English Family & Relationships Vocabulary

Level: A1. Family words are some of the first you will ever need, whether you are introducing yourself or showing a photo on your phone. This page groups the family and relationship words an A1 learner needs, each with a plain meaning and a short example you can copy.

By the end of this page you can…

…name the people in your close and wider family, talk about husbands, wives and friends, and say whose family member it is using a possessive like my or her.

How this list was chosen

Every word here comes from the English frequency list (hermitdave/FrequencyWords), which ranks words by how often they appear in a large collection of everyday subtitles. From that list we kept the family and relationship words a beginner needs and grouped them by how close the person is to you rather than by rank. The Rank column is the word’s real position in the list — a lower number means the word is more common.

Parents and children

Rank	Word	Meaning	Example
271	family	the group of people you are related to	My family lives in a small town.
194	father	your male parent	My father drives a bus.
226	mother	your female parent	My mother cooks dinner every night.
221	dad	informal word for father	My dad is reading the news.
262	mom	informal word for mother (American English)	My mom called me this morning.
970	mum	informal word for mother (British English)	My mum makes great tea.
582	parents	your mother and father together	My parents met at school.
251	son	your male child	They have one son and two daughters.
443	daughter	your female child	Her daughter is three years old.
469	child	a young son or daughter	Every child in the class can read.
459	children	more than one child (irregular plural)	The children are playing outside.
274	baby	a very young child	The baby is sleeping now.
392	kid	informal word for a child	Their kids go to the same school.

Brothers, sisters and marriage

Rank	Word	Meaning	Example
300	brother	a boy or man with the same parents as you	My brother is older than me.
466	sister	a girl or woman with the same parents as you	My sister works in a hospital.
313	wife	the woman a man is married to	His wife is a teacher.
451	husband	the man a woman is married to	Her husband cooks on the weekend.
454	married	having a wife or husband	They have been married for ten years.
501	couple	two people in a relationship	The couple live next door.
853	single	not married	My cousin is still single.

Grandparents and relatives

Rank	Word	Meaning	Example
593	uncle	the brother of your mother or father	My uncle lives in Canada.
1125	aunt	the sister of your mother or father	My aunt visits us every summer.
1459	cousin	the child of your uncle or aunt	My cousin and I are the same age.
1930	grandfather	the father of your mother or father	My grandfather tells great stories.
2187	grandmother	the mother of your mother or father	My grandmother grows vegetables.
1429	grandma	informal word for grandmother	Grandma made a cake for us.
1550	grandpa	informal word for grandfather	Grandpa walks in the park each day.
3215	nephew	the son of your brother or sister	My nephew just started school.
4270	niece	the daughter of your brother or sister	I bought my niece a book.

Friends and relationships

Rank	Word	Meaning	Example
260	friend	a person you like and know well	My best friend lives nearby.
966	girlfriend	a female partner you are dating	He is meeting his girlfriend tonight.
1012	boyfriend	a male partner you are dating	Her boyfriend plays the guitar.

Saying whose family it is

English does not change the family word for the owner; instead it puts a small word in front. These are possessive adjectives: my, your, his, her, our, their. So you say my mother, your brother, his wife, their children. Learn the word once and change only the little word in front.

To describe what a family member is or does, you use the verb to be (she is my sister) and the present simple (my father works in a bank). The grammar links at the bottom explain both.

Example sentences

Play each line, then say it aloud. These use the family and relationship words in natural, everyday patterns.

This is my mother and this is my father.

Introducing two family members with 'my'.
I have one brother and two sisters.

'Have' + numbers to count family.
My sister is older than me.

Comparing ages of siblings.
Their son is six and their daughter is four.

'Son' and 'daughter' for children.
The children are playing in the garden.

Irregular plural: child/children.
My parents live in a small town.

'Parents' means mother and father together.
His wife works at the hospital.

'Wife' with the possessive 'his'.
Her husband is a good cook.

'Husband' with the possessive 'her'.
They have been married for ten years.

'Married' with how long.
My uncle and aunt live in Canada.

Two relatives joined with 'and'.
My cousin and I are the same age.

'Cousin' for the child of an uncle or aunt.
My grandmother grows vegetables in her garden.

'Grandmother' doing an everyday action.
Grandpa walks in the park every day.

Informal 'grandpa' as a name.
My nephew just started school.

'Nephew' is your brother's or sister's son.
My best friend lives next door.

'Friend' for someone you like and know well.
He is meeting his girlfriend tonight.

Present continuous for a plan: 'is meeting'.
We are a big family of seven.

'Family of' + a number.
My baby sister is only two months old.

'Baby' + family word for a very young one.

Recap cheat-sheet

A few patterns to remember before the quiz.

Cheat sheet: English family words — learn the pairs and use a possessive like my or her

Quick recap before the quiz.

Point	Example
learn pairs	father/mother, son/daughter
irregular plural	one child, two children
use a possessive	my brother, her husband
informal words	dad, mum, mom, grandma

Practice

Family and relationships practice

Try each one, then press Check. No sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere — it all runs in your browser.

1 Match each word to its meaning.

uncle Match for uncle
cousin Match for cousin
wife Match for wife
nephew Match for nephew

Show answer

uncle → the brother of your mother or father
cousin → the child of your uncle or aunt
wife → the woman a man is married to
nephew → the son of your brother or sister

Linking a word to its meaning helps you recall it faster.

2 Complete the plural: One child, two ____ .

Hint: child is irregular

Show answer

children — The plural of 'child' is 'children', not 'childs'.

3 Complete with a possessive: She is ____ sister (the sister of me).

Hint: owner = me

Show answer

my — Use the possessive 'my' before a family word: my sister.

4 Who are your 'parents'? your brother and sister your mother and father your uncle and aunt your friends

Show answer

your mother and father — 'Parents' means your mother and father together.

5 Which sentence is natural English? The brother of me is tall. My brother is tall. Me brother is tall. Brother my is tall.

Show answer

My brother is tall. — Use a possessive adjective before the family word: my brother.

6 Put the words in order.

Show answer

I have two sisters — Subject + 'have' + number + family word: I have two sisters.

Quiz

Next set: English Colours Vocabulary
Previous set: English Business & Work Vocabulary
Grammar for family talk: Possessive adjectives, The verb to be, Present simple (affirmative)
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English Family & Relationships Vocabulary

By the end of this page you can…

How this list was chosen

Parents and children

Brothers, sisters and marriage

Grandparents and relatives

Friends and relationships

Saying whose family it is

Example sentences

Recap cheat-sheet

Practice

Family and relationships practice

Quiz

Family and relationships quiz

Next

All English vocabulary topics

Vocabulary