Vocabulary: My Family and Descriptions

In this lesson, we will learn the essential vocabulary to talk about your family and describe people in Spanish. ¡Vamos! 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

First, let's meet the family, or la familia.

👨‍👩‍👧 Core Family Members (La familia nuclear):
▸ la madre / mamá - mother / mom
▸ el padre / papá - father / dad
▸ los padres - parents
▸ la hermana - sister
▸ el hermano - brother
▸ los hermanos - siblings (or a group of brothers)
▸ la hija - daughter
▸ el hijo - son
▸ los hijos - children (or a group of sons)
▸ la esposa / la mujer - wife
▸ el esposo / el marido - husband

👵 Extended Family (La familia extendida):
▸ la abuela - grandmother
▸ el abuelo - grandfather
▸ los abuelos - grandparents
▸ la nieta - granddaughter
▸ el nieto - grandson
▸ los nietos - grandchildren
▸ la tía - aunt
▸ el tío - uncle
▸ los tíos - aunt(s) and uncle(s)
▸ la prima - cousin (female)
▸ el primo - cousin (male)

🔑 To talk about your family, you need possessive adjectives:
▸ mi / mis - my
▹ Mi hermano es alto. (My brother is tall.)
▹ Mis primas son simpáticas. (My cousins are nice.)
▸ tu / tus - your (informal, singular 'you')
▹ ¿Es tu padre? (Is that your father?)
▸ su / sus - his / her / your (formal) / their
▹ Es su abuela. (It's his/her/your/their grandmother.)
▸ nuestro(s) / nuestra(s) - our
▹ Nuestra familia es grande. (Our family is big.)

🎨 Now, let's learn how to describe people. We mainly use two verbs: ser (to be, for permanent qualities) and tener (to have, for features like hair or eyes).

Here are some common adjectives (adjetivos):

✨ General Appearance & Personality:
▸ alto/a - tall
▸ bajo/a - short
▸ joven - young
▸ mayor / viejo/a - old (mayor is more polite)
▸ guapo/a - handsome / beautiful
▸ simpático/a - nice, friendly
▸ inteligente - intelligent
▸ divertido/a - fun, amusing
▸ serio/a - serious
▸ trabajador/a - hard-working

💇‍♀️ Describing Hair (el pelo):
We use the structure: Tener + el pelo + color/style
▸ Ella tiene el pelo largo y rubio. (She has long, blonde hair.)
▸ Colors: rubio (blonde), castaño (brown), negro (black), pelirrojo (red-haired)
▸ Styles: largo (long), corto (short), liso (straight), rizado (curly)

👀 Describing Eyes (los ojos):
We use the structure: Tener + los ojos + color
▸ Mi padre tiene los ojos azules. (My father has blue eyes.)
▸ Colors: azules (blue), verdes (green), marrones (brown), negros (black)

❗️ Important Grammar Point: Adjective Agreement
In Spanish, adjectives MUST agree in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) with the person or thing they describe.

▸ Masculine Singular: Mi tío es alto. (My uncle is tall.)
▸ Feminine Singular: Mi tía es alta. (My aunt is tall.)
▸ Masculine Plural: Mis tíos son altos. (My uncles are tall.)
▸ Feminine Plural: Mis tías son altas. (My aunts are tall.)

Some adjectives, like inteligente or joven, only change for number, not gender:
▸ El chico es inteligente. (The boy is intelligent.)
▸ La chica es inteligente. (The girl is intelligent.)
▸ Los chicos son inteligentes. (The boys are intelligent.)

Now you have the tools to describe your family and friends. Try to write a few sentences about them! ¡Buena suerte!