# 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.

Author: Aslıgül Aşkın · Published: 2026-10-01 · Updated: 2026-10-12
Page address: https://grammardots.com/en/blog/family-members-in-english

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.

## Extended family

grandmother / grandma, grandfather / grandpa, uncle, aunt, cousin, nephew, niece.

## Relatives by marriage and step-family

For people you are related to through marriage, add “-in-law” to the family word: your husband's or wife's mother is your “mother-in-law”. A parent's new husband or wife takes “step-”, and siblings who share only one parent take “half-”.

Words for relatives by marriage and step-family

| English | Turkish |
| --- | --- |
| mother-in-law | kayınvalide, kaynana |
| father-in-law | kayınpeder |
| brother-in-law | kayınbirader, enişte, bacanak |
| sister-in-law | görümce, baldız, yenge, elti |
| son-in-law | damat |
| daughter-in-law | gelin |
| stepmother / stepfather | üvey anne / üvey baba |
| stepbrother / stepsister | üvey erkek kardeş / üvey kız kardeş |
| half-brother / half-sister | anne bir ya da baba bir kardeş |

In the plural, the “-s” goes on the main word: “two sisters-in-law”. In everyday speech, “in-laws” on its own means your husband's or wife's whole family: “We're having dinner with my in-laws on Sunday.”

## 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”.

## Which uncle? Explaining with 's and whose

“Uncle” on its own doesn't show who you mean. To make it clear, use 's, which works like a Turkish possessive ending: “my mum's brother” (dayı), “my dad's brother” (amca), “my aunt's husband” (enişte), “my uncle's wife” (yenge).

Word order matters: as in Turkish, the owner comes first and the person owned comes second. “My sister's husband” (enişte) and “my husband's sister” (görümce) are two different people. With plural nouns ending in -s, the apostrophe goes at the end: “my parents' house”.

To ask how someone is related, use “whose”: “Whose son is he?” – “He's my cousin's son.” It is very useful when looking at family photos: “Whose baby is that?” – “That's my brother's daughter, my niece.”

## 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?”

## Useful sentences for describing your family

A few patterns cover most of what you need when you describe your family. “I have” and “I've got” mean the same; “I've got” is more common in British English, especially in speech.

- “I have two brothers and a sister.”
- “I've got one cousin on my mum's side.”
- “There are five of us.”
- “I'm an only child.”
- “My grandparents live with us.”

Change the numbers and people to fit your own family and say each sentence out loud.

## A short example dialogue

A: “Who's that in the photo?” B: “That's my cousin Deniz. She's my aunt's daughter.” A: “Your mum's sister?” B: “No, my dad's sister. The man next to Deniz is her dad, my uncle Cem.” A: “And who's the little boy?” B: “That's my nephew. He's my older brother's son.” Read it aloud with a partner, then swap roles and repeat it with the people in your own family photos.

## Common mistakes and the correct forms

Common family-word mistakes made by Turkish speakers

| Mistake | Correct | Why |
| --- | --- | --- |
| My mother name is Ayşe. | My mother's name is Ayşe. | Possession needs 's. |
| We are four. | There are four of us. | This is how you give the number of people. |
| He is my old brother. | He is my older brother. | For siblings, use “older” or “elder”. |
| I have two sister. | I have two sisters. | More than one person needs a plural noun. |
| My parents came to the wedding. (meaning relatives) | My relatives came to the wedding. | “Parents” means only your mother and father; the wider family are “relatives”. |

To keep going, see [My or mine? Possessive adjectives and pronouns in English](https://grammardots.com/en/blog/possessive-adjectives-and-pronouns) and [Jobs in English and saying what you do](https://grammardots.com/en/blog/jobs-and-occupations-in-english).

## 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”.

### Is there a difference between “elder” and “older”?

Both work for family members: “my elder sister”, “my older sister”. “Elder” sounds more formal and is not used with “than”; in comparisons, say “She is older than me.”

### Is there a word for my cousin's child?

The exact term is “first cousin once removed”, but in everyday speech most people simply say “my cousin's son” or “my cousin's daughter”.