Are you visiting a friend in Germany? Have you met a special German someone and they’re introducing you to their family? In either case, that’s exciting, and knowing the German vocabulary for family members will make you stand out.
Thankfully as you’ll see, the German family words sound an awful lot like their English counterparts. This will make the vocabulary easier to remember if you need to introduce your family members, such as a husband or wife, parent, child, or sibling. All right, let’s get going and learn these all-important German words!
German Family Culture
In Germany, family bonds are strong. Virtually everyone you meet will insinuate how fundamentally important family is to them. There is, however, a distinction between immediate and extended relations. Direct relatives tend to have much stronger bonds and support compared to relatives by marriage.
When you meet someone’s family members, you’ll want to start off by introducing yourself in German. Be sure to include the person’s name (if you know it) or address them with something like, it’s lovely to finally meet so and so’s mother.
Family Structure In Germany
Within Germany, the nuclear family remains the most statistically common family structure. However, Germans are also excepting same-sex couples and same-sex families living together.
German people are also rather self-sufficing and independent, so you won’t find entire generations of families living under one roof as you would in some other cultures. Grandparents or elderly parents tend to live on their own.
How To Describe Family In German
In the German culture, there is only one term for family, and it’s the die Familie (the family). See how similar that is to English? Quite a few of the words will sound familiar. For those that look tricky to pronounce, click the blue button to hear the correct pronunciation.
Immediate Family Vocabulary In German
| English | German | Pronunciation |
| The brother | der Bruder | |
| The child | das Kind | |
| The child | die Kinder | |
| The children | die Geschwister | |
| The daughter | die Tochter | |
| The father | der Vater | |
| The grandchildren | die Enkelkinder | |
| The granddaughter | die Enkelin | |
| The grandma | die Oma | |
| The grandpa | der Opa | |
| The grandson | der Enkel | |
| The half-brother | der Halbbruder | |
| The half-sister | die Halbschwester | |
| The husband | der Ehemann | |
| The mother | die Mutter | |
| The parents | die Eltern | |
| The siblings | die Geschwister | |
| The sister | die Schwester | |
| The son | der Sohn |
Extended Family Members In German Vocabulary
| English | German | Pronunciation |
| Great-grandfather | der Urgroßvater | |
| Great-grandmother | die tolle Großmutter | |
| Uncle | der Onkel | |
| Aunt | die Tante | |
| Cousin (male) | der Cousin | |
| Nephew | der Neffe | |
| Cousin (female) | die Cousine | |
| Niece | die nichte |
German Vocabulary For In-laws
| English | German | Pronunciation |
| The in-laws | die Schwiegereltern | |
| Father-in-law | der Schwiegervater | |
| Mother-in-law | die Schwiegermutter | |
| Son-in-law | der Schwiegersohn | |
| Daughter-in-law | die Schwiegertochter | |
| Sister-in-law | die Schwägerin | |
| Brother-in-law | der Schwager |
German Vocabulary For Step-Family Members
| English | German | Pronunciation |
| Stepfather | der Stiefvater | |
| Stepmother | die Stiefmutter | |
| Stepbrother | der Stiefbruder | |
| Stepsister | die Stiefschwester | |
| Half brother | der Halbbruder | |
| Half sister | die Halbschwester |
Other Family-Related Vocabulary In German
| English | German | Pronunciation |
| Widower | der Witwer | |
| Widow | die Witwe | |
| Single | Single | |
| Married | verheiratet | |
| Divorced | geschieden | |
| Separated | getrennt |
Questions To Ask People About Their Family In German
You may find it useful or polite to ask someone about their family. Remember to only really attempt this with people you know. To inquire about these questions with complete strangers would be considered odd in German culture and off-putting.
| English | German | Pronunciation |
| Are you married? | Bist du verheiratet? | |
| How long have you been married? | Wie lange bist du verheiratet? | |
| Are you single? | Sind Sie single? | |
| Do you have children? | Hast du Kinder? | |
| Do you have siblings? | haben sie geschwister | |
| Where are your relatives from? | Woher kommen Ihre Verwandten? | |
| Where are your parents from? | Woher kommen deine Eltern? |
Family-Related Questions To Ask Locals
| English Question | German Question | Pronunciation | English Response | German Response | Pronunciation |
| Do you have children? | Hast du Kinder? |
We have 3 children | wir haben drei kinde | ||
| Are you related? | Bist du verwandt? |
We are not related | wir sind nicht verwandt | ||
| Who is your mother? | Wer ist deine Mutter? | This is my mother | Das ist meine Mutter | ||
| How many siblings do you have? | Sind deine Eltern verheiratet? | I have two siblings | Ich habe zwei Geschwister | ||
| Do you have a brother or a sister? | Hast du einen Bruder oder eine Schwester? | Yes, I have two brothers and one sister. | Ja, ich habe zwei Brüder und eine Schwester | ||
| Is she your wife? | Wie ist der Name deines Bruders? | Yes, this is my wife | Ja, das ist meine Ehefrau |
Learn German With Ling
Make sure to bookmark this page to reference German vocabulary for family easily. We also recommend impressing the people you meet by knowing what their name means in German. If you enjoyed this post, we invite you to expand your vocabulary knowledge further by getting a complete German language lesson with our most recommended application.
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