What does 'siblings' mean?

Siblings means brothers and sisters together. Instead of 'Do you have brothers or sisters?' you can ask 'Do you have any siblings?'

Who are your in-laws?

They are your spouse's family and other relatives by marriage. Add -in-law to the relationship: mother-in-law, brother-in-law. The plural is mothers-in-law, not mother-in-laws.

What is the difference between 'relatives' and 'relations'?

'Relatives' is the everyday word for family members. 'Relations' usually means the connection between people or countries, so prefer relatives when you mean people.

Vocabulary Level A2

Family & Relationships Vocabulary

Family English that actually comes up: siblings, in-laws, cousins and partners, plus relationship phrases like get along with, take after and get engaged.

close family · extended family · how you get along

English has a few compact family terms that may not have a direct equivalent in your language: siblings for brothers and sisters together, and the -in-law system for relatives by marriage. These words help you answer a common introductory question: So, do you have any brothers or sisters?

Close family

The people you grew up with. Note siblings — a single word for brothers and sisters.

parents · mom / dad · siblings · an older brother · a younger sister · an only child · twins · a stepbrother · a half-sister

Do you have any siblings? · I'm an only child. · I have an older brother. · She's the youngest of three.

Extended family and in-laws

For your spouse's family and other relatives by marriage, add -in-law to the relationship word.

grandparents · a cousin · an aunt · an uncle · a nephew (your sibling's son) · a niece (your sibling's daughter) · relatives · extended family

mother-in-law · father-in-law · sister-in-law · brother-in-law · plural: two sisters-in-law (the -s goes on the first word)

Relationships and stages

How people form relationships and sometimes separate. Partner is a useful neutral word when gender or marital status is not important.

a partner · a boyfriend / girlfriend · to go out with someone · to get engaged · to get married · a wedding · to split up · to get divorced

They've been together for five years. · She's married to a teacher. · We're getting married in June.

How you get along

These three phrasal verbs are especially useful when you describe family relationships.

I get along with my sister. (we have a good relationship)
He takes after his dad. (he's similar to him)
They look after their grandparents. (they take care of them)

Also useful: We're very close (a strong relationship) and We've lost touch (we don't speak anymore).

Common mistakes

"married with" a person. You are married to someone.

✕She's married with a doctor.
✓She's married to a doctor.

A different phrase, married with two kids, is correct — it means she is married and has children.

Wrong plural for in-laws. The -s attaches to the relationship word.

✕I have two brother-in-laws.
✓I have two brothers-in-law.

Extra words and the wrong verb for family counts. In standard US English, use cousin alone and use have to say how many siblings you have.

✕He is my cousin brother. / I am two brothers.
✓He's my cousin. / I have two brothers.

"I get along my sister". The phrasal verb keeps its preposition: get along with.

Quick exercise

Complete each line with one word.

Do you have any ___ ? (brothers and sisters — one word)
My wife's mother is my mother-in-___ .
She's married ___ an engineer.
I get along ___ my cousin really well.
My brother's daughter is my ___ .

Answer key

siblings (brothers and sisters together)
law (mother-in-law)
to (married to a person)
with (get along with someone)
niece (a nephew is the son)

Practice this in Recursio

Family words often come up in introductions and everyday conversation. Save the terms that match your own family to your word list in Recursio; spaced review can make siblings, in-laws and get along with easier to recall when you need them.

Build your word list in Recursio → · Free to start, on iOS and Android.