The masculine plural covers everyone
When a group includes both men and women, Spanish uses the masculine plural. This makes some words mean more than their English look-alikes:
| Spanish | Can mean |
|---|---|
| los padres | the fathers, or the parents (mother and father) |
| los hermanos | the brothers, or siblings (brothers and sisters) |
| los hijos | the sons, or children (sons and daughters) |
| los tíos | the uncles, or aunt and uncle |
| los abuelos | the grandfathers, or grandparents |
| los primos | cousins |
So ¿Tienes hermanos? usually means "Do you have any brothers or sisters?", and Tengo dos hijos can mean two sons, or a son and a daughter. To be specific, say dos hermanas (two sisters) or un hijo y una hija.
Parientes means relatives in general. It does not mean parents; that is padres.
My, your, his, her
The possessive agrees with the thing owned, not the owner: mi before one person, mis before more than one.
- mi madre, mis padres: my mother, my parents
- tu hermano, tus hermanos: your brother, your siblings
- su abuela: his, her, their, or your (formal) grandmother
- nuestra familia: our family
Su is ambiguous; when it matters, say la abuela de Carlos (Carlos’s grandmother). Spanish has no apostrophe-s, so "Ana’s father" is el padre de Ana.
Talking about your family
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¿Tienes hermanos? | Do you have brothers or sisters? |
| Soy hijo único / hija única. | I’m an only child. |
| Tengo un hermano mayor y una hermana menor. | I have an older brother and a younger sister. |
| ¿Cuántos años tiene tu hijo? | How old is your son? |
| Mis padres están divorciados. | My parents are divorced. |
| Estoy casado / casada. | I’m married. |
| Somos una familia grande. | We’re a big family. |
Mayor and menor mean older and younger: mi hermano mayor, mi hermana menor. For twins, say gemelos (and gemelas for girls); in some countries mellizos means fraternal twins.
Everyday names for family
- papá and mamá (dad and mom) are used by adults too, not only children. Stress the last syllable: pah-PAH, mah-MAH.
- abuelito and abuelita, with the loving diminutive -ito, are very common for grandparents in Latin America.
- esposo / esposa (husband / wife) is neutral everywhere; marido and mujer are also common, especially in Spain.
- novio / novia is boyfriend / girlfriend, and also groom / bride at a wedding.
- In Mexico and elsewhere, compadre and comadre are what parents and godparents call each other: the relationship is a real family bond.
Common mistakes
- Parientes for parents: parents is padres; parientes means relatives.
- Papa for dad: papá needs the accent; el papa is the Pope and la papa is a potato.
- Mis padre: the possessive agrees in number: mi padre, mis padres.
- Using the English possessive: say el hermano de María, not María’s hermano.
For telling someone you love them, see I love you in Spanish.