How To Address Family & Relatives In German

Blog
21 December 2023
By Sarah Angela Almaden
Japanese House

Unsplash: Marcel Martens

Unfortunately, it is sometimes very difficult to remember family names especially when you have to memorize nineteen names in one go. So… the other and quite possibly the better option would be: to know how to address family members by their titles.

If you think about it, doing that would make things easier for you. Like you would know who is who in your immediate and extended family. Particularly, you wouldn’t be so confused as to who is the niece and who is the aunt. And when it comes to introducing family to others, you can easily do so confidently and gracefully. Alright, without further ado, here’s how to talk about family in German.

  • [the] family: [die] Familie (dee fa-mee-lee)
  • [the] parents: [die] Eltern (dee el-tern)
  • [the] mother: [die] Mutter (dee moo-ter)
  • [the] father: [der] Vater (der fah-ter)
  • [the] stepfather: [der] Stiefvater (der shteef-fater)
  • [the] stepmother: [die] Stiefmutter (der shteef-moo-ter)
  • [the] sister: [die] Schwester (dee shfes-ter)
  • [the] sisters: [die] Schwestern (dee shfes-tern)
  • [the] brother: [der] Bruder (der broo-der)
  • [the] brothers: [die] Brüder (der breu-der)
  • [the] siblings: [die] Geschwister (dee gesh-fis-ter)
  • [the] son: [der] Sohn (der zohn)
  • [the] sons: [die] Söhne (dee zehr-nuh)
  • [the] daughter: [die] Tochter (dee tok-ter)
  • [the] daughters: [die] Töchter (dee toerk-ter)
  • [the] uncle: [der] Onkel (der ohn-kel)
  • [the] aunt: [die] Tante (dee tan-tuh)
  • [the] female cousin: [die] Cousine (dee koo-zee-nuh)
  • [the] male cousin: [der] Cousin (der koo-zehn)
  • [the] grandmother: [die] Großmutter (dee gros-moo-tuh)
  • [the] grandmothers: [die] Großmütter (dee gros mewh-tuh)
  • (the) grandfather: [der] Großvater (der gros-fah-tehr)
  • (the) grandfathers: [die] Großväter (dee gros fay-tehr)
  • (the) twins: [die] Zwillinge (dee zveel-eeng-gu)
  • (the) niece: [die] Nichte (dee nik-tuh)
  • (the) nieces: [die] Nichten (dee nik-ten)
  • (the) nephew: [der] Neffe (der nef-fuh)
  • (the) nephews: [die] Neffen (dee nef-fen)
  • (the) grandchild: [das] Enkelkind (das en-kel-kint)
  • (the) grandchildren: [die] Enkelkinder (dee en-kel-kin-der)