30+ Easy Italian Vocabulary For Family That You Must Know

5 min readNov 2, 2022

Original blog post: https://ling-app.com/it/italian-vocabulary-for-family/

Are you curious to know what the Italian vocabulary for the family is? The family has a very important role in the life of Italians. Therefore, it is common to have family-related terms in a conversation. The best thing you can do is to improve your Italian vocabulary and include family words.

This article covers the basics and most common Italian vocabulary for family.

The Most Common Italian Vocabulary For Family

An Italian family can be pretty numerous and can include a lot of relatives and extra family members added to marriage. For example, southern Italian families tend to have more kids, and each has more than one aunt, cousin, and other family members.

When you meet Italians for the first time, during the greetings, you might be asked about your family, or others will tell you about theirs.

Here are the most common family words:

Il padre — Father
Il papà — Daddy
La madre — Mother
La mamma — Mom
Il marito — Husband
La moglie — Wife
Il figlio — Son
La figlia — Daughter
Il fratello — Brother
La sorella — Sister
La sorella più giovane — Younger sister
Lo zio — Uncle
La zia — Aunt
Il cugino — Cousin
La cugina — Cousin (female)
Il nonno — Grandfather
Il nipote — Nephew
La nipote — Niece (female)
Il pronipote — Great-grandchild
La pronipote — Great-granddaughter

The Most Common Italian Vocabulary For The Extended Family

It is very useful to add to the vocabulary additional words for the extended family. You might find them useful if you travel to Italy or speak to Italian friends.

Here are more family-related words:

I parenti — Relatives
Il genero — Son-in-law
Il mio unico figlio — My only child
La nuora — Daughter-in-law
Il suocero — Father-in-law
La suocera — Mother-in-law
Il cognato — Brother-in-law
La cognata — Sister-in-law
Il padrino — Godfather
La madrina — Godmother
Il patrigno — Stepfather
La matrigna — Stepmother
Il fratellastro — Stepbrother
La sorellastra — Stepsister
La nonna — Grandmother
I nonni — Grandparents
Il bisnonno — Great-grandfather
La bisnonna — Great-grandmother

The Most Common Italian Vocabulary Related To Family

It is also possible to encounter other words related to the family in Italian during a conversation with friends, or you might need to use them when talking about your family.

Here they are:

I miei fratelli — My brothers
La famiglia — Family
La famiglia allargata — Extended family
I genitori — Parents
Il Fidanzato — Boyfriend
La fidanzata — Girlfriend
Bambini — Children
Singolo membro della famiglia — Single family member

Idioms That Have To Do With Family

Italians often use idioms with family words. If you do not know them, you might think of a different meaning than the one intended.

Here are some of the most common idioms related to the family in Italian:

L’unità di una famiglia fa la sua felicità — The unity of a family makes its happiness
Chi si sposa coi parenti, poca vita e assai tormenti — Those who marry with relatives, little life, and much torment
Parenti serpenti — Snake relatives
Suocera e nuora, tempesta e gragnola — Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, storm and gragnola
Buon sangue non mente — Good blood does not lie
Tra la suocera e la nuora, c’è il diavolo che lavora — Between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law, there is the devil who works
II sangue unisce, l’interesse divide — Blood unites, interest divides
I litigi di famiglia devono rimanere in famiglia — Family quarrels must remain in the family
È più facile essere a capo di un regno che a capo di una famiglia — It is easier to be the head of a kingdom than the head of a family.
Ogni casa ha la sua croce — Each house has its own cross
In casa di calzolaio non si hanno scarpe — There are no shoes in a cobbler’s house

Common Sentences Used In A Household

If you are invited for dinner at the house of an Italian family, you might hear some of the following common phrases:

Vai a fare i compiti — Go do your homework
La cene è pronta — Dinner is ready
Non dimenticare di portare fuori il cane — Don’t forget to take the dog out
La mia famiglia va in vacanza in Agosto — My family goes on vacation in August
Mia mamma cucina molto bene — My mom cooks very well
Mio fratello ha due figli — My brother has two children
I miei genitori ti invitano a cena stasera — My parents are inviting you to dinner tonight
I miei figli iniziano la scuola domani — My children start school tomorrow
Aiuta tua madre a lavare i piatti — Help your mom wash the dishes
Non giocare a pallone in casa — Don’t play football at home
Ti presento la mia famiglia — Ti presento la mia famiglia
Mia sorella è una vera peste — My sister is a real pest

Would you like to know more about the Italian language?

Ready To Learn More Italian?

Would you like to speak Italian like native speakers? Now that you know more about the Italian family, you can learn more about Italian culture and the rest of the language. You can do this by using the Ling App!

With the Ling app, you can learn everything there is to know about Italian. You can learn grammar, pronunciation, sentence structure, and more. In addition, you can check out our posts on Common Italian Christmas Greetings and Happy Birthday In Italian to add even more words to your vocabulary.

The Ling app has a mobile version, too, so learners can continue learning when traveling or during a break from work.

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