Language/German/Vocabulary/Family-Members

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German → Vocabulary → 0 to A1 Course → Family and Friends → Family Members

In this lesson, you will learn how to give and ask for information about family members in German. Family is an important aspect of German culture, and knowing the vocabulary related to family members will help you communicate and build relationships with native German speakers. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to confidently talk about your family and understand when others talk about theirs.

Immediate Family

Let's start by learning the vocabulary for immediate family members. These are the people who are most closely related to you.

Parents

In German, the word for father is "Vater" and the word for mother is "Mutter". Here is how you pronounce them:

German	Pronunciation	English
Vater	[ˈfaːtɐ]	father
Mutter	[ˈmʊtɐ]	mother

You can use these words to refer to your own parents or someone else's parents.

Siblings

In German, the word for brother is "Bruder" and the word for sister is "Schwester". Here is how you pronounce them:

German	Pronunciation	English
Bruder	[ˈbʁuːdɐ]	brother
Schwester	[ˈʃvɛstɐ]	sister

You can use these words to talk about your own siblings or someone else's siblings.

Children

In German, the word for son is "Sohn" and the word for daughter is "Tochter". Here is how you pronounce them:

German	Pronunciation	English
Sohn	[zoːn]	son
Tochter	[ˈtɔxtɐ]	daughter

You can use these words to talk about your own children or someone else's children.

Grandparents

In German, the word for grandfather is "Großvater" and the word for grandmother is "Großmutter". Here is how you pronounce them:

German	Pronunciation	English
Großvater	[ˈɡroːsˌfaːtɐ]	grandfather
Großmutter	[ˈɡroːsˌmʊtɐ]	grandmother

You can use these words to talk about your own grandparents or someone else's grandparents.

Extended Family

Now let's move on to the vocabulary for extended family members. These are the people who are related to you but not as closely as your immediate family.

Aunts and Uncles

In German, the word for aunt is "Tante" and the word for uncle is "Onkel". Here is how you pronounce them:

German	Pronunciation	English
Tante	[ˈtantə]	aunt
Onkel	[ˈɔŋkl̩]	uncle

You can use these words to talk about your own aunts and uncles or someone else's aunts and uncles.

Cousins

In German, the word for male cousin is "Cousin" and the word for female cousin is "Cousine". Here is how you pronounce them:

German	Pronunciation	English
Cousin	[kuˈziːn]	male cousin
Cousine	[kuˈziːnə]	female cousin

You can use these words to talk about your own cousins or someone else's cousins.

Nieces and Nephews

In German, the word for niece is "Nichte" and the word for nephew is "Neffe". Here is how you pronounce them:

German	Pronunciation	English
Nichte	[ˈnɪçtə]	niece
Neffe	[ˈnɛfə]	nephew

You can use these words to talk about your own nieces and nephews or someone else's nieces and nephews.

In-laws

In German, the word for father-in-law is "Schwiegervater" and the word for mother-in-law is "Schwiegermutter". Here is how you pronounce them:

German	Pronunciation	English
Schwiegervater	[ˈʃviːɡɐˌfaːtɐ]	father-in-law
Schwiegermutter	[ˈʃviːɡɐˌmʊtɐ]	mother-in-law

You can use these words to talk about your own in-laws or someone else's in-laws.

Asking and Answering Questions

Now that you know the vocabulary for family members, let's practice asking and answering questions about them.

Asking Questions

To ask someone about their family members, you can use the following question structure:

"Who is your [family member]?"

For example, to ask someone about their father, you can say:

"Who is your father?"

In German, this question would be:

"Wer ist dein Vater?"

You can replace "Vater" with any other family member to ask about someone's mother, brother, sister, etc.

Answering Questions

To answer questions about your family members, you can use the following structure:

"My [family member] is [name]."

For example, to talk about your sister, you can say:

"My sister is Anna."

In German, this sentence would be:

"Meine Schwester ist Anna."

You can replace "Schwester" with any other family member to talk about your mother, father, brother, etc.

To ask someone about their family members, you can use the same question structure:

"Who is your [family member]?"

For example, to ask someone about their father, you can say:

"Who is your father?"

In German, this question would be:

"Wer ist dein Vater?"

You can replace "Vater" with any other family member to ask about someone's mother, brother, sister, etc.

Now it's time to practice asking and answering questions about family members. Use the vocabulary you've learned to have conversations with your classmates or practice with a native German speaker.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have learned how to give and ask for information about family members in German. This knowledge will help you communicate and connect with native German speakers on a personal level. Keep practicing and using these vocabulary words in your conversations to reinforce your learning. In the next lesson, we will focus on talking about your friends, their personalities, and hobbies in German.

Table of Contents - German Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Basic Sentence Structures

• Subject and Verb
• Noun and Gender

  ---

Greetings and Introduction

• Greetings and Goodbyes
• Introducing Yourself

  ---

Definite and Indefinite Articles

• Gender and Articles
• Plural Forms
• Cases: Nominative and Accusative

  ---

Numbers, Dates and Time

• Numbers 1-100
• Days of the Week and Months
• Telling Time

  ---

Verbs and Conjugation

• Verb Forms
• Present Tense
• Separable Verbs

  ---

Family and Friends

• Family Members
• Talking About Your Friends

  ---

Prepositions

• Using Prepositions
• Two-Way Prepositions

  ---

Food and Drinks

• Food and Meals
• Drinks and Beverages

  ---

Germany and German-Speaking Countries

• Geography and Landmarks
• Cuisine and Traditions

  ---

Pronouns and Possessives

• Personal Pronouns
• Possessive Pronouns

  ---

Travel and Transportation

• Booking a Trip
• Public Transportation

  ---

Modal Verbs

• Expressing Abilities
• Talking About Obligations

  ---

Shopping and Clothes

• Shopping for Clothes
• Buying Groceries

  ---

Music and Entertainment

• Popular Musicians and Genres
• Movies, TV and Literature

  ---

Adjectives

• Descriptive Adjectives
• Comparative and Superlative Forms

  ---

Health and Body

• Talking About Health
• Body Parts

  ---

Time and Temporal Prepositions

• Using Time Expressions
• Temporal Prepositions

Sources

• German Family Vocabulary with Pronunciation - ielanguages.com
• Family members - Me - GCSE German Revision - BBC Bitesize
• Learn How to Talk About Your Family in German

Other Lessons

• Months of the Year
• Fruits
• English German False Cognates
• Family
• Introducing
• Food and Meals
• Animal
• longest word
• Numbers
• Idiomatic Expressions

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