Learning about who’s in your family is an absolute must, examiners seem to love asking about it. Describe family members and friends and talk about relationships it will be very important too. To be able to do this, we have organice vocabulary into 4 blocks, which you can see below, or go directly to the flashcards to start working with the vocabulary about family.
Family members in Spanish
We start with 20 practical words that will allow you to talk about family members in general. You need to learn how to use this vocabulary confidently, along with the possessives in Spanish.
| la madre | mother |
| el padre | father |
| los padres | parents |
| la madrastra | stepmother |
| el padrastro | stepfather |
| el hermano | brother |
| la hermana | sister |
| el hermanastro | step/half-brother |
| la hermanastra | step/half-sister |
| el abuelo | grandfather |
| la abuela | grandmother |
| los abuelos | grandparents |
| el tío | uncle |
| la tía | aunt |
| el primo (la prima) | cousin |
| el sobrino | nephew/niece |
| la sobrina | niece |
| el hijo | son |
| la hija | daughter |
| el hijo único (la hija única) | only child |
Vocabulary to describe family and friends
Now we are going to learn some vocabulary to describe what people look like, so we can identify them easily.
| ser alto (a) | to be tall |
| ser bajo (a) | to be short |
| ser grande | to be big |
| ser pequeño (a) | to be small |
| ser mediano (a) | to be medium |
| ser guapo (a) | to be good looking |
| ser feo (a) | to be ugly |
| ser gordo (a) | to be fat |
| ser delgado (a) | to be slim |
| tener el pelo largo | to have long hair |
| tener el pelo corto | to have short hair |
| tener el pelo liso | to have straigh hair |
| tener el pelo rizado | to have curly hair |
| tener el pelo rubio | to have blond hair |
| tener el pelo moreno | to have dark hair |
| tener el pelo blanco | to have white hair |
| tener el pelo negro | to have black hair |
| tener el pelo castaño | to have brown hair |
| tener el pelo pelirrojo | to have red hair |
| tener los ojos azules | to have blue eyes |
| tener los ojos marrones | to have brown eyes |
| tener los ojos verdes | to have green eyes |
| llevar gafas | to wear glasses |
| tener pecas | to have freckles |
| tener barba | to have a beard |
| tener bigote | to have a moustache |
| ser calvo (a) | to be bald |
Notice that to describe people we use the verbs ser (to be), tender (to have), and llevar (to wear). On the other hand, when we describe people in the must we must use the imperfect tense.
«Mi padre es alto y tiene los ojos marrones. Sin embargo, su padre, mi abuelo, era bajo y tenía los ojos azules»
You can translate this sentence and leave the translation in the comments below, I will be happy to correct it for you. For VIP students we have a proper translation task, just click on the link.
Adjectives to describe people's personality and characters
Let’s see some useful adjectives to describe people’s personalities and characters, so we can describe the different qualities of family and friends. Remember that, in Spanish, adjectives must agree with the noun they describe. Learn more about adjectives in Spanish.
| activo (a) | active |
| alegre | happy |
| amable | kind, friendly |
| ambicioso (a) | ambitious |
| amistoso (a) | friendly |
| animado (a) | lively |
| antipático (a) | unpleasant |
| atrevido (a) | cheeky, daring |
| callado (a) | quiet/reserved |
| cariñoso (a) | affectionate |
| celoso (a) | jealous |
| comprensivo (a) | understanding |
| desordenado (a) | disorganised, untidy |
| educado (a) | polite |
| egoísta | selfish |
| extrovertido (a) | extroverted, outgoing |
| fuerte | strong |
| generoso (a) | generous |
| gracioso (a) | funny |
| hablador (a) | talkative |
| honrado (a) | honest |
| independiente | independent |
| leal | loyal |
| maleducado (a) | rude |
| mimado (a) | spoiled |
| motivado (a) | motivated |
| optimista | optimistic |
| perezoso (a) | lazy |
| pesimista | pessimistic |
| proactivo (a) | proactive |
| seguro (a) de sí mismo (a) | self-assured |
| serio (a) | serious, responsible |
| simpático (a) | nice, kind |
| tolerante | tolerant |
| trabajador (a) | hardworking |
| travieso (a) | naughty, mischievous |
| valiente | brave |
Verbs to explain relationships in Spanish
Here you have some verbs that will allow you to explain how you get on with other people because relationships sometimes can be problematic with family and friends.
| aguantar | to put up with |
| confiar | to trust |
| discutir | to discuss, argue |
| enfadarse | to get angry |
| fastidiar | to annoy, bother |
| insultar | to insult |
| llorar | to cry |
| llevarse bien/mal con | to get on well, badly with |
| maltratar | to mistreat, abuse |
| molestar | to bother, annoy |
| pelear(se) | to fight |