Family Members and types of Family Vocabulary
Ancestors – Family members from previous generations
Auntie – The sister of your mother or father/ The wife of your mother or father’s brother
Blood relative – Someone you are connected to by birth rather than marriage
Descendants – A person who is related to you and lives after you, such as your children
Distant relative – A relative who you do not have much contact with and who is not closely related to you
Dysfunctional family – A family with conflict or problems amongst the members
Extended family – The part of the family that includes cousins, grandparents, aunties, and uncles
Half-brother/Half-sister – A brother or sister that shares only one parent in common with you
Immediate family – Your close family members such as children, spouse, parents
In-laws – (mother-in-law, brother-in-law etc…) – The family of your husband or wife
Next-of-kin – The person you are most closely related to. Often used as an emergency contact or for inheritance
Nuclear family – Parents and children
Sibling – A brother or sister
Offspring – Children
Step – With regards to families, the word ‘step’ means that you are related to the person because your mother or father married a different person. The people in that person’s family then become your ‘step family’. For example, step-mother, step-brother, step-sister etc.
Twins – Two babies born at the same time
General Vocabulary, Phrasal Verbs, and Family Idioms
Adopt – To legally agree to permanently look after someone else’s child
Black sheep of the family – A member of the family considered bad or rebellious in some way
Breadwinner – The person who earns money to support a family
Fall out with – To have an argument or disagreement with someone
Family man – A man who is highly dedicated to his family
Own flesh and blood – Emphasising that you are referring to a member of your family.
Blood is thicker than water – Family relationships are the most important
Foster – To legally agree to temporarily look after someone else’s child
Get on well/badly with – Have a good/bad relationship with someone
Get round someone – To persuade someone. Often a child ‘gets round’ their parents
Give a telling off – To discipline someone. Usually, parents tell off their children.
Hereditary – Something that is passed from one generation to the next
Look alike – To have a similar appearance to someone
Look up to – To admire
Look after – To take care of
Named after – To be given a name because of someone else in your family
Older generation – A group of people not classed as young. Generally, they have children/grandchildren.
Run in the family – When traits are shared amongst family members.
Sibling rivalry – Fighting or conflict between brothers and sisters
Single-parent – A parent raising a child by themselves
Take after someone – Something you inherit from an older family member
To raise/bring up a child/children – To take care of children from childhood to adulthood
To support a family – To provide food and resources for a family to survive
Upbringing – The way that a person was raised from childhood to adulthood
Wears the trousers – The person who is in control
Widow / Widower – A woman/man whose husband/wife has died
Younger generation – A group of people not considered old. Generally young people, students and young adults
Vocabulary to talk about friendship and contacting old friends
bad at keeping in touch with: not good at maintaining contact with someone
get back in touch: contact someone again
have in common: share the same interests
be into something: enthusiastic about something
hit it off right from the word go: become friends from the very beginning
tell (you) straight to (your) face: express feelings and opinions directly to someone
in keeping with: according to the typical stereotype
go our separate ways: take a different path in life
far and few between: less and less frequent
be largely down to (me): mainly my fault or responsibility
come across by chance: find unintentionally
it was she who tracked down his email: she investigated and found his email
start out where (we) left off: continuing again from the last time we met
our friendship was as strong as ever: we were still as good friends as before
catch up and fill in the gaps: share details about what’s been happening in your life
Vocabulary to speak about family and friends
A lifelong friend – A friend that you have had for most of your life
A relationship of trust – a connection with another in which you have faith and confidence
Arrange a dinner date – Plan to share an evening meal
A shoulder to cry on – Someone to sympathize with you
Close-knit family – A close family with common interests
Dear to my heart – Someone that I care about
Distant cousins – People who share a common ancestor but are not closely related
Extend the hand of friendship – Reach out to someone in a friendly manner
Extended family – Uncles, aunts and cousins form part of the extended family
Face to face – In person
Get to know one another – Learning different aspects of each other
Get together – Meet up
Immediate family – Spouse, parents, children, grandparents
Long lost friend – A friend that you have lost contact with
Long-term relationships – A committed relationship between partners
Nurture our friendships – Looking after our relationships with friends
Professional relationships – The relationships that we have in the workplace
Relationship problems – Difficulties with people with whom we interact regularly
Share a common background – The share a similar heritage or culture
Share the same ideas – To have similar opinions and views
Stand the test of time – To last a long time
Struck up a friendship – To make friends
To enjoy someone’s company – To enjoy spending time with someone
To have a good working relationship – To work together well
To have a lot in common – To have shared interests
To hit it off – To like each other straight away
To keep in touch with – To keep in contact
To lose touch with – To lose contact
Vocabulary to talk about Toys
go back a bit: make you think of a time in the past
soft toys: toys which look like animals made of cloth and filled with soft material
stand out in the memory: something important from your past you will always remember
wrap (something) up: cover something like a gift in soft paper
the look on (my) face: the expression on my face (of happiness or any other emotion)
give (something away): show how you feel by your expression or behaviour
lash out on (something): spend a lot of money on something
spoil (someone): to be too indulgent to a child
set up: organise, put something together
a learning tool: an object (a game, a platform) that can help you learn something
educational toys: toys designed for learning
stretch (your) imagination: make you think about things in a new way
spend quality time: a very enjoyable time with someone, especially parents with children
let someone win: allow the other player to wine
hand something down: pass on things from one generation of the family to the next
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