The German family unit is basically made up of parents and their children. From the parents, the extended family grows with a variety of people forming a small circle of the family. Let’s look at the German vocabulary that describes a typical family and its members. The family members vocabularies are tested in the Goethe A1 exam. (Also read: Geothe Zertifikat German A1 exam)
First, we’ll meet the oldest family members.
Older family members in German
The opa (grandpa) and oma (grandma) are more affectionate names.
| Deutsch | Englisch |
|---|---|
| die Urgroßeltern | great-grandparents |
| der Urgroßvater | great-grandfather |
| die Urgroßmutter | great-grandmother |
| die Großeltern | grandparents |
| der Großvater | grandfather |
| der Opa | grandpa |
| die Großmutter | grandmother |
| die Oma | grandma |
| der Schwiegervater | father-in-law |
| die Schwiegermutter | mother-in-law |
| der Senior | senior citizen (male) |
| die Seniorin | senior citizen (female) |
The word groß can be prefixed with other family members in German, who are more than a generation apart. For instance,
- der Großonkel (great-uncle)
- die Großtante (great-aunt)
- der Großneffe (great-nephew)
- die Großnichte (great-niece)
- der Großenkel (great-grandson)
- die Großenkelin (great-granddaughter)
Parents, partners, and relatives
Like opa and oma, the words such as vati, mutti, papa, and mama are more affectionate names.
| Deutsch | Englisch |
|---|---|
| die Eltern | parents |
| der Vater | father |
| die Mutter | mother |
| der Vati | daddy |
| die Mutti | mommy |
| die Papa | dad |
| die Mama | mom |
| der Ehemann (ä, -er) | Husband |
| die Ehefrau (-en) | Wife |
| die Verwandten | relatives |
| der Onkel | undle |
| die Tante | aunt |
| der Schwager | brother-in-law |
| die Schwägerin | sister-in-law |
| der Partner (-) | Partner / Significant Other (m) |
| die Partnerin (-nen) | Partner / Significant Other (f) |
| der Familienstand | Marital Status |
| ledig | Single |
| verheiratet | Married |
| geschieden | Divorced |
Children and family structure
The collective noun Gebrüder meaning brothers, is no longer used to talk about a group of brothers in general. But you find this noun in company names,
- Die Gebrüder Keller (The Keller Brothers)
| Deutsch | Englisch |
|---|---|
| das Kind | child |
| das Baby | baby |
| das Kleinkind (-er) | Toddler |
| der Teenager (-) | Teenager |
| der Erwachsene (-n) | Adult |
| der Sohn | Son |
| die Tochter | daughter |
| der Zwilling (-e) | Twin |
| die Geschwister | brothers and sisters, siblings |
| der Bruder | brother |
| die Schwester | Sister |
| der Schwiegersohn | son-in-law |
| die Schwiegertochter | daughter-in-law |
| der Enkel | grandson |
| die Enkelin | granddaughter |
| der Neffe | nephew |
| die Nichte | niece |
| der Vetter, der Cousin | cousin (male) |
| die Kusine, die Cousine | cousin (female) |
The adjectives for young and old are often used in the comparative or superlative to show the relationship of age between siblings or relatives:
- mein jüngerer Bruder (my younger brother)
- meine jüngste Schwester (my youngest sister)
- ihr älterer Onkel (her older uncle)
- ihre älteste Tante (her oldest aunt)