Family in the Italian language: Let’s complete a family tree with perfect expressions

The topic of family is an excellent conversation starter for people who don’t know each other well. Family in the Italian language is a great topic to have a conversation especially if you are an Italian learner. It will give you the opportunity to converse naturally about your family as well as others’ families.

This article will teach you Italian words, conversation starters, and phrases to help you make small talk and describe your family in Italian. The Italian word for family is “famiglia,” and the plural form is “famiglie.” As you can see, it is very similar to the English word, which makes memorization much easier.

“Grado di parentela” in Italian, can be used to define your relationship with someone. A typical family consists of parents, siblings, a spouse, and children, who are referred to as “parenti di primo grado” in Italian.

Then there are second- and third-degree family members, known in Italian as “parenti di secondo grado” and “parenti di terzo grado.”

Some of the prominent relationships include

• Mother in Italian
• Father in Italian
• Grandmother in Italian
• Grandfather in Italian
• Sister in Italian
• Brother in Italian
• Daughter in Italian
• Son in Italian
• Aunt in Italian
• Uncle in Italian
• Cousin in Italian

Immediate family in the Italian language

Let’s begin with family vocabulary and relationships. First-degree family members are those closest to you, which translates to “familiari” or “parenti di primo grado” in Italian. In Italian, a close relative is also known as “congiunto,” “parente prossimo,” or “parente stretto.”

 It should be noted that “parente” is a fictitious friend. In Italian, “parenti” are “relatives” in English, whereas “parents” in English are “genitori” in Italian.

We know it is quite confusing but make sure you know which one is which! The words “parente” and “parent” come from the Latin word “parens,” which means “parent.” This term was later replaced in Italian by “genitore.”

You can learn Italian online with italki to minimize all your confusion related to family. You can book your lesson plan online to get the best instructor who will make you fluent in Italian.

Look at the following table to learn the terms for immediate family in the Italian language.

English	Italian Singular	Italian Plural	IPA	Pronunciation
Family	Famiglia	Famiglie	[famˈiʎa]	pha-meeh-wlhee-ah
First-degree family member	Familiare	Familiari	[familiˈare]	pha-meeh-leeh-ah-reh
First-degree family member	Congiunto	Congiunti	[kond͡ʒˈunto]	kohn-joon-toh
First-degree family member	Parente di primo grado	Parenti di primo grado	[parˈɛnte dˈi prˈimo ɡrˈado]	pah-rehn-teh deeh pree-moh grah-doh
Relative	Parente	Parenti	[parˈɛnte]	pah-rehn-teh
Close relative	Parente prossimo	Parenti prossimi	[parˈɛnte prˈɔs͡simo]	pah-rehn-teh prohs-see-moh
Close relative	Parente stretto	Parenti stretti	[parˈɛnte strˈetːo]	pah-rehn-teh streht-toh
Parent	Genitore	Genitori	[d͡ʒenitˈore]	jeh-neeh-toh-reh
Mother	Madre	Madri	[mˈadre]	mah-dreh
Mom	Mamma	Mamme	[mˈamma]	mahm-mah
Father	Padre	Padri	[pˈadre]	pah-dreh
Dad	Papà	Papà	[papˈa]	pah-pah
Children	Figli	Figli	[fˈiʎɪ]	pheeh-wlheeh
Son	Figlio	Figli	[fˈiʎo]	pheeh-wlhee-oh
Daughter	Figlia	Figlie	[fˈiʎa]	pheeh-wlhee-ah
Eldest child	Primogenito	Primogeniti	[primod͡ʒˈɛnito]	preeh-moh-jeh-neeh-toh
Second-born	Secondogenito	Secondogeniti	[sekondod͡ʒˈɛnito]	seh-kohn-doh-jeh-neeh-toh
Third-born	Terzogenito	Terzogeniti	[tert͡sod͡ʒˈɛnito]	tehr-tsoh-jeh-neeh-toh
Middle child	Figlio di mezzo	Figli di mezzo	[fˈiʎo dˈi mˈɛd͡zːo]	pheeh-wlhee-oh deeh meh-tsoh
Siblings	Fratelli	Fratelli	[fratˈɛllɪ]	phrah-tehl-leeh
Brother	Fratello	Fratelli	[fratˈɛllo]	phrah-tehl-loh
Little brother, younger brother	Fratello minore, fratellino	Fratelli minori, fratellini	[fratˈɛllo minˈore][fratellˈino]	phrah-tehl-loh mee-noh-rehphrah-tehl-leeh-noh
Older brother	Fratello maggiore	Fratelli maggiori	[fratˈɛllo mad͡ʒːˈore]	phrah-tehl-loh mah-joh-reh
Sister	Sorella	Sorelle	[sorˈɛlla]	soh-rehl-lah
Little sister, younger sister	Sorella minore, sorellina	Sorelle minori, sorelline	[sorˈɛlla minˈore][sorellˈina]	soh-rehl-lah mee-noh-rehsoh-rehl-leeh-nah
Older sister	Sorella maggiore	Sorelle maggiori	[sorˈɛlla mad͡ʒːˈore]	soh-rehl-lah mah-joh-reh
Spouse	Coniuge	Coniugi	[kˈoniʊd͡ʒe]	koh-neeh-ooh-jeh
Husband	Marito	Mariti	[marˈito]	mah-reeh-toh
Wife	Moglie	Mogli	[mˈoʎe]	moh-wlhee-eh
Domestic partner	Convivente	Conviventi	[konvivˈɛnte]	kohn-vee-vehn-teh
Domestic partner	Compagno	Compagni	[kompˈaɲɲo]	kohm-pahn-yoh
Domestic partner	Compagna	Compagne	[kompˈaɲɲa]	kohm-pahn-yah

