Palabra Lexi · words by topic · Spanish
Spanish Words: Family Members — with Pronunciation and Memory Hooks
Level A0 · first words · 20 words
Mother, father, brother, sister, grandparents, neighbors and coworkers: you can't talk about yourself or anyone you know without them.
Spanish is read almost exactly as it's written: stress falls on the second-to-last syllable when a word ends in a vowel, n or s, otherwise on the last one, and exceptions carry an accent mark (café, estación). Nouns are masculine (el) or feminine (la). Pronunciation below is spelled out in English, stressed syllable in capitals.
Family Members in Spanish: word list
| Spanish | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| familia | fah-MEE-lyah | family |
| madre | MAH-dreh | mother |
| padre | PAH-dreh | father |
| hijo | EE-hoh | son |
| hija | EE-hah | daughter |
| hermano | ehr-MAH-noh | brother |
| hermana | ehr-MAH-nah | sister |
| abuelo | ah-BWEH-loh | grandfather |
| abuela | ah-BWEH-lah | grandmother |
| marido | mah-REE-doh | husband |
| mujer | moo-HEHR | woman / wife |
| hombre | OHM-breh | man |
| niño | NEE-nyoh | child |
| bebé | beh-BEH | baby |
| vecino | beh-SEE-noh | neighbour |
| jefe | HEH-feh | boss |
| médico | MEH-dee-koh | doctor |
| profesor | proh-feh-SOHR | teacher |
| chico | CHEE-koh | boy |
| chica | CHEE-kah | girl |
Memory hooks for these words
A sound-alike is an English word or phrase that sounds like the foreign one. The scene ties it to the meaning: you recall the sound, the sound brings back the picture, the picture brings back the meaning. Read each scene once, then try to recall the meaning a minute later without looking at the list.
familia [fah-MEE-lyah] — family
Sounds like: “far-milia”. Imagine your family living far away in a million little houses, all connected by a long winding road.
Vivimos con la familia. — We live with the family.
madre [MAH-dreh] — mother
Sounds like: “mad-ray”. A mad ray of sunlight bursts through the window as mother scolds you for waking late.
La madre despierta al niño. — The mother wakes the child.
padre [PAH-dreh] — father
Sounds like: “pa-dray”. Your PA (father) drags a heavy DRAY cart full of tools to build the family house.
Su padre trabaja mucho — His father works a lot
hijo [EE-hoh] — son
Sounds like: “Higher-oh”. A boy climbs higher and higher, his father shouting 'higher, oh!' proudly watching his son.
Tu hijo es alto. — Your son is tall.
hija [EE-hah] — daughter
Sounds like: “eehah”. A little girl shouts 'Ee-hah!' riding a toy horse while her mother watches proudly nearby.
Mi hija monta el caballo — My daughter rides the horse
hermano [ehr-MAH-noh] — brother
Sounds like: “her man oh”. She points and says 'her man, oh!' but it's actually just her brother hugging her.
Este es mi hermano — This is my brother
hermana [ehr-MAH-nah] — sister
Sounds like: “her manna”. Your sister shares her manna bread with you, breaking it in half at the table.
Mi hermana come pan. — My sister eats bread.
abuelo [ah-BWEH-loh] — grandfather
Sounds like: “a-blue-oh”. Grandfather wears a blue coat and old blue shoes, waving 'oh!' from his rocking chair on the porch.
El abuelo cuenta historias — Grandfather tells stories
abuela [ah-BWEH-lah] — grandmother
Sounds like: “abuelah”. Picture grandmother saying 'ahh, blah' as she naps in her rocking chair after lunch.
Mi abuela duerme la siesta — My grandmother takes a nap
marido [mah-REE-doh] — husband
Sounds like: “marry-dough”. A man kneads dough while marrying his bride, husband stirring flour before the wedding cake
Mi marido cocina el pastel — My husband bakes the cake
mujer [moo-HEHR] — woman / wife
Sounds like: “mud-hair”. A woman falls in mud, her hair covered in brown mud, laughing loudly outside.
Esa mujer es amable — That woman is kind
hombre [OHM-breh] — man
Sounds like: “hombre (poker)”. A man slams down his cards shouting 'ombre!' at the poker table, bluffing hard.
El hombre juega cartas. — The man plays cards.
niño [NEE-nyoh] — child
Sounds like: “ninja”. A little child dresses up as a tiny ninja, sneaking quietly behind the couch to surprise mom.
El niño duerme — The child sleeps
bebé [beh-BEH] — baby
Sounds like: “babble”. A baby babbles nonsense syllables loudly, drooling and waving tiny fists in its wooden high chair.
El bebé llora — The baby cries
vecino [beh-SEE-noh] — neighbour
Sounds like: “ve-SEE-no”. You veer through the fence and SEE your neighbour NO doubt watering his lawn next door.
El vecino riega su jardín. — The neighbour waters his garden.
jefe [HEH-feh] — boss
Sounds like: “Jeff”. Jeff in a suit sits at a huge desk, pointing at workers and giving loud orders.
El jefe llega temprano. — The boss arrives early.
médico [MEH-dee-koh] — doctor
Sounds like: “medicine”. The doctor pours pink medicine onto a spoon, and the little patient opens her mouth wide.
Necesito ir al médico — I need to go to the doctor
profesor [proh-feh-SOHR] — teacher
Sounds like: “professor”. A professor in a tweed jacket writes equations on a chalkboard, pointing firmly at students.
El profesor explica la lección. — The teacher explains the lesson.
chico [CHEE-koh] — boy
Sounds like: “chicko”. A boy pretends to be a chicken, flapping his arms and clucking in the yard.
El chico es muy alto. — The boy is very tall.
chica [CHEE-kah] — girl
Sounds like: “chick-ah”. A young girl holds a baby chick, saying 'chick-ah' softly to calm it.
La chica corre — The girl runs.