Family - Italian

Describing Family Members

When talking about family in Italian, it's important to know the names of different family members. This helps in introducing your family and discussing relationships.

• La famiglia is the term for "the family".
• Parents are referred to as la madre (mother) and il padre (father).
• Il marito is your husband, and la moglie is your wife.
• Grandparents are la nonna (grandmother) and il nonno (grandfather).
• For aunts and uncles, use la zia (aunt) and lo zio (uncle).
• Il nipote can mean grandson or nephew, while la nipote is granddaughter or niece. Context indicates which.
• Siblings are referred to as la sorella (sister) and il fratello (brother).

Examples:

• La famiglia di Marco è molto grande.
• Mia sorella è più giovane di me.
• Il nonno racconta sempre storie interessanti.
• Lo zio vive in una città lontana.
• La nipote di Maria è simpatica.

Describing Family Relationships

Descriptive adjectives in Italian often come after the noun they modify, and they agree in gender and number with the noun. When describing family members, it's common to use adjectives to talk about age, size, and other characteristics:

• Alta (tall) describes someone with a high stature.
• Anziano (elderly) refers to an older person, often used respectfully.
• Basso (short) is used for someone who is not tall.
• Giovane (young) refers to someone who is youthful.
• Grande (big, large) can describe the size of something or someone.
• Piccolo (small) is the opposite of grande, meaning small in size or stature.
• Vecchio (old) is used to indicate age, typically for objects or informally for people.

Examples:

• La zia di Luca è molto alta.
• Mia nonna è anziana ma molto attiva.
• Mio cugino è basso ma molto atletico.
• Il mio fratellino è ancora piccolo.