eng5-V4· Vocabulary· ~13 min

Family

Words for family members and relationships.

In this topic, you will learn English words for family members. You will practise the names of parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. You will also learn words like 'twins', 'only child', 'older', and 'younger' to describe family relationships.

Key terms

parentsmother and father together
grandparentsgrandmother and grandfather together
cousinthe child of your aunt or uncle
twinstwo children born at the same time to the same mother
only childa person with no brothers or sisters
siblinga brother or sister
Family Members: Male and Female
MaleFemale
fathermother
brothersister
grandfathergrandmother
uncleaunt
sondaughter

Common family words with their male and female forms.

Talking about your family
  1. 1Example 1: I have a big family. My parents are Ali and Aysel. I have one brother and two sisters.
  2. 2Example 2: My grandmother is 70 years old. She is my mother's mother. She is older than my grandfather.
🚫Common mistake

Do not confuse 'parents' (mother and father) with 'relatives' (all family members). Your parents are only your mother and father.

⚠️Caution

In English, 'cousin' is the same word for a boy cousin and a girl cousin. There is no different word for male and female cousins.

💡Note

The word 'baby' can be a boy or a girl. When you do not know, you can say 'it' for a baby.

Rules

  1. 1The word 'parents' means mother AND father together. 'Grandparents' means grandmother AND grandfather together.
  2. 2Your uncle is the brother of your mother or father. Your aunt is the sister of your mother or father.
  3. 3Your cousin is the child of your aunt or uncle — not your brother or sister.
  4. 4A son is a male child. A daughter is a female child.
  5. 5Twins are two children born at the same time. An only child has no brothers or sisters.
  6. 6Use 'older' and 'younger' to compare age: 'My brother is older than me.' / 'My sister is younger than me.'

Practice

10 easy · 10 medium · 10 hard

10 random questions per test