Family members in English and introducing your family
Family words are a natural next step after introducing yourself. Close and extended family words, where English differs from Turkish, and a sample paragraph about a family.
By Aslıgül Aşkın,
Guide: Learning vocabulary. Main post: Why don't new words stick? Five ways to forget less
Family words are among the most used words after introducing yourself. Some English family words are more general than Turkish ones, and knowing this prevents the most common mistakes.
Close family
mother / mum, father / dad, parents, brother, sister, son, daughter, husband, wife, baby.
Play this topicTrue or FalseLevel A1Extended family
grandmother / grandma, grandfather / grandpa, uncle, aunt, cousin, nephew, niece.
Where English differs from Turkish
English doesn't separate the mother's and father's side: Turkish “amca” and “dayı” are both “uncle”, “hala” and “teyze” are both “aunt”. To tell an older brother from a younger one, say “older brother” and “younger brother”.
Introducing your family
“There are four people in my family: my mum, my dad, my younger sister, and me. My mum is a teacher and my dad is an engineer. My sister is eight. We have a dog called Zeytin.” Question patterns: “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”, “How many people are there in your family?”
To keep going, see My or mine? Possessive adjectives and pronouns in English and Jobs in English and saying what you do.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “abla” and “ağabey” in English?
There is no single word; say “older sister” and “older brother”.
“Mum” or “mom”?
British English uses “mum” and American English “mom”.
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