Family Vocabulary
Family is a social unit of two or more persons related by blood, marriage, or adoption and having a shared commitment to the mutual relationship. You will be asked to tell about your family very often, and these are the times you have to use the specific relationship that you share with a particular person.
IMMEDIATE FAMILY
– There are two main ways to determine immediate and other family members. They are:
Relation by blood: This means they share the same lineage or parent, such as in the case of siblings, children or grandchildren.
Relation by marriage: This means they share a common bond through the marriage of one member of each family, such as with in-laws or stepchildren.
- PARENT If you have children, you are their parent.
- FATHER
- Father is the male parent
- MOTHER
- Mother is the female parent
- SON
- The male child
- DAUGHTER
- The female child
- BROTHER
- The male who has the same parents as yours
- SISTER
- The female who has the same parents as yours
- HUSBAND
- If you get married, the man is the husband.
- WIFE
- If you get married, the woman is the wife.
Siblings is a collective term for brothers and sisters.
RELATIVES
- GRANDPARENTS
- The parents of your parents
- GRAND FATHER
- The father of your mother or father
- GRAND MOTHER
- The mother of your father or mother
- GRAND CHILDREN
- The children of your children
- GRAND SON
- The son of your son or daughter
- GRAND DAUGHTER
- The daughter of your son or daughter
- UNCLE
- The brother of your mother or father
- AUNT
- The sister of your mother or father
- COUSIN
- The child of your uncle or aunt
- NEPHEW
- The male child of your brother or sister
- NIECE
- The female child of your brother or sister
THE IN-LAWS
- FATHER-IN-LAW
- Father of your spouse
- MOTHER-IN-LAW
- Mother of your spouse
- SON-IN-LAW
- The husband of your daughter
- DAUGHTER-IN-LAW
- The wife of your son
- BROTHER-IN-LAW
- The husband of your sister
- SISTER-IN-LAW
- The wife of your brother
THE MIXED FAMILY
Step means that you are related to the person because of one parent marrying
- STEP-FATHER
- The husband of your mother, but not your biological father
- STEP-MOTHER
- The wife of your father, but not your biological mother.
- STEP-SON
- The son of your new wife or husband, but not your biological son.
- STEP-DAUGTHER
- The daughter of your new wife or husband, but not your biological daughter.
- STEP SISTER
- The daughter of your step mother/ father.
- STEP BROTHER
- The sister of your step mother/father.
- HALF BROTHER
- The brother you have only one parent in common
- HALF SISTER
- The sister you have only one parent in common