We recommend you to learn I love you in Italian to express your love and affection for your immediate family and life partner. Expressing love is an important factor that keeps the relationships strong and powerful.

Now let’s move towards the terms used for extended family in Italian.

Extended family in the Italian language

Second-degree relations include grandparents and grandchildren, and third-degree relations include great-grandparents, uncles, aunts, nieces, and nephews.

English	Italian Singular	Italian Plural	IPA	Pronunciation
Second-degree family member	Parente di secondo grado	Parenti di secondo grado	[parˈɛnte dˈi sekˈondo ɡrˈado]	pah-rehn-teh deeh seh-kohn-doh grah-doh
Grandparents	Nonni	Nonni	[nˈɔnnɪ]	nohn-neeh
Grandfather, grandpa	Nonno	Nonni	[nˈɔnno]	nohn-noh
Grandmother, grandma	Nonna	Nonne	[nˈɔnna]	nohn-nah
Grandchildren	Nipoti	Nipoti	[nipˈotɪ]	neeh-poh-teeh
Grandson	Nipote	Nipoti	[nipˈote]	neeh-poh-teh
Granddaughter	Nipote	Nipoti	[nipˈote]	neeh-poh-teh
Third-degree family member	Parente di terzo grado	Parenti di terzo grado	[parˈɛnte dˈi tˈɛrt͡so ɡrˈado]	pah-rehn-teh dee tehr-tsoh grah-doh
Great-grandparents	Bisnonni	Bisnonni	[biznˈɔnnɪ]	bees-nohn-neeh
Great-grandfather	Bisnonno	Bisnonni	[biznˈɔnno]	bees-nohn-noh
Great-grandmother	Bisnonna	Bisnonne	[biznˈɔnna]	bees-nohn-nah
Great-grandchildren	Pronipoti	Pronipoti	[pronipˈotɪ]	proh-neeh-poh-teeh
Great-grandson	Pronipote	Pronipoti	[pronipˈote]	proh-neeh-poh-teh
Great-granddaughter	Pronipote	Pronipoti	[pronipˈote]	proh-neeh-poh-teh
Uncles	Zii	Zii	[d͡zjˈi]	tseeh-eeh
Uncle	Zio	Zii	[d͡zˈio]	tseeh-oh
Aunt	Zia	Zie	[d͡zˈia]	tseeh-ah
Cousins	Cugini	Cugini	[kʊd͡ʒˈinɪ]	kooh-jeeh-neeh
Male cousin	Cugino	Cugini	[kʊd͡ʒˈino]	kooh-jeeh-noh
Female cousin	Cugina	Cugine	[kʊd͡ʒˈina]	kooh-jeeh-nah
Niece	Nipote	Nipoti	[nipˈote]	neeh-poh-teh
Nephew	Nipote	Nipoti	[nipˈote]	neeh-poh-teh

To hold the conversation with your extended family in Italian, you can seek guidance from Italian tutor online. These instructors make learning easier by providing the opportunity to solve practice exercises, letting the learner speak Italian in simulated scenarios, and generating Italian pieces of writing.

Distant relatives in the Italian language

A distant relative is someone who is not closely related to you and is known in Italian as “parente lontano” or “parente alla lontana” in Italian. Let’s learn how to say “great-uncles” and “second cousins”.

