Bite 21: Talking About Your Family in German

German in 100 bites by Dr. Mitar Pitzek

Bite 21:
Talking About Your Family in German – “Meine Familie und ich”
(A1 Level)

Innes Blog - Bite 21: Talking About Your Family in German

Before We Dive In

„Man sucht sich seine Familie nicht aus – aber man kann sie beschreiben.“
(You don’t choose your family – but you can describe them.)
– Inspired by everyday life!

Whether you’re chatting with new friends, introducing yourself in class, or sharing something personal with your language partner, talking about your family is one of the most common small-talk topics in German.

In this Bite, you’ll learn how to describe your family – who’s in it, what they do, and how they relate to you. It’s a great way to practice basic sentence structure, possessive pronouns, and vocabulary for relationships.

1. Family Vocabulary – Die wichtigsten Wörter

German	English
die Familie	the family
die Mutter / Mama	mother / mom
der Vater / Papa	father / dad
die Eltern	parents
die Schwester	sister
der Bruder	brother
die Großeltern	grandparents
die Oma / der Opa	grandma / grandpa
die Tochter	daughter
der Sohn	son
die Tante	aunt
der Onkel	uncle
der Cousin / die Cousine	cousin
das Kind	child
die Kinder	children
der Partner / die Partnerin	partner

2. Possessive Pronouns – “my”, “your” and more

To talk about your family, you’ll often need possessive pronouns.
Here are the most important ones:

German	English	Example
mein	my (masculine/neuter)	Das ist mein Vater. (That’s my father.)
meine	my (feminine/plural)	Das ist meine Mutter. (That’s my mother.)
dein	your (masc./neuter)	Ist das dein Bruder? (Is that your brother?)
deine	your (fem./plural)	Deine Eltern sind sehr nett. (Your parents are very nice.)

The form changes depending on the gender and case, but at A1, you can focus on the nominative case to get started.

3. Talking About Your Family – Sample Sentences

Try these simple sentences to describe your family:

Ich habe eine Schwester. (I have a sister.)
Mein Vater ist Lehrer. (My father is a teacher.)
Meine Eltern wohnen in Salzburg. (My parents live in Salzburg.)
Meine Mutter kocht gern. (My mother likes to cook.)
Hast du Geschwister? (Do you have siblings?)
Ja, ich habe einen Bruder. (Yes, I have a brother.)

Vocabulary tip: The word Geschwister means “siblings” and is always plural!

4. Practice Time – Describe Your Family!

Write a short paragraph (3–5 sentences) about your family.
Here’s an example to get you started:

Example:
„Ich heiße Sara. Ich habe zwei Brüder. Mein Vater ist Arzt und meine Mutter ist Lehrerin. Meine Familie wohnt in der Nähe von Graz.“
(My name is Sara. I have two brothers. My father is a doctor and my mother is a teacher. My family lives near Graz.)

Try to answer these questions:

Hast du Geschwister?
Was machen deine Eltern?
Wo wohnt deine Familie?

Use mein/meine and other vocabulary from this Bite.

Vienna Tip: Use Family Words in Real Life

A fun way to practice:
Bring a family photo to your language class or language partner meeting and describe who’s in it – auf Deutsch, natürlich!
Or ask someone:
“Hast du Geschwister?”
You’ll learn more than just German – you’ll get to know the people, too!

Summary

Talking about your family is an easy and personal way to practice German.

✅ Learn family vocabulary.
✅ Use mein / dein to describe relationships.
✅ Practice writing and speaking about your own family.
✅ Great preparation for small talk and introductions in real life!