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4.1.1: Le famiglie

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    341197
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    Family and pets

    In this page, you will learn vocabulary related to family members, relationships, and pets. This vocabulary will help you describe your family, talk about relationships, and ask about others’ families.

    Membri della famiglia

    Family members

    • bambino / bambina (il / la) (child)
    • cognato / cognata (il / la) (brother-in-law / sister-in-law)
    • compagno / compagna (il / la) (partner, often used without marriage)
    • coppia (la) (couple)
    • cugino / cugina (il / la) (cousin)
    • famiglia (la) (family)
    • fidanzato / fidanzata (il / la) (fiancé / fiancée; serious boyfriend / girlfriend)
    • figlio / figlia (il / la) (son / daughter)
    • fratello (il) (brother)
    • fratellastro (il)* (stepbrother)
    • gemello / gemella (il / la) (twin)
    • genero (il) (son-in-law)
    • genitori (i) (parents – always plural)
    • madre (la) (mother – formal)
    • marito (il) (husband)
    • matrigna (la)* (stepmother)
    • moglie (la) (wife)
    • mamma (la) (mom – informal, affectionate)
    • nipote (il / la) (nephew / niece OR grandson / granddaughter)
    • nonno / nonna (il / la) (grandfather / grandmother)
    • nuora (la) (daughter-in-law)
    • padre (il) (father – formal)
    • papà (il) (dad – informal, affectionate)
    • parenti (i) (relatives – not “parents”)
    • patrigno (il)* (stepfather)
    • ragazzo / ragazza (il / la) (boyfriend / girlfriend; also boy / girl)
    • sorella (la) (sister)
    • sorellastra (la)* (stepsister)
    • suocero / suocera (il / la) (father-in-law / mother-in-law)
    • zio / zia (lo / la) (uncle / aunt) 

    Stato civile e relazioni

    Relationship status and family situation

    • convivente (living together / cohabiting)
    • separato / separata (separated)
    • divorziato / divorziata (divorced)
    • single (single)
    • celibe (unmarried man)
    • nubile (unmarried woman)

    Aggettivi descrittivi

    Descriptive adjectives

    • maggiore (older – e.g., fratello maggiore, older brother)
    • minore (younger – e.g., sorella minore, younger sister)
    • unico / unica (only – e.g., figlio unico, only child)

    Verbi comuni

    Common verbs

    • convivere (to live together)
    • divorziare (to divorce)
    • sposarsi (to get married)

    Sostantivi collegati

    Related nouns

    • convivenza (la) (living together / cohabitation)
    • divorzio (il) (divorce)
    • divorziato / divorziata (divorced)
    • matrimonio (il) (wedding / marriage)
    Note Culturale 

    In Italian, there are words for stepmother, stepfather, stepsister, and stepbrother, but they often sound negative or distant. Instead, many people prefer to say la moglie di mio padre (“my father’s wife”) or il figlio di mia madre (“my mother’s son”), or simply use madre, fratello, sorella if the relationship is close.

    Gli animali domestici

    Pets

    • cane (il) (dog)
    • coniglio (il) (rabbit)
    • criceto (il) (hamster)
    • gatto (il) (cat)
    • pesce rosso (il) (goldfish)
    • tartaruga (la) (turtle)
    • uccello (l’) (bird)

    4.1.1: Le famiglie is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.