Relationships and Family

Family and relationships are central to how we define ourselves, and Spanish gives you a rich vocabulary to talk about them. Core family terms include la madre (mother), el padre (father), los padres (parents), el hermano/la hermana (brother/sister), el hijo/la hija (son/daughter), el abuelo/la abuela (grandfather/grandmother), el tío/la tía (uncle/aunt), el primo/la prima (cousin), and el sobrino/la sobrina (nephew/niece). Notice a useful pattern: the masculine plural covers a mixed group. Los hermanos can mean "the brothers" or "the siblings" (brothers and sisters together), and los abuelos means "the grandparents."

Beyond blood relatives, modern families take many forms. Learn el padrastro/la madrastra (stepfather/stepmother), el medio hermano (half-brother), los gemelos (twins), el mar