Family Members in German: Vocabulary With Articles & Plurals

The core family members in German are die Mutter (mother), der Vater (father), die Eltern (parents), der Bruder (brother), die Schwester (sister) and die Geschwister (siblings). Oma means grandma (formally die Großmutter), and Opa means grandpa (der Großvater).

Below you'll find all the words you need to talk about die Familie (the family), from aunts and cousins to in-laws and step-siblings, each with its article and plural. You'll also learn how to say "my mother" correctly, plus ready-to-use sentences about your own family.

---

Parents, Children and Siblings

Always learn family words with their article and plural. The good news: in this group, the grammatical gender matches the person. Women are die, men are der. The one exception is das Kind. An easy way to remember it: a child can be a boy or a girl, so the word is neuter.

German	Plural	English
die Familie	die Familien	family
die Mutter	die Mütter	mother
der Vater	die Väter	father
die Eltern	(plural only)	parents
das Kind	die Kinder	child
der Sohn	die Söhne	son
die Tochter	die Töchter	daughter
der Bruder	die Brüder	brother
die Schwester	die Schwestern	sister
die Geschwister	(plural only)	siblings
der Mann	die Männer	husband (also: man)
die Frau	die Frauen	wife (also: woman)

Look at the plurals: Mutter becomes Mütter, Vater becomes Väter, and Bruder, Tochter and Sohn also add an umlaut. Schwester is the regular one: Schwestern. There's no shortcut, so learn each word as a pair: der Vater, die Väter.

Eltern and Geschwister are plural-only words in everyday German, so they always take a plural verb:

• Meine Eltern sind sehr nett. — My parents are very nice.
• Hast du Geschwister? — Do you have any siblings?

Need to talk about just one parent? Say ein Elternteil (a parent), or simply meine Mutter or mein Vater.

For "husband" and "wife", Germans normally say mein Mann and meine Frau. Der Ehemann and die Ehefrau exist, but they sound formal, like something from an official form.

---

Grandparents and Grandchildren: Oma, Opa and Co.

Oma means grandma and Opa means grandpa. These are the words almost everyone uses in daily life; Großmutter and Großvater are the more formal versions. Notice the pattern: Groß- plus the parent word, just like English "grand-" plus "mother".

German	Plural	English
die Großmutter	die Großmütter	grandmother
die Oma	die Omas	grandma
der Großvater	die Großväter	grandfather
der Opa	die Opas	grandpa
die Großeltern	(plural only)	grandparents
der Enkel	die Enkel	grandson, grandchild
die Enkelin	die Enkelinnen	granddaughter
das Enkelkind	die Enkelkinder	grandchild

Going back one more generation? Add Ur-: die Urgroßmutter (informally die Uroma) is your great-grandmother, and der Urenkel is a great-grandson.

• Meine Großeltern wohnen auf dem Land. — My grandparents live in the countryside.
• Meine Oma backt den besten Apfelkuchen. — My grandma bakes the best apple cake.

---

Extended Family: Aunts, Uncles and Cousins

German	Plural	English
der Onkel	die Onkel	uncle
die Tante	die Tanten	aunt
der Cousin	die Cousins	cousin (male)
die Cousine	die Cousinen	cousin (female)
der Neffe	die Neffen	nephew
die Nichte	die Nichten	niece
der/die Verwandte	die Verwandten	relative

English has one word for "cousin", but German makes you choose: der Cousin for a man, die Cousine for a woman. Both come from French and are pronounced the French way (Cousine sounds like "koo-ZEE-nuh").

Small grammar note: der Neffe adds -n outside the nominative. Ich besuche meinen Neffen. — I'm visiting my nephew.

Just like in English, children often call their parents' close friends Tante (aunt) and Onkel (uncle), even without a family connection. And a Tante-Emma-Laden ("Aunt Emma shop") is a small, old-fashioned corner store.

---

In-Laws, Step-Family and Half-Siblings

In-laws: the Schwieger- words

To make an in-law, put Schwieger- in front of the basic word. The exceptions are brother-in-law and sister-in-law, which have their own words.

German	Plural	English
die Schwiegermutter	die Schwiegermütter	mother-in-law
der Schwiegervater	die Schwiegerväter	father-in-law
die Schwiegereltern	(plural only)	parents-in-law
der Schwiegersohn	die Schwiegersöhne	son-in-law
die Schwiegertochter	die Schwiegertöchter	daughter-in-law
der Schwager	die Schwäger	brother-in-law
die Schwägerin	die Schwägerinnen	sister-in-law

So your spouse's brother is your Schwager. There's no "Schwiegerbruder".

Step and half family: Stief- and Halb-

These work just like English. Stief- means "step-" (related through a parent's new partner), and Halb- means "half-" (you share one parent).

German	Plural	English
der Stiefvater	die Stiefväter	stepfather
die Stiefmutter	die Stiefmütter	stepmother
der Stiefbruder	die Stiefbrüder	stepbrother
die Stiefschwester	die Stiefschwestern	stepsister
der Halbbruder	die Halbbrüder	half-brother
die Halbschwester	die Halbschwestern	half-sister

• Mein Halbbruder wohnt bei seinem Vater. — My half-brother lives with his father.

A blended family is often called a Patchworkfamilie.

---

Mama, Papa, Oma, Opa: Informal vs. Formal

Formal	Informal	English
die Mutter	die Mama	mom / mum
der Vater	der Papa	dad
die Großmutter	die Oma	grandma
der Großvater	der Opa	grandpa
die Großeltern	Oma und Opa	grandparents

Culture note: many German adults keep calling their parents Mama and Papa all their lives, and it doesn't sound childish the way "mommy" can in English. You'll also hear Mutti and Vati, which sound a bit old-fashioned today.

