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German family words: 25 words for family, friends and people

🇩🇪 GermanA1–A225 words

Talking about the people in your life is one of the first things you do in a new language. These words cover parents, siblings, partners, children and colleagues, plus a few adjectives to describe people, each noun with its article.

Where you will use it: Talking about your family, friends and the people around you.

German words for family and people — The word list

Meanings and translations are in English.

GermanMeaning and example
die Familiethe family“Meine Familie wohnt in München.”My family lives in Munich.
die Elternthe parents“Meine Eltern besuchen uns am Sonntag.”My parents are visiting us on Sunday.
die Mutterthe mother“Meine Mutter ist Lehrerin.”My mother is a teacher.
der Vaterthe father“Mein Vater arbeitet bei der Bahn.”My father works for the railway.
die Geschwisterthe siblings; brothers and sisters“Hast du Geschwister?”Do you have any brothers or sisters?
der Bruderthe brother“Mein Bruder ist zwei Jahre älter als ich.”My brother is two years older than me.
die Schwesterthe sister“Meine Schwester studiert in Wien.”My sister is studying in Vienna.
der Sohnthe son“Unser Sohn geht in die erste Klasse.”Our son is in first grade.
die Tochterthe daughter“Ihre Tochter ist drei Jahre alt.”Her daughter is three years old.
die Großelternthe grandparents“Die Großeltern wohnen auf dem Land.”The grandparents live in the countryside.
die Omathe grandma“Am Wochenende fahren wir zur Oma.”At the weekend we're going to grandma's.
der Opathe grandpa“Mein Opa erzählt gern Geschichten.”My grandpa likes telling stories.
der Onkelthe uncle“Mein Onkel hat eine kleine Firma.”My uncle has a small company.
die Tantethe aunt“Meine Tante wohnt in der Schweiz.”My aunt lives in Switzerland.
der Partnerthe partner“Mein Partner kommt aus Polen.”My partner is from Poland.
die Ehefrauthe wife“Seine Ehefrau ist Ärztin.”His wife is a doctor.
der Ehemannthe husband“Ihr Ehemann arbeitet als Ingenieur.”Her husband works as an engineer.
verheiratetmarried“Wir sind seit fünf Jahren verheiratet.”We've been married for five years.
ledigsingle (not married)“Ich bin ledig und wohne allein.”I'm single and live alone.
die Freundinthe (female) friend; girlfriend“Meine Freundin heißt Julia.”My girlfriend is called Julia.
der Mitbewohnerthe flatmate“Mein Mitbewohner kocht sehr gern.”My flatmate loves cooking.
die Leutethe people“Die Leute hier sind sehr hilfsbereit.”The people here are very helpful.
nettnice; kind“Deine Kollegen sind wirklich nett.”Your colleagues are really nice.
freundlichfriendly“Die Verkäuferin war sehr freundlich.”The shop assistant was very friendly.
altold“Wie alt bist du?”How old are you?

Tips for learning German words

  • Learn der, die or das with every nounThe article is part of the word: der Zug, die Fahrkarte, das Gleis. It decides the case endings and adjectives, so learn it from day one.
  • Type the umlauts and ßWrite ä, ö, ü and ß, not a, o, u or ss: schon means "already" but schön means "beautiful". Getting them right in WordNest trains your spelling.
  • Watch the verb positionIn a German main clause the verb comes second, and separable verbs split: "Ich rufe dich morgen an." Read each example aloud to feel the word order.

Standard German as used in Germany

German is spoken in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and a few everyday words differ between them: a tomato is a Tomate in Germany and a Paradeiser in Austria, a bicycle is a Fahrrad rather than a Velo. These lists follow Standard German (Hochdeutsch) as used in Germany, and WordNest's examples, audio and AI corrections use the same standard. You will be understood in every German-speaking country.

Add five or six of these words a day rather than the whole list at once, keep the example sentence on the card, and review them when they come due. WordNest schedules each word across seven growing intervals — same day, then 1, 3, 7, 14, 30 and 60 days — so the list is still with you months later. Read how spaced repetition works if you want the reasoning behind those numbers.

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Questions about this list

Is this German from Germany, Austria or Switzerland?

Standard German (Hochdeutsch) as used in Germany. Where Austria or Switzerland usually use a different word, the list gives the one used in Germany, but every word is understood across the German-speaking world.

How do I practise German words for family and people?

Start with five words, listen and say each example aloud. Then recall the German word, with its article, from its English meaning and review it over several days.

How many words are in this list?

This list contains 25 words and phrases with English meanings and example sentences. It is a starting set, not a complete course.

Study these words with spaced repetition

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