Spanish Family Words: La Familia
Every core Spanish family member word, with the male and female forms side by side, plus how Spanish talks about a mixed-gender group of relatives.
Family vocabulary comes up early in almost any real Spanish conversation, and it’s a genuinely useful place to see gendered nouns in action, since most family words come in clear male/female pairs.
The List
- madre / mamá: mother / mom
- padre / papá: father / dad
- hermano: brother
- hermana: sister
- hijo: son
- hija: daughter
- abuelo: grandfather
- abuela: grandmother
- tío: uncle
- tía: aunt
- primo: cousin (male)
- prima: cousin (female)
- esposo: husband
- esposa: wife
- nieto: grandson
- nieta: granddaughter
Talking About a Mixed Group
When you’re referring to a group that includes both men and women, Spanish defaults to the masculine plural form. Mis hermanos can mean “my brothers” specifically, or “my siblings” if the group includes at least one brother; context usually makes it clear which. The same pattern applies to mis padres (my parents, literally “my fathers”) and mis abuelos (my grandparents, literally “my grandfathers”).
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