• Ich telefoniere jeden Sonntag mit meiner Mama. — I call my mom every Sunday.

When you talk about your own family, Mama, Papa, Oma and Opa often work like names, with no article: Oma kommt morgen. — Grandma is coming tomorrow. In southern Germany and Austria, you'll often hear an article in front: Die Oma kommt morgen.

Use the formal words in official situations and when you ask politely about someone else's family: Wie geht es Ihrer Mutter? — How is your mother? And avoid calling strangers "Oma" or "Opa": it's very casual and can come across as rude.

---

Possessives: meine Mutter, mein Vater, meine Eltern

To say "my mother" or "my father", use mein. It takes the same endings as ein (and kein in the plural), so its form depends on the noun's gender (our guide to der, die, das explains how to tell) and on its case:

Gender	Nominative	Accusative	Dative
Masculine	mein Vater	meinen Vater	meinem Vater
Feminine	meine Mutter	meine Mutter	meiner Mutter
Neuter	mein Kind	mein Kind	meinem Kind
Plural	meine Eltern	meine Eltern	meinen Eltern

• Mein Vater ist Lehrer. — My father is a teacher.
• Meine Eltern wohnen in Hamburg. — My parents live in Hamburg.
• Ich besuche meinen Bruder. — I'm visiting my brother.
• Am Wochenende gehe ich mit meiner Schwester ins Kino. — This weekend I'm going to the movies with my sister.

In the accusative, only the masculine form changes (meinen); the accusative case guide explains why. Prepositions like mit and bei always take the dative, which is why it's mit meiner Schwester. Our guide to German dative prepositions covers the full list.

The other possessives follow the same pattern: dein (your, informal), sein (his), ihr (her, their), unser (our), euer (your, plural) and Ihr (your, formal). Note that euer drops an e when it gets an ending: eure Eltern.

• Wo wohnt deine Familie? — Where does your family live?
• Sein Sohn ist sieben. — His son is seven.
• Ihre Tochter studiert in Wien. — Her daughter is studying in Vienna.
• Unsere Kinder sprechen Deutsch und Englisch. — Our children speak German and English.

---

Useful Sentences About Your Family

These are the sentences you'll actually need when someone asks about your family:

• Ich habe zwei Geschwister. — I have two siblings.
• Ich habe einen Bruder und eine Schwester. — I have a brother and a sister.
• Ich habe keine Geschwister. Ich bin Einzelkind. — I don't have any siblings. I'm an only child.
• Wie heißt deine Schwester? — What's your sister's name?
• Wie alt ist dein Bruder? — How old is your brother?
• Meine Schwester ist drei Jahre älter als ich. — My sister is three years older than me.
• Haben Sie Kinder? — Do you have children? (formal)
• Ja, wir haben einen Sohn und zwei Töchter. — Yes, we have a son and two daughters.
• Ich bin verheiratet und habe ein Kind. — I'm married and have one child.
• Meine Oma ist 85 Jahre alt. — My grandma is 85 years old.
• Wir sind eine große Familie. — We're a big family.

To talk about ages, you'll need German numbers 1–100 (85 is fünfundachtzig). And to ask the questions yourself, brush up on German question words like wer, wie and wo.

---

Common Mistakes With Family Words

1. Forgetting the accusative after haben

Wrong: Ich habe ein Bruder. Right: Ich habe einen Bruder.

Haben takes the accusative, so masculine ein becomes einen. Feminine and neuter don't change: eine Schwester, ein Kind.

2. Using the wrong possessive

Wrong: mein Mutter. Right: meine Mutter.

Mutter is feminine, so it needs meine.

3. Treating Eltern as singular

Wrong: Meine Eltern ist nett. Right: Meine Eltern sind nett.

Eltern is always plural, so the verb is too.

4. Forgetting the umlaut in the plural

Wrong: zwei Bruder, zwei Tochters. Right: zwei Brüder, zwei Töchter.

Learn every family word together with its plural, umlaut included.

5. Calling a female cousin "Cousin"

Wrong: Sie ist mein Cousin. Right: Sie ist meine Cousine.

Cousin is only for men; for women, use Cousine.

---

Practice

Fill in the gaps, then check your answers below.

1. Ich habe ___ Bruder. (ein)
2. ___ Mutter heißt Sabine. (mein)
3. Ich fahre mit ___ Oma nach Italien. (mein)
4. eine Schwester, zwei ___
5. brother-in-law = der ___
6. Hast du ___? (siblings)

Answers:

1. Ich habe einen Bruder.
2. Meine Mutter heißt Sabine.
3. Ich fahre mit meiner Oma nach Italien.
4. zwei Schwestern
5. der Schwager
6. Hast du Geschwister?

Ready for more? Test yourself with the A1 German quizzes and review the main plural patterns on our German plurals page. Then describe your own family in five sentences, out loud.

---

Keep learning:

• How to Introduce Yourself in German: Ich heiße & Sample Intros

FAQ

What does "Oma" mean in German?

Oma means "grandma". It's the everyday word for die Großmutter (grandmother), used by children and adults alike. The male version is Opa (grandpa), and the plural is die Omas.

How do you say "grandmother" in German?

The formal word is die Großmutter (plural: die Großmütter), and the informal word is die Oma. Grandfather is der Großvater or der Opa, and grandparents are die Großeltern.

What is the German word for "siblings"?

Die Geschwister. It covers brothers and sisters and is plural in everyday use: Ich habe drei Geschwister. — I have three siblings.

Is "Eltern" singular or plural?

Always plural: Meine Eltern sind… For one parent, say ein Elternteil or just name the person: meine Mutter, mein Vater.

How do you say "cousin" in German?

Der Cousin for a male cousin and die Cousine for a female cousin. The plurals are die Cousins and die Cousinen.