How to Talk About Family in Spanish: Possessive Adjectives and Key Phrases
Learn to say who is in your family in Spanish using possessive adjectives like mi, mis, nuestro and su, with clear Latin American examples and pronunciation.
By PookieFriends & plans · Yapr Learn
Talking about family is one of the first real conversations you will have in Spanish, and it works differently from introducing yourself. Instead of giving personal details like your name or job, you focus on relationships: who someone is to you. The key tool is the possessive adjective, the Spanish equivalent of my, your, our and their. In this lesson you will learn the forms mi, mis, tu, tus, su, sus and nuestro/nuestra, and you will build complete sentences such as Tengo dos hermanas and Mis padres viven en el extranjero.
By the end, you can…
- name common family members in Spanish with the correct article or possessive adjective.
- use mi, mis, tu, tus, su, sus and nuestro/nuestra to show who a person belongs to.
- say how many siblings or children I have using tengo plus numbers.
- say where family members live using vive, viven and en el extranjero.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
Tengo dos hermanas.
I have two sisters.
TEN-goh dohs er-MAH-nahs
Use tengo for I have. Hermana means sister; hermano means brother. The number comes before the noun.
Mis padres viven en el extranjero.
My parents live abroad.
mees PAH-drehs VEE-vehn en el eks-tran-HEH-roh
Padres means parents. Viven is they live. En el extranjero is a common Latin American way to say abroad.
Mi hermana se llama Ana.
My sister is called Ana.
mee er-MAH-nah seh YAH-mah AH-nah
Use se llama to give someone's name. Mi is used with one person; mis is used with more than one.
Nuestros abuelos viven en México.
Our grandparents live in Mexico.
NWES-trohs ah-BWEH-lohs VEE-vehn en MEH-hee-koh
Nuestros is our for a masculine plural noun. Abuelos means grandparents.
¿Tienes hijos?
Do you have children?
TYEH-nehs EE-hohs
A common question when talking about family. Hijos can mean children or sons; the context makes it clear.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
Possessive adjectives change for number, not for the gender of the owner. Mi libro and mi casa both use mi because the noun is singular. Mis libros and mis casas use mis because the noun is plural. Nuestro changes to nuestra before a feminine singular noun: nuestro hijo, nuestra hija. Su can mean his, her, their or your formal, so context or a phrase like su mamá de ella clarifies it.
When to use it
Use possessives when you want to connect a person to you: Mi mamá vive en Lima. Use tengo to state how many family members you have: Tengo un hermano y tres primas. Use vive for one person and viven for more than one: Mi tío vive en Chile; mis tíos viven en Chile. In Latin American Spanish, mamá and papá are common; in Spain, madre and padre are more formal in daily speech.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
¿Tienes hermanos?
Do you have siblings?TYEH-nehs er-MAH-nohsSí, tengo dos hermanas y un hermano.
Yes, I have two sisters and one brother.see, TEN-goh dohs er-MAH-nahs ee oon er-MAH-noh¿Y tus padres viven aquí?
And do your parents live here?ee toos PAH-drehs VEE-vehn ah-KEENo, mis padres viven en el extranjero.
No, my parents live abroad.noh, mees PAH-drehs VEE-vehn en el eks-tran-HEH-rohA little context goes a long way
Family vocabulary varies by region. In much of Latin America, mamá and papá are warm and common, while madre and padre can sound more formal or distant in everyday speech. In Spain, padres is the normal word for parents, and vosotros forms like vuestros hermanos appear in informal plural speech, but Latin American Spanish uses su or sus instead.
One thing to watch for
Saying mi hermanas for my sisters.
Try this instead: Mi is singular, so it cannot go with a plural noun. Use mis hermanas. The same rule applies to tu and tus: tu hermana but tus hermanas.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you say My parents live in Guatemala?
Show a sample answer
Mis padres viven en Guatemala.
Padres is plural, so use mis. Viven is the plural form of the verb vivir. Mis padres viven en Guatemala is correct; you could also say Mis papás viven en Guatemala in informal Latin American speech.
2Choose the correct form: Nuestro/Nuestra abuela vive en Perú.
Show a sample answer
Nuestra abuela vive en Perú.
Abuela is feminine singular, so nuestro changes to nuestra. Nuestro abuelo would be correct for a grandfather.
3Translate: I have one brother and two sisters.
Show a sample answer
Tengo un hermano y dos hermanas.
Tengo introduces what you have, and the numbers come before the nouns. Un is used with the masculine singular hermano, and dos with the plural hermanas.
To talk about family in Spanish, remember two things: match the possessive to the noun's number and gender, and use tengo plus a number for siblings or children. Start with Mi mamá, mis padres and tengo dos hermanas, and you can already describe your family.
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