Family Members

Italiano A1A15. Unit 5: My Family

Talking About Your Family in Italian

Welcome to Unit 5: My Family! In this lesson, you will learn the core vocabulary to talk about your relatives in Italian. In Italian, most family members take a masculine ending (-o) for males and a feminine ending (-a) for females.

Basic Family Members

Using Possessives with Family

When talking about singular family members (like my mother, my brother), you usually do not use definite articles (il/la) in Italian! For example:

Note: The plural forms (miei fratelli, mie sorelle) do require articles (i miei fratelli).

Common Mistakes

Mistake: Saying “La mia madre” instead of “Mia madre”.
Correction: Drop the article (la) for singular unmodified family members!

Words

madre
mother
Mia madre è gentile.My mother is kind.
padre
father
Mio padre è alto.My father is tall.
fratello
brother
Ho un fratello.I have a brother.
sorella
sister
Mia sorella studia.My sister studies.
figlio
son
Questo è mio figlio.This is my son.
figlia
daughter
Mia figlia è piccola.My daughter is small.
genitori
parents
I miei genitori abitano qui.My parents live here.
nonno
grandfather
Mio nonno è anziano.My grandfather is elderly.
nonna
grandmother
Mia nonna cucina bene.My grandmother cooks well.
zio
uncle
Mio zio lavora molto.My uncle works a lot.
zia
aunt
Mia zia è simpatica.My aunt is nice.
cugino
male cousin
Mio cugino ha dieci anni.My male cousin is ten years old.
cugina
female cousin
Mia cugina si chiama Anna.My female cousin is named Anna.
marito
husband
Ecco mio marito.Here is my husband.
moglie
wife
Mia moglie legge un libro.My wife reads a book.
famiglia
family
La mia famiglia è grande.My family is big.

Lessons are prepared with the help of AI.

Patterns

Questo è ___.

Used to introduce a male family member, meaning 'This is [relative]'.

Questo è mio padre.This is my father.

Questa è ___.

Used to introduce a female family member, meaning 'This is [relative]'.

Questa è mia madre.This is my mother.

Ho un ___.

Used to state that you have a male relative, meaning 'I have a [relative]'.

Ho un fratello.I have a brother.

Ho una ___.

Used to state that you have a female relative, meaning 'I have a [relative]'.

Ho una sorella.I have a sister.