Learning the vocabulary for family in Dutch may actually be a bit easier than you think, thanks to the fact that Dutch is part of our family — that is, a member of the West Germanic language family that includes English and German. (English and Dutch are somewhat distant relatives, though, separating around 600 CE.) Though the spelling may look a little bit unusual if you’re just getting started with Dutch, most of these words will sound immediately familiar to you. That’s because they’re cognates, or words that sound or look the same in another language.
Certain things may take some getting used to — for instance, the fact that there’s a masculine and feminine form of “cousin.” Other things will merely be a matter of nailing the correct spelling and pronunciation.
Here’s all the basic vocabulary you’ll need to talk about family in Dutch. To hear how each word is pronounced by a native speaker, just press the play button.
Essential Vocab For Family In Dutch
the family — de familie
the relatives — de familieleden
the extended family — de verre familieleden
the ancestor — de voorvader
the descendant — de nakomeling
the parents — de ouders
the mother — de moeder
the father — de vader
the children — de kinderen
the daughter — de dochter
the son — de zoon
the siblings — de broers en zussen
the brother — de broer
the sister — de zus
the stepchild — het stiefkind
the half-brother — de halfbroer
the foster parents — de pleegouders
the guardian — de voogd
the grandmother — de grootmoeder
the grandfather — de grootvader
the grandson — de kleinzoon
the granddaughter — de kleindochter
the nephew — de neef
the niece — de nicht
the aunt — de tante
the uncle — de oom
the cousin — de neef (masc.) / de nicht (fem.)
the parents-in-law — de schoonouders
the great-grandparents — de overgrootouders
the second cousin — de neef in de tweede graad