Portuguese family words: 25 terms for relatives and describing people

🇵🇹 PortugueseA125 words

Talking about yourself and your family is one of the first things you do in a new language — and a classic CIPLE topic. This list covers relatives, relationships and simple adjectives for describing people, with examples in natural Portugal Portuguese.

Where you will use it: Introducing your family and describing people.

Portuguese words for family and people — The word list

Meanings and translations are in English.

Portuguese	Meaning and example
a mãe	Mother.“A minha mãe mora em Braga.”My mother lives in Braga.
o pai	Father.“O meu pai gosta de cozinhar.”My father likes cooking.
os pais	Parents.“Os meus pais vêm jantar amanhã.”My parents are coming for dinner tomorrow.
o filho	Son.“O meu filho anda na escola primária.”My son goes to primary school.
a filha	Daughter.“A minha filha está a aprender a nadar.”My daughter is learning to swim.
o irmão	Brother.“O meu irmão trabalha num hospital.”My brother works in a hospital.
a irmã	Sister.“A minha irmã é mais nova do que eu.”My sister is younger than me.
o avô	Grandfather.“O meu avô lê o jornal todos os dias.”My grandfather reads the newspaper every day.
a avó	Grandmother.“A minha avó faz uma sopa ótima.”My grandmother makes excellent soup.
o neto	Grandson.“O neto da Ana tem cinco anos.”Ana's grandson is five years old.
a neta	Granddaughter.“A minha neta vem visitar-me no sábado.”My granddaughter is coming to visit me on Saturday.
o tio	Uncle.“O meu tio vive nos Açores.”My uncle lives in the Azores.
a tia	Aunt.“A minha tia chega amanhã de manhã.”My aunt arrives tomorrow morning.
o primo / a prima	Cousin (male / female).“A minha prima estuda em Coimbra.”My cousin studies in Coimbra.
o sobrinho / a sobrinha	Nephew / niece.“O meu sobrinho adora jogar à bola.”My nephew loves playing football.
o marido	Husband.“O meu marido está a preparar o jantar.”My husband is making dinner.
a mulher	Woman; wife.“A minha mulher trabalha perto de casa.”My wife works near home.
o namorado / a namorada	Boyfriend / girlfriend.“O meu namorado é de Setúbal.”My boyfriend is from Setúbal.
o vizinho / a vizinha	Neighbour (male / female).“A minha vizinha tem dois gatos.”My neighbour has two cats.
a criança	Child.“A criança está a brincar no jardim.”The child is playing in the garden.
solteiro / solteira	Single; unmarried (male / female).“O meu irmão é solteiro.”My brother is single.
casado / casada	Married (male / female).“Sou casada e tenho uma filha.”I'm married and have a daughter.
simpático / simpática	Friendly; pleasant (male / female).“A tua irmã é muito simpática.”Your sister is very friendly.
tímido / tímida	Shy (male / female).“O meu sobrinho é um pouco tímido.”My nephew is a little shy.
alto / alta	Tall (male / female).“A minha prima é mais alta do que eu.”My cousin is taller than me.

Tips for learning Portuguese words

Learn the article with the nounWrite o comboio or a paragem, not just the noun: the article tells you the gender, and adjectives agree with it.
Listen before you speakEuropean Portuguese swallows many unstressed vowels, so words sound shorter than they look. Play the audio and repeat each example aloud.
Type the accentsIn WordNest a missing accent counts as a mistake. Typing água, não and amanhã correctly from the start saves relearning them later.

European, not Brazilian Portuguese

Portugal and Brazil share one language but differ in everyday words, pronunciation and grammar: a train is a comboio in Portugal and a trem in Brazil, and "I am eating" is estou a comer rather than estou comendo. WordNest teaches the Portugal variety — example sentences, pronunciation and AI corrections all follow Portugal's norms.

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.

European vs Brazilian Portuguese: 50 everyday words that differ →How to learn European Portuguese with WordNest →

Questions about this list

Is this European or Brazilian Portuguese?

European Portuguese, as spoken in Portugal. Where Brazil uses a different word, the list gives the Portugal one — for example comboio instead of trem.

How do I practise Portuguese words for family and people?

Start with five words, listen and say each example aloud. Then recall the Portuguese word 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

Create a free account, choose Portuguese as a study language and add these words to your own deck.