“Don’t ever take sides with anyone against the family…Ever” (Al Pacino – The Godfather).

La famiglia is an absolutely fundamental element of Italian culture, and if you spend any amount of time here you’ll soon find yourself being ‘interrogated’ about ‘la tua famiglia’. But how do you describe the family hierarchy, and what if you want to talk about your brother in law’s cousin’s cat? Let’s take a look at the three main subdivisions of the family:

parents = genitori
father = padre
dad = papà or  babbo
mother = madre
mum = mamma

relatives = parenti
husband= marito
wife = moglie
son = figlio
daughter = figlia
children = figli if all male or mixed gender, figlie if all female
brother = fratello
sister = sorella
siblings= fratelli, e.g.: ho tre fratelli, due fratelli e una sorella (I’ve got three siblings, two brothers and a sister)
grandfather = nonno
grandmother = nonna
grandparents = nonni
great grandparents = bisnonni
uncle = zio
aunt = zia, e.g.: zia Vittoria è la sorella di mia mamma (aunt Vittoria is my mother’s sister)
aunts and uncles = zii
cousin (male) = cugino
cousin (female) = cugina e.g.: mia cugina Francesca è la figlia di mio zio Luciano (my cousin Francesa is my uncle Luciano’s daughter)
cousins = cugini
nephew/grandson = nipote
niece/granddaughter = nipote

acquired relatives = parenti acquisiti
son in law = genero: il marito della figlia (the daughter’s husband)
daughter in law = nuora: la moglie del figlio (the son’s wife)
father in law = suocero: il padre del marito o della moglie (the husband or wife’s father)
mother in law = suocera: la madre del marito o della moglie (the husband or wife’s mother)
parents in law = suoceri
brother in law = cognato e.g.: mio cognato Vincenzo è il marito di mia sorella minore (my brother in law Vincenzo is my younger sister’s husband)
sister in law = cognata
godfather = padrino
godmother = madrina

Il Padrino (The Godfather)

Notes

• the Italian word parenti is a ‘false friend’ as it doesn’t mean parents but relatives
• my parents, i miei genitori, is often shortened to i miei, e.g.: i miei abitano in Via Garibaldi (my parents live in Via Garibaldi)
• in Italian there are no separate words for nephews and grandchildren, both are called nipoti. Hence for the sake of clarity you will need to give more detail, e.g.: la figlia di mia sorella (my sister’s daughter), or il figlio di mio figlio (my son’s son)
• we use the diminutives –ino, and  –ina, to express ‘little’, e.g. la mia sorellina (my little sister), il mio nipotino (my little nephew) etc.

For more information about la famiglia italiana see the following articles: La famiglia – Part 1 and La famiglia – Part 2

Now, how would you say ‘my brother in law’s cousin’s cat’? Go on, have a go!