70+ Easy German Vocabulary For Family

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

German vocabulary for family

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

German Vocabulary Family
English German Pronunciation
The brother der Bruder [Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]der Bruder[/Speechword]
The child das Kind
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]das Kind[/Speechword]
The child die Kinder
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]die Kinder[/Speechword]
The children die Geschwister
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]die Geschwister[/Speechword]
The daughter die Tochter
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]die Tochter[/Speechword]
The father der Vater
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]der Vater[/Speechword]
The grandchildren die Enkelkinder
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]die Enkelkinder[/Speechword]
The granddaughter die Enkelin
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]die Enkelin[/Speechword]
The grandma die Oma
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]die Oma[/Speechword]
The grandpa der Opa
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]der Opa[/Speechword]
The grandson der Enkel
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]der Enkel[/Speechword]
The half-brother der Halbbruder
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]der Halbbruder[/Speechword]
The half-sister die Halbschwester
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]die Halbschwester[/Speechword]
The husband der Ehemann
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]der Ehemann[/Speechword]
The mother die Mutter
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]die Mutter[/Speechword]
The parents die Eltern
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]die Eltern[/Speechword]
The siblings die Geschwister
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]die Geschwister[/Speechword]
The sister die Schwester
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]die Schwester[/Speechword]
The son der Sohn
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]der Sohn[/Speechword]

Extended Family Members In German Vocabulary

Talk in German About Family
English German Pronunciation
Great-grandfather der Urgroßvater
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]der Urgroßvater[/Speechword]
Great-grandmother die tolle Großmutter
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]die tolle Großmutter[/Speechword]
Uncle der Onkel
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]der Onkel[/Speechword]
Aunt die Tante
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]die Tante[/Speechword]
Cousin (male) der Cousin
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]der Cousin[/Speechword]
Nephew der Neffe
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]der Neffe[/Speechword]
Cousin (female) die Cousine
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]die Cousine[/Speechword]
Niece die nichte
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]die nichte[/Speechword]

German Vocabulary For In-laws

English German Pronunciation
The in-laws die Schwiegereltern
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]die Schwiegereltern[/Speechword]
Father-in-law der Schwiegervater
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]der Schwiegervater[/Speechword]
Mother-in-law die Schwiegermutter
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]die Schwiegermutter[/Speechword]
Son-in-law der Schwiegersohn
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]der Schwiegersohn[/Speechword]
Daughter-in-law die Schwiegertochter
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]die Schwiegertochter[/Speechword]
Sister-in-law die Schwägerin
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]die Schwägerin[/Speechword]
Brother-in-law der Schwager
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]der Schwager[/Speechword]

German Vocabulary For Step-Family Members

English German Pronunciation
Stepfather der Stiefvater
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]der Stiefvater[/Speechword]
Stepmother die Stiefmutter
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]die Stiefmutter[/Speechword]
Stepbrother der Stiefbruder
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]der Stiefbruder[/Speechword]
Stepsister die Stiefschwester
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]die Stiefschwester[/Speechword]
Half brother der Halbbruder
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]der Halbbruder[/Speechword]
Half sister die Halbschwester
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]die Halbschwester[/Speechword]

Other Family-Related Vocabulary In German

English German Pronunciation
Widower der Witwer
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]der Witwer[/Speechword]
Widow die Witwe
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]die Witwe[/Speechword]
Single Single
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]Single[/Speechword]
Married verheiratet
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]verheiratet[/Speechword]
Divorced geschieden
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]geschieden[/Speechword]
Separated getrennt
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]getrennt[/Speechword]

Questions To Ask People About Their Family In German

German Vocabulary For extended Family

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?
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]Bist du verheiratet?[/Speechword]
How long have you been married? Wie lange bist du verheiratet?
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]Wie lange bist du verheiratet?[/Speechword]
Are you single? Sind Sie single?
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]Sind Sie single?[/Speechword]
Do you have children? Hast du Kinder?
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]Hast du Kinder?[/Speechword]
Do you have siblings? haben sie geschwister
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]haben sie geschwister[/Speechword]
Where are your relatives from? Woher kommen Ihre Verwandten?
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]Woher kommen Ihre Verwandten?[/Speechword]
Where are your parents from? Woher kommen deine Eltern?
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]Woher kommen deine Eltern?[/Speechword]

Family-Related Questions To Ask Locals

English Question German Question Pronunciation English Response German Response Pronunciation
Do you have children?
Hast du Kinder?
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]Hast du Kinder?[/Speechword] We have 3 children wir haben drei kinde [Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]wir haben drei kinde[/Speechword]
Are you related?
Bist du verwandt?
[Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]Bist du verwandt?[/Speechword] We are not related wir sind nicht verwandt [Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]wir sind nicht verwandt[/Speechword]
Who is your mother? Wer ist deine Mutter? [Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]Wer ist deine Mutter?[/Speechword] This is my mother Das ist meine Mutter [Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]Das ist meine Mutter[/Speechword]
How many siblings do you have? Sind deine Eltern verheiratet? [Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]Sind deine Eltern verheiratet?[/Speechword] I have two siblings Ich habe zwei Geschwister [Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]Ich habe zwei Geschwister[/Speechword]
Do you have a brother or a sister? Hast du einen Bruder oder eine Schwester? [Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]Hast du einen Bruder oder eine Schwester?[/Speechword] Yes, I have two brothers and one sister. Ja, ich habe zwei Brüder und eine Schwester [Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]Ja, ich habe zwei Brüder und eine Schwester[/Speechword]
Is she your wife? Wie ist der Name deines Bruders? [Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]Wie ist der Name deines Bruders?[/Speechword] Yes, this is my wife Ja, das ist meine Ehefrau [Speechword voice=”Deutsch Male” isinline]Ja, das ist meine Ehefrau[/Speechword]

Learn German With Ling

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.

Learning a complicated language like German can indeed be challenging, especially for total beginners in Germanic languages like Dutch, Swedish, and Danish. But what if there’s one resource that can help you learn this language right away? Well, allow me to introduce to you the Ling App.

The Ling App is a fantastic language resource that has lessons for over 60+ foreign languages. From the inside, you’ll get tons of exercises and lesson units that are all reviewed and developed by a team of real native speakers and language professionals. It also has additional features that will make learning fast and engaging even if you just use it for 10 minutes.

Ready to discover the best way to learn German? Download the Ling App now!

Share this post

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

What makes learning with Ling special

Interactive exercises

Improve your pronunciation by starting a conversation with our app’s interactive chatbot

Engaging activities

Practice your skills with mini-games and track your progress with fun quizzes

Mix of languages

Choose from over 60 languages, both big and small, and listen to audio from native speakers

Proven results

Backed by linguistic research, our learning methods can help you achieve fluency in record time