Describing family members in Arabic is more precise and more complicated than in English. There are different words for paternal versus maternal aunts and uncles, while the same word is used for grandparents on both sides of the family. There is a specific word for a sister’s husband, but not for a brother’s wife, etc.  It’s a lot of memorizing terms, patterns, and family trees. It can feel overwhelming but, with practice, you’ll get a hang of it. Download the vocabulary list below, then practice forming a few sentences to describe your own family members!

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• When describing a relative’s partner rather than their spouse, substitute زوج/ة with حبيب/ة

• When speaking the Lebanese dialect, substitute أخ with خي for brother

• When talking about step relatives, add one more layer of specificity

• Ex: بنت عمي (my paternal uncle’s daughter) becomes بنت مرت عمي (my paternal uncle’s wife’s daughter)

Note that the list begins with the unique Arabic family member terms, then moves into terms by category (aunts, uncles, cousins…)