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Talking about your family is a great way of striking up a conversation or getting to know someone. It’s also a great way to learn to speak Portuguese, because there’s a limited amount of vocabulary to learn, so it’s one of the quicker subjects to master. If you spend time learning with a tutor, you’ll be able to learn how to speak Portuguese about your family quite quickly.
In this post, we’ll cover the vocabulary, and some of the phrases you’ll need to talk about your family in Portuguese.
Vocabulary
Family
Família
Father
Pai
Mother
Mãe
Brother
Irmão
Sister
Irmã
Husband
Marido
Wife
Esposa
Grandfather
Avô
Grandmother
Avó
Grandson
Neto
Granddaughter
Neta
Uncle
Tio
Aunt
Tia
Nephew
Sobrinho
Niece
Sobrinha
Cousin (male)
Primo
Cousin (female)
Prima
Stepfather
Padrasto
Stepmother
Madrasta
Stepbrother / Half-brother
Meio-irmão
Stepsister / Half-sister
Meia-irmã
Father-in-law
Sogro
Mother-in-law
Sogra
Brother-in-law
Cunhado
Sister-in-law
Cunhada
Adopted
Adotado/adotada
Phrases
Now we’ve learned the basic vocabulary to speak Portuguese about your family, we’ll take a look at some basic sentences.
I have one brother and two sisters.
Eu tenho um irmão e duas irmãs.
My brother is younger than me.
Meu irmão é mais novo que eu.
I have six cousins.
Eu tenho seis primos.
My cousin is older than me.
Meu primo / minha prima é mais velho/velha que eu.
My father is sixty-four years old.
Meu pai tem sessenta e quatro anos.
My family is very close.
Minha família é muito próxima.
I have a big family.
Eu tenho uma família grande.
My uncle is divorced.
Meu tio é divorciado.
My parents have been married for thirty-one years.
Meus pais estão casados há trinta e um anos.
My stepbrother is adopted.
Meu meio-irmão é adotado.
How many brothers and sisters do you have?
Quantos irmãos você tem?
How old is your niece?
Sua sobrinha tem quantos anos?
Do you have any cousins?
Você tem primos?
Are you close with your family?
Você é próximo/próxima da sua família?
How long have your parents been married?
Há quanto tempo seus pais estão casados?
The next step is to practice talking about your family in Portuguese so that you can internalize the vocabulary and gain mastery of this area. The best way to do this is to practice with an expert tutor, who can help you with your pronunciation and fluency, and teach you vocabulary that hasn’t been covered in this post.