Short answer: most family words come in pairs that differ by one letter (hermano / hermana), and the masculine plural covers a mixed group, so los padres means “parents”. Click anyone in the tree to hear their word and see it in a sentence.
Top: grandparents. Middle: parents, uncle and aunt. Bottom: you, your siblings and your cousin. Red names take la.
SelectedyoYOH · me
YoIsoyamelthemayor.oldest
yoh soy el mah-YOR“I’m the oldest.”A woman says soy la mayor; el / la menor is the youngest.
Plurals
He + she = they: mixed plurals
A plural is the form for more than one. When a group mixes men and women, Spanish uses the masculine plural, so the same word can mean “brothers” or “brothers and sisters”.
Beyond blood
In-laws and step-family
Spanish has no “-in-law” ending: each relation has its own word. Step-relations add -astro, which can sound cold, so many people say la pareja de mi madre, “my mother’s partner”, instead.
Your partner’s family
Your children’s partners
Step-family
Names
Why Spanish speakers have two surnames
Lucíafirst nameGarcíafrom her fatherMartínfrom her mother
Each parent passes on their first surname. Since 2017, Spanish parents can choose the order. Women keep their own surnames after marriage, and in daily life people often use just the first: la señora García.
Reading
Read it: Lucía introduces her family
A possessive shows who something belongs to: mi (my), mis before a plural, su (his, her, their). Tap any sentence to see it word by word.
Describing family members
Mi hermano es alto y tiene el pelo rizado
Use ser for what someone is like and tener for features: Spanish says “he has blue eyes”, “she has 30 years”. Adjectives agree with the person.
Mi hermanomy brotheresisalto.tall
mee er-MAH-noh es AL-toh · “My brother is tall.”
Mi madremy mothertienehaslos ojos azules.the eyes blue
mee MAH-dreh TYEH-neh lohs OH-hohs ah-THOO-les · “My mother has blue eyes.”
Mi abuelamy grandmothertienehasochenta años.eighty years
mee ah-BWEH-lah TYEH-neh oh-CHEN-tah AH-nyohs · “My grandmother is eighty.”
Mis primasmy cousinssonaresimpáticas.nice
mees PREE-mahs son seem-PAH-tee-kahs · “My cousins are nice.”
Mi padremy fathertienehasbarba.beard
mee PAH-dreh TYEH-neh BAR-bah · “My father has a beard.”
Se pareceresemblesa su madre.to his mother
seh pah-REH-theh ah soo MAH-dreh · “He looks like his mother.”
Family terms of endearment
Mamá, papi, abuelita, mi vida
Spanish families use affectionate forms all the time, often with the diminutive -ito / -ita. Tap one to hear it.