Vocabulary > Vocabulary by Topic >
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Family Vocabulary #1
Family Vocabulary #1
By Alena Lien,
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26 September 2020
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Click below to expand each section.
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Family connections
"Family" (noun), "Familial" (adjective)
- People who are related to each other by blood or marriage.
- Refers to the children of a family.
- Refers to descendants of a common ancestor.
- Groups of related things like related types of animals or plants, or languages.
"Nuclear/immediate family" (noun) - family consisting of 2 parents and one or more children as a unit, excluding aunts, uncles, grandparents etc. Typically adults in nuclear families are married.
"Extended family" (noun) - the larger family that includes aunts, uncles, grandparents in addition to parents and children.
When we say "family," it is usually assumed that we are referring to either our nuclear family, or both nuclear and extended family. In everyday English, we do not typically refer to our "nuclear family" or "extended family" unless you really want to clarify it.
"After work, I'm going home to have dinner with my family."
"We usually spend Chinese New Year with family."
"Friends of mine don't want to invite their extended family in order to keep their wedding small."
"Relative" or "relation" (noun) - a member of your family.
Using "relative" is more idiomatic.
"Relatives" include both nuclear and extended family but tends to imply extended family when used in everyday English.
"They tried to invite most of their relatives to the wedding but they couldn't get in touch with some of them."
"Related by blood" (common expression) - related by birth, sharing biological ancestors, or having common genetic heritage.
"Blood relative/relation" (noun) - anyone who is related to you by blood.
"Related by marriage" - someone who married a blood relative and has become part of the family.
"My aunt's a relative by marriage, but I like her more than all my other blood relatives."
"(Someone)'s own flesh and blood" (idiom) - to refer to someone's blood relations.
"You have to Wally, he's your own flesh and blood."
"Biological" (adjective) - related by blood/birth.
You can use this with nouns to refer to members of your family.
- Biological family
- Biological parent/mother/father
- Biological sibling/brother/sister
"Birth" is a synonym.
- Birth family
- Birth parent/mother/father
- Birth sibling/brother/sister
When we refer to "family" or "relatives," it is usually assumed they are related by blood unless you want to clarify it.
"Unfortunately you can't choose your biological family."
"Eve's birth mother finally contacted her after 20 years."
"Kin" (noun) (old-fashioned noun) - family and relations.
"Next of kin" (formal expression) - your closest living relation or relations.
Usually "next of kin" is used when someone has died and the next of kin has to be contacted.
"We will release the names when their next of kin have been notified."
"Household" (noun) - a group of people who live together, typically a single family.
To clarify:
- A "family" refers to the members that are related to each other.
- A "household" refers to the people living together under the same roof.
"The average Australian household has 17 connected devices."
"Generation" (noun) - a single step or stage in a line of descent from an ancestor.
Examples of three generations:
- 1 generation - yourself, your siblings and your cousins.
- 1 generation - your parents, uncles, aunties and their cousins.
- 1 generation - your grandparents, grand-uncles, grand-aunties and their cousins.
"This estate has been in the family for generations."
Members of a nuclear family
"Parent" (noun) - a mother or father of a person.
"(Someone)'s folks" (plural noun) - someone's parents.
"We always have dinner with my folks on the weekends."
"Progenitor" (noun, formal) - someone's parent or direct ancestor.
This is often used in academics and can be used to refer to plants or animals.
"A child has a male progenitor and a female progenitor.
"Child" (singular noun) - a son or daughter of any age of a parent.
"Sibling" (noun) - a brother or sister.
"Do you have any siblings?"
"Yes, I have 2 brothers and a sister."
Members of extended family
"Grandparent" (noun) - the parent of your parent, or your grandmother or grandfather.
"Great" (prefix) - used with nouns to describe older relatives.
"Great-grandparent" is the parent of your grandparent. "Great-great-grandparent is the parent of your great-grandparent.
"I saw a video of someone's mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother."
"-in-law" (suffix) - through marriage.
This is used with nouns to describe different members of your spouse's family.
- Parents-in-law
- Parent/Mother/Father-in-law
- Sister/Brother-law
"In-laws" (noun, informal) - parents-in-law or other members of your spouse's family.
"I can get quite nervous around my in-laws. Thankfully my mother-in-law is very friendly."
"Mother's/Father's side of the family" (phrase) - to refer to your mother's or your father's family.
"Paternal" (adjective) - like a father, or relating to the father's side of the family.
"Maternal" (adjective) - like a mother, or relating to the mother's side of the family.
"He's closer to his father's side of the family but he hasn't met many relatives on his maternal side."
Birth order
"Firstborn" (noun, adjective) - the first child of a set of parents.
"Elder" or "older" (adjective) - the firstborn of 2 people.
"Eldest" or "oldest" (adjective) - the firstborn of 3 people.
It is very common to hear native speakers use "eldest" or "oldest" to compare 2 children - even if it is grammatically incorrect.
"Even though he has an older sister, he's the firstborn son in the family."
"Middle child" (common term) - the child between the oldest child and youngest child in a family.
Often associated with this is "middle child syndrome." This refers to the feeling of exclusion because of their placement in the family's birth order. There are questions as to whether this is real or not since there has not been much reliable scientific evidence.
"Younger" (adjective) - the last born of 2 people.
"Youngest" (adjective) - the last child born of 3 children.
Again, it is very common to hear native speakers use "youngest" to compare 2 children even if it is grammatically incorrect.
"I'm the youngest and Eve's the middle child."
"Only child" (noun) - a child with no siblings.
"My dad was the only child until he was 12."
Types of families
"Adoptive" (adjective) - parent or family who has legally taken another person's child as their own child.
You can use this with nouns to refer to members of your family.
- Adoptive family
- Adoptive parent/mother/father
- Adoptive sibling/brother/sister
"My adoptive family has been really supportive about helping me find my biological family."
"His biological mother gave him up to his adoptive parents when he was 9 months old."
"Adopted" (adjective) - the child that was taken in by adoptive parents.
"I found out I was adopted when my biological brother contacted my family."
"Step-" (prefix) used with nouns to describe family members who are not related by blood but by marriage of a parent.
This can be used with nouns to refer to members of your family.
- Stepfamily
- Stepparent/mother/father
- Stepsibling/sister/brother
- Stepchild/children
A stepfamily is also known as a "blended family" (noun), where one or both parents have children from a previous relationship.
"It's important for stepparents to create good relationships with their stepchildren."
"Half-" (prefix) - used with nouns to describe family members who are related through 1 parent.
- "Half-sibling/-brother/-sister" would either have the same mother or the same father.
- "Half-aunt/-uncle" would be your parent's half-sister/brother.
Terms like "half-family" or "half-parent" do not exist.
"They didn't know they had a half-brother until their father passed away."