Language/German/Vocabulary/Family-Members

German Vocabulary → Family and Friends → Family Members

As a German language teacher for over 20 years, I find that one of the most interesting topics to teach is vocabulary related to family and friends. Being able to talk about loved ones is important for personal connections and building relationships with native speakers. In this lesson of our "Complete 0 to A1 German Course", we will cover family members vocabulary.

Basic Family Member Vocabulary

Here are some common German words for family members and their English translations:

German	Pronunciation	English
Familie	faˈmiːli̯ə	Family
Vater	ˈfaːtɐ	Father
Mutter	ˈmʊtɐ	Mother
Sohn	zoːn	Son
Tochter	ˈtɔxtɐ	Daughter
Bruder	ˈbʁuːdɐ	Brother
Schwester	ˈʃvɛstɐ	Sister
Opa	ˈoːpa	Grandfather
Oma	ˈoːma	Grandmother
Enkel	ˈɛŋkəl	Grandson
Enkelin	ˈɛŋkəliːn	Granddaughter
Onkel	ˈʔɔŋkəl	Uncle
Tante	ˈtantə	Aunt
Cousin	ˈkuːzɪn	Cousin
Cousine	ˌkuːziˈnə	Cousin (female)

Family Questions and Answers

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

"Wie ist deine / Ihre Familie?" (What is your family like?)

To answer, you can provide information about the family member or members you want to talk about. For example:

"Mein Vater heißt Max. Meine Mutter heißt Anna. Ich habe einen Bruder und eine Schwester." (My father's name is Max. My mother's name is Anna. I have a brother and a sister.)

Possessive Adjectives with Family Members

To talk about your family members, you will need to know the possessive adjectives in German. Here are the possessive adjectives that correspond to each family member:

German	Pronunciation	English
mein	maɪn	My
dein	daɪn	Your (informal)
Ihr	iːɐ	Your (formal)
sein	zaɪn	His
ihr	iːɐ	Her
unser	ˈʊnzɐ	Our
euer	ˈɔʏɐ	Your (informal, plural)
Ihr	iːɐ	Your (formal, plural)

You can use these possessive adjectives with your family members to create sentences like "Mein Vater arbeitet" (My father works) or "Ihre Schwester ist Ärztin" (Your sister is a doctor).

German Family Naming Conventions

In Germany, it is customary to use only the last name of a person when addressing them or referring to them in formal situations. For example, if someone's name is Oliver Müller, they might be addressed as Herr Müller (Mr. Müller).

However, it is common to use first names with family and friends in informal situations. You might address your German friend's mother as "Frau Schmidt" in a formal setting, but as "Annette" when you are casually chatting over coffee.

Conclusion

In this lesson, you have learned basic German family member vocabulary, possessive adjectives, and family naming conventions. To practice your new skills, try asking your friends and family members about their loved ones in German. It will be a great way to build your skills and connect with your German-speaking loved ones!

Sources

• Wikipedia: German Pronouns and Grammar
• German Naming Conventions

Table of Contents - German Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

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Basic Sentence Structures

• Subject and Verb
• Noun and Gender

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Greetings and Introduction

• Greetings and Goodbyes
• Introducing Yourself

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Definite and Indefinite Articles

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

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Numbers, Dates and Time

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

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Verbs and Conjugation

• Verb Forms
• Present Tense
• Separable Verbs

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Family and Friends

• Family Members
• Talking About Your Friends

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Prepositions

• Using Prepositions
• Two-Way Prepositions

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Food and Drinks

• Food and Meals
• Drinks and Beverages

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Germany and German-Speaking Countries

• Geography and Landmarks
• Cuisine and Traditions

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Pronouns and Possessives

• Personal Pronouns
• Possessive Pronouns

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Travel and Transportation

• Booking a Trip
• Public Transportation

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Modal Verbs

• Expressing Abilities
• Talking About Obligations

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Shopping and Clothes

• Shopping for Clothes
• Buying Groceries

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Music and Entertainment

• Popular Musicians and Genres
• Movies, TV and Literature

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Adjectives

• Descriptive Adjectives
• Comparative and Superlative Forms

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Health and Body

• Talking About Health
• Body Parts

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Time and Temporal Prepositions

• Using Time Expressions
• Temporal Prepositions

Related Lessons

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