The vocabulary of family and personal relationships brings together the closest people and also the individuals with whom there is a daily bond. Here appear the nuclear family, the extended family, the partner, friendship and some close forms of address. In conversation, familia can encompass both blood relatives and those who join by marriage, cohabitation or upbringing. To describe how each person is like, words from Personalidad y Emociones and, when the conversation focuses on visible traits, also Apariencia Física.

The base of the family vocabulary is madre, padre, hijo, hija, hermano and hermana. These words name the closest members of the family group. They are used in phrases like mi madre trabaja, tengo dos hermanos or mi hermana vive en Madrid. Hijo and hija are used to speak from the parents’ perspective; for the parents, those same children are their hijos. Hermano and hermana refer to the people who share at least one father or mother.

hijomadrepadrehermanohermanahija

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La persona femenina que comparte padres contigoLa progenitora masculina de una personaLa persona masculina que desciende de sus padresLa persona femenina que desciende de sus padresLa persona masculina que comparte padres contigoLa progenitora femenina de una persona

Basic vocabulary of the nuclear family

Word	Definition
madre	The female progenitor of a person.
padre	The male progenitor of a person.
hijo	The male person that descends from their parents.
hija	The female person that descends from their parents.
hermano	The male person who shares parents with you.
hermana	The female person who shares parents with you.

Scramble

Beyond the home, Spanish uses abuelo and abuela for the parents of mom or dad, and nieto and nieta for the children of the children. Tío and tía name the brothers of the parents or their partners. Primo and prima are the children of the uncles. Sobrino and sobrina are the children of the brothers or sisters. Cuñado and cuñada appear here as part of the extended family: they are the brother or sister of the partner, or the partner of the brother or sister.

cuñadacuñadoprimasobrinoabuelatíotíaprimosobrinaabuelo

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El hijo de tu tío o de tu tíaEl hijo de tu hermano o de tu hermanaLa hija de tu tío o de tu tíaLa madre de tu padre o de tu madreEl hermano de uno de tus padresLa hermana de uno de tus padresLa hija de tu hermano o de tu hermanaEl hermano de tu pareja o el marido de tu hermanaEl padre de tu padre o de tu madreLa hermana de tu pareja o la esposa de tu hermano

Vocabulary of close extended family

Word	Definition
abuelo	The father of your father or of your mother.
abuela	The mother of your father or of your mother.
tío	The brother of one of your parents.
tía	The sister of one of your parents.
primo	The son of your uncle or aunt.
prima	The daughter of your uncle or aunt.
sobrino	The son of your brother or sister.
sobrina	The daughter of your brother or sister.
cuñado	The brother-in-law or the husband of your sister.
cuñada	The sister-in-law or the wife of your brother.

Scramble

To talk about the romantic relationship, novio and novia are used when there is a non-marital partner relationship. Esposo and esposa denote the person one is married to. Pareja serves to talk about the person with whom one maintains a stable relationship without specifying whether there is marriage. Marital status is expressed with soltero, casado, divorciado and separado. Soltero describes someone who has no marriage or partner recognized as such. Casado indicates the person is legally united in marriage. Divorciado is used when the marriage ended by divorce, and separado when the partner stopped living together or ended the relationship, even though the legal bond may still exist.

noviosolteronoviaparejaesposadivorciadoseparadoesposocasado

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La pareja femenina en una relación afectivaLa mujer casada respecto a su parejaEl marido de una persona casadaLa persona que no está casada ni tiene pareja fijaLa pareja masculina en una relación afectivaLa persona que vive en matrimonioLa persona que ya no vive con su parejaLa persona cuyo matrimonio terminó legalmenteLa persona con la que compartes una relación

Vocabulary of partner and marital status

Word	Definition
novio	The male partner in a romantic relationship.
novia	The female partner in a romantic relationship.
esposo	The husband of a married person.
esposa	The married woman regarding her partner.
pareja	The person with whom you share a relationship.
soltero	The person who is not married nor has a steady partner.
casado	The person who lives in marriage.
divorciado	The person whose marriage ended legally.
separado	The person who no longer lives with their partner.

