Lesson 3: Family in German

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Key Family Vocabulary

• Die Familie – Family 🔊
• Der Vater – Father 🔊
• Die Mutter – Mother 🔊
• Der Bruder – Brother 🔊
• Die Schwester – Sister 🔊
• Die Eltern – Parents 🔊
• Der Sohn – Son 🔊
• Die Tochter – Daughter 🔊
• Die Großeltern – Grandparents 🔊
• Der Großvater (Opa) – Grandfather 🔊 🔊
• Die Großmutter (Oma) – Grandmother 🔊 🔊
• Der Onkel – Uncle 🔊
• Die Tante – Aunt 🔊
• Der Cousin – Male cousin 🔊
• Die Cousine – Female cousin 🔊
• Das Kind – Child 🔊
• Die Kinder – Children 🔊

📚 Grammar Tips

• Gender & Articles: Masculine → der 🔊, Feminine → die 🔊, Neutral → das 🔊.
• Plural Form: In German, plurals often change both the article and sometimes the word itself.
  Examples:
  Die Mutter 🔊 → Die Mütter 🔊 (the mother → the mothers)
  Der Vater 🔊 → Die Väter 🔊 (the father → the fathers)
  🔁 Note: The article for all plurals is die 🔊, regardless of gender!
  🔤 Many plurals add dots (Umlauts) like ä 🔊, ö 🔊, ü 🔊 or an ending like -n, -e, -er.
• Possessive Pronouns: "Mein Vater" 🔊 (my father), "Meine Mutter" 🔊 (my mother). Gender affects the pronoun ending.
• Verb Agreement: “Meine Eltern sind nett” 🔊 (My parents are nice).

💬 Usage in Context – Talking About Family

Ich habe einen Bruder und eine Schwester. 🔊
I have a brother and a sister.
🧠 Note: “Bruder” 🔊 is masculine → einen, “Schwester” 🔊 is feminine → eine

Mein Vater ist Arzt. 🔊
My father is a doctor.
🩺 “Arzt” 🔊 means doctor (male). If female: “Ärztin” 🔊

Meine Großeltern wohnen in Berlin. 🔊
My grandparents live in Berlin.
🏙️ “Großeltern” 🔊 = grandparents (plural of “Großvater” 🔊 & “Großmutter” 🔊)

Wie heißt deine Mutter? 🔊
What is your mother’s name?
❓ “Wie heißt” 🔊 ...? is a common way to ask someone’s name in German.

Meine Familie ist sehr groß. 🔊
My family is very big.
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 “groß” 🔊 = big/large → talking about number of family members.

🧠 Fun Facts

• In German culture, family titles are often used with respect — e.g., Mutti 🔊 for mom or Vati 🔊 for dad affectionately.
• Plural endings change depending on gender and root word — e.g., Bruder 🔊 → Brüder 🔊, Schwester 🔊 → Schwestern 🔊.
• The word Familie 🔊 is feminine, so we say die Familie 🔊.