Family members in Italian

Italians love talking about family, so these words come up constantly — and they're easy, with the familiar masculine/feminine pairs that only change the final vowel.

The core family

Everyday speech often prefers la mamma (mum) and il papà for parents.

Wider family

Two handy plurals

Italian uses the masculine plural for mixed groups: i genitori means "the parents", i figli means "the children", and i nonni means "the grandparents".

Saying "my"

Use mio / mia / miei / mie to agree with the noun: mio padre, mia madre, i miei fratelli. A nice quirk: with singular family members you drop the article (mia sorella, not la mia sorella) — but you keep it in the plural (i miei fratelli).

Make them stick by saying them

These words settle in fast through use. Navoq has you describe your own family out loud in real Italian sentences, with instant pronunciation feedback — so they're ready when someone asks about yours.