Scramble

Relationships through marriage or partnership form a very common group in Spanish. Suegro and suegra are the father and mother of the partner. Yerno and nuera are the husband of the daughter and the wife of the son. Cuñado and cuñada can be the brother or sister of the partner, or the husband or wife of the brother or sister. In phrases like mi suegra cocina muy bien or mi cuñado vive cerca, the family bond is understood by the relationship, not by blood. When it is necessary to distinguish the side of the family, the context clarifies whether one is talking about one's own family or that of the partner.

suegracuñadacuñadoyernosuegronuera

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El marido de tu hijaEl hermano de tu pareja o el marido de tu hermanaLa hermana de tu pareja o la esposa de tu hermanoEl padre de tu parejaLa madre de tu parejaLa esposa de tu hijo

Vocabulary of affinity-based relationships

Word	Definition
suegro	The father of your partner.
suegra	The mother of your partner.
yerno	The husband of your daughter.
nuera	The wife of your son.
cuñado	The brother of your partner or the husband of your sister.
cuñada	The sister of your partner or the wife of your brother.

Scramble

In the family, mamá, papá, abuela and abuelo are affectionate and very common forms. Mamá and papá are used mainly when talking directly to them or mentioning them with closeness. Abuela and abuelo work the same way, both at home and when talking about them with others. These forms are more affectionate and everyday than madre and padre, which sound more neutral or formal. In a sentence like mamá, ven un momento, the address is intimate and natural.

Affectionate uses of family names

Usage	Explanation
Loving call to mother	You use mom at home and in close contexts to speak with affection.
Loving call to father	You use dad to address the father warmly and casually.
Loving call to grandmother	You use grandmother when speaking tenderly or with respect within the family.
Loving call to grandfather	You use grandfather to speak warmly to the elder family member.

Outside the family, amigo and amiga name a close and affectionate relationship. Conocido is used for a person you know who they are, but with whom there is not a close friendship. Vecino and vecina are the people who live nearby, normally in the same building, on the same street or in adjacent houses. In Spanish, these words typically appear in simple phrases like es una amiga de la universidad, solo es un conocido or mi vecina me ayudó. To talk about qualities of these people, words from Personalidad y Emociones are also useful.

vecinoamigaamigoconocido

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Una persona que sabes quién es pero no es cercanaUna persona con la que tienes confianza y afectoLa persona que vive cerca de tu casaUna persona con la que tienes confianza y afecto

Vocabulary of close relationships outside the family

Word	Definition
amigo	A person you have trust and affection with.
amiga	A person you have trust and affection with.
conocido	A person you know who they are but aren’t close to.
vecino	The person who lives near your house.

Scramble

In blended families, padrastro is the husband of the mother who is not the biological father, and madrastra is the wife of the father who is not the biological mother. Hermanastro and hermanastra name the children of one of the people in the couple relative to the other, or those who share only one of the parents. In many countries, pareja is used more and more as a neutral word to talk about the person with whom one shares a stable relationship. Vosotros appears mainly in Spain when talking to several people of trust, while in most of the Americas ustedes is used. Tío and tía also have affectionate and colloquial uses in some countries to refer to a close person, a friend or even to someone informally, depending on the regional context.

padrastroparejahermanastrovosotrostíamadrastratío

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En lenguaje coloquial puede usarse como tratamiento amistoso para un hombreEs el hijo de uno de tus padres con otra parejaEs el marido de tu madre cuando no es tu padre biológicoEs una forma muy común y neutral para hablar de la persona con quien sales o convivesEn lenguaje coloquial puede usarse como tratamiento amistoso para una mujerEs la mujer de tu padre cuando no es tu madre biológicaEs la forma informal de segunda persona plural en España

Vocabulary of blended families and regional usages

Region	Variant	Definition	Example
Spain	padrastro	It is the husband of your mother when he is not your biological father.	Mi padrastro sabe hacer tortillas enormes.My stepfather knows how to make huge tortillas.
Spain	madrastra	It is the wife of your father when she is not your biological mother.	Mi madrastra cuida un jardín con mariposas.My stepmother tends a garden with butterflies.
Spain	hermanastro	It is the son of one of your parents with another partner.	Mi hermanastro toca el tambor con una cuchara.My stepbrother taps the drum with a spoon.
Spain	vosotros	It is the informal second-person plural form in Spain.	Vosotros venís a merendar con galletas de coco.You all come for a snack with coconut cookies.
Mexico	tío	Colloquial usage can be used as an amical address for a man.	Tío ven a ver este perro con botas.Uncle come see this dog with boots.
Argentina	tía	Colloquial usage can be used as an amical address for a woman.	Tía mirá la torta gigante del patio.Aunt look at the giant cake in the courtyard.
Colombia	pareja	A very common and neutral way to talk about the person you go out with or live with.	Mi pareja baila salsa con una escoba.My partner dances salsa with a broom.

Scramble