English	Italian Singular	Italian Plural	IPA	Pronunciation
Distant relative	Parente lontano	Parenti lontani	[parˈɛnte lontˈano]	pah-rehn-teh lohn-tah-noh
Distant relative	Parente alla lontana	Parenti alla lontana	[parˈɛnte ˈalla lontˈana]	pah-rehn-teh ahl-lah lohn-tah-nah
Great-great-grandfather	Trisnonno	Trisnonni	[triznˈɔnno]	trees-nohn-noh
Great-great-grandmother	Trisnonna	Trisnonne	[triznˈɔnna]	trees-nohn-nah
Great-uncle	Prozio	Prozii	[prot͡sˈio]	proh-tseeh-oh
Great-aunt	Prozia	Prozie	[prod͡zˈia]	proh-tseeh-ah
Great-great-uncle	Pro-prozio	Pro-prozii	[prˈo prot͡sˈio]	proh-proh-tseeh-oh
Great-great-aunt	Pro-prozia	Pro-prozie	[prˈo prod͡zˈia]	proh-proh-tseeh-ah
Male second cousin	Biscugino	Biscugini	[biskʊd͡ʒˈino]	bees-kooh-jeeh-noh
Female second cousin	Biscugina	Biscugine	[biskʊd͡ʒˈina]	bees-kooh-jeeh-nah
Male third cousin	Cugino di terzo grado	Cugini di terzo grado	[kʊd͡ʒˈino dˈi tˈɛrt͡so ɡrˈado]	kooh-jeeh-noh deeh tehr-tsoh grah-doh
Female third cousin	Cugina di terzo grado	Cugine di terzo grado	[kʊd͡ʒˈina dˈi tˈɛrt͡so ɡrˈado]	kooh-jeeh-nah deeh tehr-tsoh grah-doh
Male first cousin once removed	Procugino	Procugini	[prokʊd͡ʒˈino]	proh-kooh-jeeh-noh
Female first cousin once removed	Procugina	Procugine	[prokʊd͡ʒˈina]	proh-kooh-jeeh-nah
Male second cousin once removed	Procugino	Procugini	[prokʊd͡ʒˈino]	proh-kooh-jeeh-noh
Female second cousin once removed	Procugina	Procugine	[prokʊd͡ʒˈina]	proh-kooh-jeeh-nah
Male first cousin twice removed	Cugino di secondo grado	Cugini di secondo grado	[kʊd͡ʒˈino dˈi sekˈondo ɡrˈado]	kooh-jeeh-noh deeh seh-kohn-doh grah-doh
Female first cousin twice removed	Cugina di secondo grado	Cugine di secondo grado	[kʊd͡ʒˈina dˈi sekˈondo ɡrˈado]	kooh-jeeh-nah deeh seh-kohn-doh grah-doh

It is a normal practice to use slang with cousins. You can also learn Italian slang to have informal Italian conversations with your cousins and distant family members that match your age group.

Family members after marriage

In Italian, your husband or wife’s family members are referred to as “parenti acquisiti.” To specify their role, you add “in-law” to the end of another word in English, such as brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and so on. Each family member has a completely different name in Italian.

English	Italian Singular	Italian Plural	IPA	Pronunciation
In-laws	Parente acquisito	Parenti acquisiti	[parˈɛnte akːwizˈito]	pah-rehn-teh ah-kooh-eeh-seeh-toh
Parents-in-law	Suoceri	Suoceri	[sʊˈɔːt͡ʃerɪ]	sooh-oh-cheh-reeh
Father-in-law	Suocero	Suoceri	[sʊˈɔːt͡ʃero]	sooh-oh-cheh-roh
Mother-in-law	Suocera	Suocere	[sʊˈɔːt͡ʃera]	sooh-oh-cheh-rah
Brother-in-law	Cognato	Cognati	[koɲˈato]	kohn-yah-toh
Sister-in-law	Cognata	Cognate	[koɲˈata]	kohn-yah-tah
Son-in-law	Genero	Generi	[d͡ʒˈɛnero]	jeh-neh-roh
Daughter-in-law	Nuora	Nuore	[nʊˈɔra]	nooh-oh-rah

Other family-related terms in Italian

Here are some other handy phrases, words, and expressions that can be useful when talking about family in Italian language.

