Today's words · 👨👩👧 Family
Your family in German: 10 must-know words
A1
When a German friend asks “Hast du Geschwister?”, can you answer straight away?
Once you start making friends in Germany, the same questions always come up: “Wo wohnt deine Familie?” “Hast du Geschwister?” You pull up a family photo on your phone — and suddenly can't remember how to say parents or sister.
Today's ten words are the basics for talking about your family. With them, you can show one photo and tell the whole story. 👨👩👧
📋 The ten words at a glance
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
die Familie
[fa-MEE-lee-uh]family(Pl. die Familien)
📌 Meine Familie wohnt in Berlin.
→ My family lives in Berlin.
💡 Almost English family 👪 The -ie at the end is two sounds: ‘lee-uh’.
Bonus surname = der Familienname
die Mutter
[MOOT-er]mother(Pl. die Mütter)
📌 Meine Mutter arbeitet in einem Krankenhaus.
→ My mother works in a hospital.
💡 mother → Mutter: just swap the th for tt 🤱
Bonus Informal: die Mama · Mother's Day = der Muttertag
der Vater
[FAH-ter]father(Pl. die Väter)
📌 Mein Vater kocht am Wochenende.
→ My father cooks at the weekend.
💡 V sounds like f, so it's basically father 👨
Bonus Informal: der Papa
die Eltern
[EL-tern]parents((pl. only))
📌 Meine Eltern wohnen in Korea.
→ My parents live in Korea.
💡 From alt (old) — literally ‘the elders’ 👴
⚠ Plural only: meine Eltern. One parent = der Elternteil.
der Bruder
[BROO-der]brother(Pl. die Brüder)
📌 Mein Bruder ist zwei Jahre älter als ich.
→ My brother is two years older than me.
💡 Same root as brother 👦 Drop the th, add a d!
Bonus older brother = mein älterer Bruder · younger = mein jüngerer Bruder
die Schwester
[SHVES-ter]sister; nurse(Pl. die Schwestern)
📌 Meine Schwester studiert in Hamburg.
→ My sister is studying in Hamburg.
💡 sister with a German ‘sch’ in front 👧
Bonus die Krankenschwester = nurse (also die Pflegekraft today)
die Geschwister
[guh-SHVIS-ter]siblings, brothers and sisters((pl. only))
📌 Hast du Geschwister?
→ Do you have any brothers or sisters?
💡 Ge- + Schwester = all the siblings bundled together 👫 Handier than ‘brothers and sisters’!
⚠ It's plural: Ich habe zwei Geschwister. = I have two siblings.
der Sohn
[ZOHN]son(Pl. die Söhne)
📌 Unser Sohn studiert in Berlin.
→ Our son is studying in Berlin.
💡 Like son, but with a long ‘oh’ 👶
⚠ The S sounds like z: ZOHN, not ‘son’.
die Tochter
[TOKH-ter]daughter(Pl. die Töchter)
📌 Meine Tochter geht in die erste Klasse.
→ My daughter is in first grade.
💡 Same root as daughter 👧 Give the ch a little throat-clearing scrape!
die Großeltern
[GROHSS-el-tern]grandparents((pl. only))
📌 Meine Großeltern wohnen auf dem Land.
→ My grandparents live in the country.
💡 groß (great, big) + Eltern = grandparents 👵 Same idea as English!
Bonus grandma = die Großmutter (Oma), grandpa = der Großvater (Opa)
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
In German families everyone says du to each other. With your partner's parents (Schwiegereltern) you usually start with Sie and switch when they offer du.
Mother's Day (Muttertag) is the second Sunday in May. The public holiday Christi Himmelfahrt (Ascension Day) is often called Vatertag, and you may see groups of men out walking with a handcart.
Plenty of families meet at the grandparents' on Sunday afternoons for Kaffee und Kuchen. If you're invited, bring small flowers or something sweet. 🎂
✅ Quick quiz
Q. A new colleague asks “Hast du Geschwister?” You have one older sister. What do you say?
- ① Ja, eine ältere Schwester.
- ② Ja, meine Eltern wohnen in Seoul.
- ③ Nein, ich bin der Vater.
Show the answer
① Ja, eine ältere Schwester.
Geschwister means siblings, and an older sister is eine ältere Schwester.
Pick a family photo on your phone and introduce each person out loud: “Das ist meine Mutter.” 💕
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 👋 Greetings & introductions