Lesson 6 · German A1-2

Family Vocabulary

Die Familie

"Talk about your family" is one of the most common Goethe/telc A1 speaking prompts, and family small talk is a real-life staple once you're living in Germany. Today's vocabulary set also gives you fresh, low-stakes practice at attaching the right article to a noun - the habit from Lesson 4.

Today's win: name your immediate family members with correct articles, and say one sentence about each using the verbs you already know (wohnen, sein).

Core family words

die Familiefamilyder Vaterfather
die Muttermotherdie Eltern (pl.)parents
der Bruderbrotherdie Schwestersister
der Sohnsondie Tochterdaughter
der Mannhusband / mandie Frauwife / woman
das Kindchilddie Geschwister (pl.)siblings

Note: der Mann and die Frau double as "husband/man" and "wife/woman" - context (usually a possessive like mein Mann, "my husband") disambiguates.

Possessives you need today

mein / meinemy (masc./neut. vs. fem.)
dein / deineyour, informal
Das ist mein Vater. Das ist meine Mutter.
Ich habe zwei Geschwister: einen Bruder und eine Schwester.

mein for masculine/neuter nouns, meine for feminine and all plurals - the same der/die/das pattern from Lesson 4 showing up again, which is exactly why that habit pays off.

Try it out loud: describe your own family in 3-4 short sentences: who's in it, using "Das ist mein/meine ..." for each person. If you don't have a sibling or a partner, just say "Ich habe keine Geschwister" (I have no siblings) - that's a real, useful A1 sentence too.

Quick recall check

1. What's the article for "Mutter" (mother)?

Show answer
die

2. What's the article for "Bruder" (brother)?

Show answer
der

3. "This is my father." - Das ist ______ Vater.

Show answer
mein

4. "This is my mother." - Das ist ______ Mutter.

Show answer
meine

5. What's the German word for "siblings"?

Show answer
Geschwister

Primary source

Vocabulary drawn from the "Familie" topic group in the official Goethe-Zertifikat A1 Wortliste.

Want to describe a more complex family situation (step-family, extended family)? Ask your teaching agent for the vocabulary you specifically need.