Family Vocabulary Guide in English

Yazar

09/09/2025

Family Vocabulary Guide

Family is one of the easiest and nicest topics to talk about in English. We all have parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, or cousins, and it’s fun to share little details about them. In everyday conversation, people usually keep it simple and say things like ‘I’ve got a younger brother’ or ‘My grandma lives near us.’ Sometimes we even use short words like mom, dad, sis, bro, or even fam. Today, we’ll learn how to talk about our families in English in a natural, friendly way.

Immediate Family

Your immediate family is the people you live with every day.

Mother / Mom / Mum (UK) → My mom is a teacher.
Father / Dad → His dad is a doctor.
Parents → I live with my parents.
Brother / Sister → I have one sister and two brothers.
Son / Daughter → They have a son and a daughter.
Siblings (general word for brothers and sisters) → Do you have any siblings?

Extended Family

Your extended family includes relatives beyond your parents and siblings.

Grandmother / Grandma / Granny → My grandma bakes cookies.
Grandfather / Grandpa / Granddad → I love visiting my grandpa.
Uncle / Aunt → My uncle and aunt live in Ankara.
Cousin (gender-neutral) → My cousin is the same age as me.
Nephew / Niece → I have a nephew (my sister’s son) and a niece (my brother’s daughter).

Brothers and Sisters (Age order)

We often describe siblings by age.

Older brother / Older sister → I have an older sister.
Younger brother / Younger sister → My younger brother is 8 years old.
Eldest child → I am the eldest child in my family.
Youngest child → She is the youngest child in her family.
Middle child → He is the middle child between his siblings.

Other Types of Siblings

Half-brother / Half-sister → shares one parent with you.
Stepbrother / Stepsister → no blood relation, but from a parent’s new marriage.
Adoptive brother / Adoptive sister → legally adopted into the family.
Foster brother / Foster sister → lives temporarily with your family.
Twin brothers / Twin sisters → born at the same time.

By Marriage

When someone marries, they gain new family members called in-laws.

Husband / Wife → Her husband is an engineer.
Spouse (formal word for husband/wife).
Mother-in-law / Father-in-law
Brother-in-law / Sister-in-law
Son-in-law / Daughter-in-law

Other Useful Words

Relative → any family member.
Ancestor → family member from the past generations.
Descendant → future generations of a family.
Only child → a child with no siblings.

Marital Status

We also use family words to describe people’s relationship status.

Single → not married.
Engaged → officially promised to marry.
Married → has a husband or wife.
Separated → still married legally, but living apart.
Divorced → marriage legally ended.
Widow (woman) / Widower (man) → husband or wife has died

Parenting Status

Childless → no children (by choice or not).
Parent → general word (mother or father).
Single parent → raising a child without a partner.

Common Phrases

My older sister is married, and she has two kids.”
“I’m the eldest child, but my younger brother is still in school.”
“She has a half-brother from her dad’s first marriage.”
“His marital status is divorced.”
“Her aunt is a widow, and she lives with her niece.”
“They are childless, but they adopted a son.”

Talking About My Family

Hello, everyone. My name is Ege and I live in İzmir with my parents, my older sister, and my younger brother. My father is an engineer, and my mother is a teacher. We are three siblings in my family. My sister is in high school, and my brother is only eight years old. My grandparents also live in İzmir, not far from our house, so we visit them almost every weekend. I have two cousins, and we usually meet in the park near our home to play football together. In the summer, my family likes going to the seaside in Çeşme, and we have a whale of a time swimming and eating ice cream. Our family is not very big, but we are very close and we spend a lot of time together. This is my family, and I’m very happy to share it with you.

Talking About Family in Casual English

Talking about Parents

Use mom/dad instead of “mother/father.”
“My mom works at a hospital.”
“My dad is retired now.”
“Both my parents are teachers.”

“Mother/father” = formal (documents, official speech).

Talking about Siblings

Use older/younger naturally.
“I’ve got an older brother and a younger sister.”
“I’m the youngest in my family.”
“We’re three kids in total.” (better than “we are three siblings”).

“I’ve got” is super common in spoken English: “I’ve got a brother.”

Talking about Extended Family

Use short/friendly forms: grandma, grandpa, uncle, aunt, cousins.
“My grandma lives with us.”
“I’ve got a couple of cousins around my age.”
“My uncle has three kids.”

Talking about Family Activities

Casual talk often includes what families do together.

“We usually have Sunday lunch together.”
“My family likes going to the beach in summer.”
“I spend a lot of time with my cousins at the weekends.”

Casual Questions About Family

“Do you come from a big family?”
“Any brothers or sisters?”
“Are you the oldest or the youngest?”
“Do you see your relatives often?”
“Who are you closest to in your family?”
“Do you and your siblings look alike?”

Casual/Slang Words for Family

Bro → brother (friendly even for friends)
- “Hey, bro, what’s up?”
Sis → sister (or close female friend)
- “She’s like a sis to me.”
Folks → parents (casual but polite)
- “I’m visiting my folks this weekend.”
Fam → family OR close friends who feel like family
- “BBQ with the fam tonight.” ( BBQ=barbecue.)
- “You’re part of the fam now.”