Immediate family members in Italian
la famiglia: the family
il padre: father
la madre: mother
il figlio: son
la figlia: daughter
il figlio: children – your son(s) and/or daughter(s)
il marito: husband
la moglie: wife
i genitori: parents
il fratello: brother
la sorella: sister
Children will often call their father papà (= dad) and their mother mamma (= mum/mom) .
The generic name for parents in Italian is i genitori. Don’t use i parenti which means relatives and not parents.
- I nostri genitori abitano a Milano. (My parents live in Spain)
- I nostri parenti abitano a Roma. (Our relatives live in Rome)
Essere figlio unico = To be an only child
sono figlio unico: I am only child (- use this if you are male)
sono figlia unica: I am only child (- use this if you are female)
When we add a possessive adjective (my, your, his… etc.) before the noun (in this case, the family member word), we also need to add a definite article (il, la = the) except when it refers to a single family member.
mio fratello: my brother
i miei fratelli: my brothers
mia sorella: my sister
le mie sorelle: my sisters
We will see more about possessive adjectives in another lesson.
Relatives and Extended Family in Spanish
il bisnonno: great grandfather
la bisnonna: great grandmother
i nonni: grandparents
il nonno: grandfather
la nonna: grandmother
i nipoti: grandchildren
il nipote: grandson
la nipote: granddaughter
pronipote: great grandson
pronipote: great granddaughter
Random Fact: I pronipoti (plural of pronipote) also means descendants. It is also the name given to the cartoon series “The Jetsons” by Hanna-Barbera
lo zio: tio
la zia: tia
i cugini: cousins
il cugino: cousin (male)
la cugina: cousin (female)
il nipote: nephew
la nipote: niece
The In-Laws in Spanish
The in-laws are the members of the family of your spouse (the person you are married to) or via a marriage in your family:
il suocero: father-in-law
la suocera: mother-in-law
i suoceri: parents-in-law
il genero: son-in-law
la nuora: daughter-in-law
il cognato: brother-in-law
la cognata: sister-in-law
The Family Mix
In some countries a person gets married more than once. These are the terms used to describe the “new” members of the family when someone gets remarried.
il patrigno: stepfather
la matrigna: stepmother
il figliastro: stepson
la figliastra: stepdaughter
il fratellastro: stepbrother
la sorellastra: stepsister
Family Members in Italian – Summary Chart