English	Italian Singular	Italian Plural	IPA	Pronunciation
Single-parent family	Famiglia monogenitoriale, famiglia monoparentale	Famiglie monogenitoriali, famiglie monoparentali	[famˈiʎa monod͡ʒenitoriˈale][famˈiʎa monoparentˈale]	pha-meeh-wlhee-ah moh-noh-jeh-neeh-toh-reeh-ah-lehpha-meeh-wlhee-ah moh-noh-pah-rehn-tah-leh
Single parent,lone parent	Genitore single	Genitori single	[d͡ʒenitˈore sˈinɡˌɔl]	jeh-neeh-toh-reh seehn-gohl
Single father	Padre single	Padri single	[pˈadre sˈinɡˌɔl]	pah-dreh seehn-gohl
Single mother	Madre single	Madri single	[mˈadre sˈinɡˌɔl]	mah-dreh seehn-gohl
Civil union	Unione civile	Unioni civili	[ʊnjˈone t͡ʃivˈile]	ooh-neeh-oh-neh cheeh-veeh-leh
De facto couple	Coppia di fatto	Coppie di fatto	[kˈɔpːia dˈi fˈatːo]	kohp-peeh-ah deeh phaht-toh
Adoptive family	Famiglia adottiva	Famiglie adottive	[famˈiʎa adotːˈiva]	pha-meeh-wlhee-ah ah-doht-teeh-vah
Adoptive parents	Genitori adottivi	Genitori adottivi	[d͡ʒenitˈorɪ adotːˈivɪ]	jeh-neeh-toh-reeh ah-doht-teeh-veeh
Adoptive mother	Madre adottiva	Madri adottive	[mˈadre adotːˈiva]	mah-dreh ah-doht-teeh-vah
Adoptive father	Padre adottivo	Padri adottivi	[pˈadre adotːˈivo]	pah-dreh ah-doht-teeh-voh
Adopted children	Figli adottivi	Figli adottivi	[fˈiʎɪ adotːˈivɪ]	pheeh-wlhee ah-doht-teeh-veeh
Adopted son	Figlio adottivo	Figli adottivi	[fˈiʎo adotːˈivo]	pheeh-wlhee-oh ah-doht-teeh-voh
Adopted daughter	Figlia adottiva	Figlie adottive	[fˈiʎa adotːˈiva]	pheeh-wlhee-ah ah-doht-teeh-vah
Foster family	Famiglia affidataria	Famiglie affidatarie	[famˈiʎa affidatˈaria]	pha-meeh-wlhee-ah ah-pheeh-dah-tah-reeh-ah
Foster parents	Genitori affidatari	Genitori affidatari	[d͡ʒenitˈorɪ affidatˈarɪ]	jeh-neeh-toh-reeh ah-pheeh-dah-tah-reeh
Foster mother	Madre affidataria	Madri affidatarie	[mˈadre affidatˈaria]	mah-dreh ah-pheeh-dah-tah-reeh-ah
Foster father	Padre affidatario	Padri affidatari	[pˈadre affidatˈario]	pah-dreh ah-pheeh-dah-tah-reeh-oh
Foster child	Bambino in affidamento, bambino in affido	Bambini in affidamento, bambini in affido	[bambˈino ˈiːn affidamˈento][bambˈino ˈiːn affˈido]	bahm-beeh-noh een ah-pheeh-dah-mehn-tohbahm-beeh-noh een ah-pheeh-doh
Surrogate mother	Madre surrogata	Madri surrogate	[mˈadre sʊrɾoɡˈata]	mah-dreh sooh-roh-gah-tah
Godfather	Padrino di battesimo	Padrini di battesimo	[padrˈino dˈi batːˈɛzimo]	pah-dreeh-noh deeh bah-teh-seeh-moh
Godmother	Madrina di battesimo	Madrine di battesimo	[madrˈina dˈi batːˈɛzimo]	mah-dreeh-nah deeh bah-teh-seeh-moh
Twin	Gemello, gemella	Gemelli, gemelle	[d͡ʒemˈɛllo][d͡ʒemˈɛlla]	jeh-mehl-lohjeh-mehl-lah
Triplets	Tre gemelli	Tre gemelli	[trˈe d͡ʒemˈɛllɪ]	treh jeh-mehl-leeh
Married	Sposato	Sposati	[spozˈato]	spoh-sah-toh
Separated	Separato	Separati	[sepaɾˈato]	seh-pah-rah-toh
Divorced	Divorziato	Divorziati	[divort͡sjˈato]	deeh-vohr-tseeh-ah-toh
Widower	Vedovo	Vedovi	[vˈedovo]	veh-doh-voh
Widow	Vedova	Vedove	[vˈedova]	veh-doh-vah
Baby	Bebè	Bebè	[bebˈɛ]	beh-beh
Toddler	Infante	Infanti	[infˈante]	een-phan-teh
Tween	Preadolescente	Preadolescenti	[preadoleʃˈɛnte]	preh-ah-doh-leh-shen-teh
Teenager	Adolescente	Adolescenti	[adoleʃˈɛnte]	ah-doh-leh-shen-teh
Adult	Adulto	Adulti	[adˈulto]	ah-doohl-toh
Ancestor	Antenato, avo	Antenati, avi	[antenˈato][ˈavo]	ahn-teh-nah-tohah-voh
Generation	Generazione	Generazioni	[d͡ʒenerat͡siˈone]	jeh-neh-rah-tseeh-oh-neh
Family tree	Albero genealogico	Alberi genealogici	[ˈalbero d͡ʒenealˈɔd͡ʒiko]	ahl-beh-roh jeh-neh-ah-loh-jeeh-koh

Conclusion

All these terms cover the family tree. You can learn them gradually as there is a long list. Try to focus on pronunciation as well. If you are also thinking about the very famous question that is Italian different from Latin. The secret of this query lies in the pronunciation and accent.

Learn about family in the Italian language. It will surely boost your Italian vocabulary and give you the chance to get closer to your people.