing family relationships in English.

Education◦
Downloaded 17 times
Family Members
Taken from:https://portalacademico.cch.unam.mx/ingles1/people-i-love/family-members You already know some family relationship names in English: mother, father, brother, sister …
But, there is more. Read the information about family members. Nuclear Family Your nuclear family is your immediate family. Usually, it’s the family who lives together in one house and typically consists of a mother, father and their children. But as you’ll see, it can get a little more complicated. Taken and adapted from: https://www.clarkandmiller.com/family-vocabulary-family-members-in-english/
Children Other words for “children” Kids — This is a more informal and more common word. Offspring — This one is very technical. It’s the sort of word biologists use when they’re talking about cows or rabbits.
Son Other words for “son” If a parent has more than one son, they often refer to them collectively as “my boys.” “Don’t worry about me. My boys will look after me.”
Daughter
Other words for “daughter” You can also talk about “my girls” if you have more than one daughter. “Have you met my girls? They’re all studying finance. Apart from Celine. She’s working on a time machine these days.”
Siblings
Siblings… Wait! What does it mean? A sibling is either a brother or sister. So perhaps you have three brothers and eight sisters.
Brother
Other words for “brother” Another word for “brother” is “bro.” It’s a nice, friendly word, and it shows that you’re close to your brother. You can also use it with very close male friends to express closeness to them. It’s pretty informal and might make you sound a bit like a Californian surfer, but it’s friendly and fairly common. “Hey bro! You going to Jasmine’s party tonight?” If your brother was born on the same day as you (to the same mother), he’s your twin brother.
Sister Other words for “sister” We can shorten “sister” to just “sis.” “Hi, sis! How’s it going?” If your sister was born on the same day as you (to the same mother), she’s your twin sister.
Parents Other words for “parents” Another word for “parents” is “folks.” “I’m visiting my folks this weekend.”
Mother
Other words for “mother” Mum — This is quite informal and quite common. It’s the word I use when I talk about my mum, even if I’m talking to people I don’t know that well. Mummy — This one is kind of childish and probably best used between a child and her mother. If you’re still using this at the age of 29, some people might consider it a little unusual. Mom — This is very common in the US but not in the UK or Ireland or Australia … or anywhere else really. But there are a lot of Americans out there, so you might hear this from time to time.
Father
Other words for “father” Dad — This one is like “mum.” It’s very common and is what most people in my family use. Pop — This is only really used in the US. It’s got a nice sound to it, though, hasn’t it? Pa / papa — A little old fashioned these days, but you still might hear this from time to time. My old man — Some people refer to their father as “my old man.”
Husband Wife
Other words for “husband” Hubby — A nice, informal way of talking about your husband.
Partner Wait — what exactly does it mean? When people talk about their partner, it could be a husband or a wife. But often it signals that these people aren’t married (or sometimes that they don’t feel the gender of their partner is important for the conversation). Basically, we use it to mean “that person you love and have a relationship with.”
Other words for “partner” A lot of these are quite romantic … My other half — Nice, isn’t it? My better half — Even better! I like using this one. My significant other — See! Still romantic! Even a little poetic! (Remember that with the three phrases above, we just say, e.g., “my significant other” or “my better half.” We don’t usually say, “I have a better half.”)
Girlfriend / boyfriend — A few generations ago, if you said you had a girlfriend or a boyfriend, people wouldn’t think your relationship was that serious. These days, that’s not the case as much. If you’re in a serious relationship, and you’re not married, then you can use these words. Fiancée / fiancé — The person you’ve promised to marry. There’s probably a ring involved. Notice that this is one of the very unusual situations in English where we have a different spelling for females (fiancée) and males (fiancé). Spouse — This means husband or wife. It rhymes with “mouse.”
Stepfather / Stepmother / Stepdaughter / Stepson
Wait — what exactly does it mean? Let’s think about the nice family in the picture. Zerin is divorced and has a child, Filiz, from her first marriage. She’s now married to Alexey, who also has a child from a previous marriage — Val. So we have a household with four people living in it: Zerin and her daughter, Filiz; and Alexey and his son, Val. How do we describe their relationships? Zerin is Val’s stepmother, and Val is Zerin’s stepson. Meanwhile, Alexey is Filiz’s stepfather, and Filiz is Alexey’s stepdaughter.
Half-brother / half-sister
Extended Family Uncle/ Aunt Other words for “aunt” We can also say “auntie.” It’s closer and less formal.
Cousin Wait — what exactly does it mean? Your cousin is your uncle and aunt’s child. In some languages, there are different words depending on which side of the family your cousin is, or whether your cousin is male or female. Again, this is where English is pretty efficient. We use one word for all of them!They are all cousins! Other words for “cousin” If you want to be more casual and informal, you can say “cuz.” “Ben? Oh, he’s my cuz.”
Niece / Nephew
Grandfather/Grandmother
Other words for “grandfather” Granddad — A little more common and less formal Grandpa — Similar to granddad. The choice is yours! Other words for “grandmother” Gran — A less formal way of saying “grandmother.” Granny — So cosy, friendly and loving! Grandma — Similar to “granny.” Nanna — This is only common in some parts of the English-speaking world. You’ll hear it in northern England and Northeast US. But be careful! In some countries, “nanna” can mean “godmother” (more about that later) and even “nanny,” which actually makes more sense, but is less common.
Godfather / godmother / godson / goddaughter This originally started as a religious thing but is much more general now. Traditionally, when a child was born, the parents chose a godfather and a godmother for the child. They would be responsible for the child’s religious education. But these days, godfathers and godmothers are just symbolic. However, many kids don’t have godfathers or godmothers at all anymore.
The in-laws Wait — what exactly does it mean? If you want to talk about your wife’s or husband’s family, just add “in-law.” So your wife’s sister? She’s your sister-in-law. Your husband’s mum? She’s your mother-in-law. You can take this to any extreme. So your wife’s cousin is your cousin-in-law. We also have a phrase, “the in-laws,” to describe any or all of your husband’s or wife’s family as a group. Perhaps it’s just the parents: “The in-laws have invited us for dinner.” Or the whole family. “That was a big wedding. I met all of the in-laws.”
Other Words for Talking About Family Family This is actually quite a general term. It can refer to someone in your nuclear family / immediate family (like your sister or your dad) or your more distant family (like your fourth cousin twice removed — whoever that is). When we talk about distant family, we can also use the phrase “extended family.” Other words for “family” The fam — It’s a shorter, more informal way of talking about your family.
Relatives “Relatives” is also a general term (like “family”). There are close relatives — like sisters, aunts or cousins — and distant relatives — your great-great-uncle or your third cousin once removed, for example. Other words for “relatives” Rellies — A shorter, less formal word for “relatives.” Ancestors When we talk about our ancestors, we’re usually talking about our family in a more historical way. Imagine the people living 100 or 200 (or 1,000 or 10,000) years ago. People who you’re related to but you just don’t really know about. The word “family” has a lot of emotional meaning behind it. The word “ancestor” is more objective. “My ancestors came from eastern Siberia and finally settled in southern Europe in the mid 16th century.” Descendant This is very similar to “ancestor.” It’s used in a more historical, objective way. What’s the difference between a descendant and an ancestor? Well, an ancestor is someone who lived before, but a descendant is someone who lived after. “I want my descendants to remember my work and keep my name!” We can also use the passive phrase “descended from” to describe where someone’s family came from: “Did you know that your mother’s side of the family is descended from pirates! Pretty cool, huh?”
Taken and adapted from: https://www.clarkandmiller.com/family-vocabulary-family-members-in-english/