Close family
Each word has a gender (masculine, feminine or neuter), which decides the form of words around it, such as “my”. For family words it simply matches the person: брат is masculine, сестра́ feminine. Where Russian has an everyday word and a more formal one, both are shown. Tap any row to hear it.
| Russian | Say it | English | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| ма́ма / мать ▸ | MA-ma / mat’ | mum / mother | ма́ма in everyday speech; мать is formal or written. |
| па́па / оте́ц ▸ | PA-pa / a-TYETS | dad / father | па́па is masculine despite ending in -а. |
| роди́тели ▸ | ra-DEE-ti-li | parents | Always plural. |
| сын ▸ | syn | son | Plural сыновья́ (sy-nav’-YA). |
| дочь ▸ | doch | daughter | Everyday: до́чка (DOCH-ka). |
| брат ▸ | brat | brother | Plural бра́тья (BRAT’-ya). |
| сестра́ ▸ | sist-RA | sister | Plural сёстры (SYOST-ry). |
| де́душка ▸ | DYE-dush-ka | grandfather | Masculine despite -а: мой де́душка. |
| ба́бушка ▸ | BA-bush-ka | grandmother | Also the general word for any old woman. |
| внук / вну́чка ▸ | vnook / VNUCH-ka | grandson / granddaughter | Together: вну́ки, grandchildren. |
| муж ▸ | moosh | husband | Final ж sounds like ш. |
| жена́ ▸ | zhi-NA | wife | Plural жёны (ZHO-ny). |
| ребёнок / де́ти ▸ | ri-BYO-nak / DYE-ti | child / children | Completely different word in the plural. |
| семья́ ▸ | sim’-YA | family | Мы больша́я семья́ (my bal’-SHA-ya sim’-YA; Мы = we, больша́я = big, семья́ = family): we’re a big family. |
Four family words that bend in unusual ways
Russian nouns change their endings to show their role in a sentence; each pattern is a case. Most family words follow the normal patterns, but a handful of the most common ones are irregular. These are worth learning as a set.
Uncles, aunts, cousins and grandchildren
Russian has no single word for “cousin”. It uses брат or сестра́ with the adjective двою́родный (literally “of the second birth”), so a cousin is a “second-birth brother” or “second-birth sister”. A second cousin is трою́родный, “third-birth”.
In-laws: it depends whose side you’re on
English says “mother-in-law” for both. Russian has one word for the wife’s mother, as the husband sees her, and another for the husband’s mother, as the wife sees her. Russian jokes about the тёща are as old as the language.
Both families use the same words for the younger generation: зять (ZYAT’) is a son-in-law and also a sister’s husband; неве́стка (ni-VYEST-ka) is a daughter-in-law and also a brother’s wife. Your spouse’s parents call each other сва́ты (SVA-ty): the two sets of parents-in-law.
Talking about your family
Russian has no everyday verb for “to have”. Instead it says “at me there is”: У меня́ есть. With нет (there isn’t), the thing you lack goes into the genitive case, the form that means “of” or “none of”: сестра́ becomes сестры́.
Affectionate names: ма́мочка, бабу́ля, сестрёнка
Russians add small endings called diminutive suffixes (endings that make a word smaller or sweeter, like English “-ie” in “granny”) to almost every family word. They are used all the time inside the family and carry real warmth. See Word formation for how they work.
Relationships: from meeting to marriage
Russian has two different verbs for “to marry”. A man жени́тся на a woman (+ prepositional); a woman выхо́дит за́муж за a man (+ accusative), literally “goes out behind a husband”. A couple marrying each other say пожени́ться.
Test yourself
Say the Russian word out loud, then tap the card to check it and hear it.