Palabra Lexi · common words in Spanish

How to say "family" in Spanish

"Family" in Spanish is familia, pronounced fah-MEE-lyah (stress on the syllable in capitals). It is a feminine noun (la familia, plural las familias).

Pronunciation is spelled out in English, one syllable at a time, with the stressed syllable in capitals. The speaker button uses your browser's built-in Spanish voice. Gender and plural: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

How to pronounce familia

Familia is pronounced fah-MEE-lyah, in IPA /faˈmilja/. Familia has three syllables, fah-MEE-lyah, with the stress on the second. There is no written accent because the word follows the basic rule: words ending in a vowel, -n or -s are stressed on the second-to-last syllable.

Listen: normal and slow speed, in your browser's Spanish voice. IPA: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Is familia masculine or feminine?

Familia is feminine, so it takes la (the) and una (a): la familia. The plural is las familias. That fits the usual pattern: most nouns ending in -a are feminine.

Example sentences

Mi familia es grande
my family is big

Vivimos con la familia.
We live with the family.

Toda la familia viene a cenar.
The whole family comes to dinner.

"Family" in Spain and Latin America

Familia is singular, so the verb is too: Mi familia es grande (My family is big).

Regional words and roots: Diccionario de la lengua española (RAE). Spanish varies by region, so treat these as the most common patterns, not strict rules.

How to remember familia

familia [fah-MEE-lyah] sounds like the English “family”. Picture this:

Nearly the same word: the whole family fits in one photo and one word.

A sound-alike plus a vivid scene is the keyword method, a well-studied way to learn vocabulary. How it works.

Practice familia

Two quick games, right here: no sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere.

Word web: familia

Words that live next to familia in the Palabra word web, each with its own English sound-alike and scene. Learning them together makes each one easier to recall.