español · A1 · vocabulary · 4 minutes
Close family
Talk naturally about the relatives closest to you.
Understand the choice
Family words appear constantly in introductions and everyday stories. Learn masculine and feminine relatives as related pairs, then combine them with mi, mis, tu, or tus when talking about your own family.
Core rule: The possessive mi stays singular before one relative; use mis before plural relatives, regardless of gender.
Notice it in context
Mi madre, mi padre y mi hermana viven cerca.
My mother, my father, and my sister live nearby.
Mi repeats naturally with each singular relative, while viven is plural because the subject is a list.
Mis abuelos tienen tres hijos.
My grandparents have three children.
Abuelos can describe a grandfather and grandmother together.
¿Tienes hermanos o hermanas?
Do you have brothers or sisters?
Spanish often uses the plural when asking whether any siblings exist.
What to remember
- Hijo can mean son; hijos can mean sons or children in a mixed group.
- Use mayor and menor after the noun for older and younger siblings.
Common trap: Do not translate parents as parientes: padres means parents, while parientes means relatives.