Italian culture places a strong emphasis on family bonds. Family gatherings and celebrations are cherished occasions where generations come together to share love, stories… and food!
The vocabulary used to talk about family in Italian presents a few intriguing and captivating facts that will surely arouse your curiosity. Let's dive into a fascinating journey to uncover the hidden secrets and intriguing peculiarities of Italian family-related vocabulary!
How to say “dad”?
Ask your Italian friends how they call their dad, and you'll get two different answers, depending on where they are from! In Northern and Southern Italy, the most common word is “papà “, while in Central Italy, especially in Tuscany, and in Sardinia, the most common word is “babbo“. Those are two very different words indeed! How did it come to them?
To put it simple, the word “babbo” is the authentic Italian word, that is found in ancient Italian literature. “Papà “, on the other hand, is a loan word that comes from French, and spread in Nothern Italy due to proximity. With time, it spread in Southern Italy as well, while the central part of the country stayed faithful to “babbo“. One more curiosity: the Italian name of Santa Claus is literally “Dad Christmas”… and it uses the “babbo” word: “Babbo Natale“!
Who is a “nipote”?
Here comes a mindblowing fact! The Italian word “nipote” translates FOUR different English family members: nephew, niece, grandson, granddaughter! The article is a powerful clue to sort out the gender, because “il nipote” is either a nephew or a grandson, while “la nipote” is either a niece or a granddaughter. But there is no way to understand if we are talking about grandparents or aunts and uncles!
So… how do Italians figure out who is a “nipote“, if they don't know the family status of the person they are talking about?
It's not too hard: context clue! If a young adult is talking about a “nipote“, is mostly safe to assume they are talking about a nephew or a niece, while if it's an elderly person, it's likely to be a grandson or a granddaughter. To avoid any possible misunderstanding, however, you'd have to go out of your way to explain the relationship! For example, to specify you are talking about your niece, you could say “mia nipote, la figlia di mia sorella” (my niece, the daughter of my sister).
The mystery of the article: to use it or not to use it?
If you have even a slight familiarity with the Italian language, you have likely noticed that Italians have a strong affection for articles – far more so than English speakers! In Italian, the articles are mandatory way more often than in English.
This is particularly evident when it comes to possessive: instead of, for example, “my bag” or “your dog”, the Italian language requires you to say “the my bag” and “the your dog”: “la mia borsa” and “il tuo cane“.
However, when it comes to words indicating family members, Italian drops the article as well! So, for example, you would say: “mio fratello” (my brother), “tua sorella” (your sister), “nostro cugino” (our cousin) and so on. Just the possessive, no article! Easy, right?
Well… when it comes to plural family members, the article has to be there again! So, you would say: “i miei fratelli” (my brothers), “le tue sorelle” (your sisters), “i nostri cugini” (our cousins).
And there is one more caveat! When we are talking about singular family members, but with cutesy diminutives, the article must be there as well: “il mio fratellino” (my little brother), “la tua sorellina” (your little sister), “il nostro cuginetto” (our little cousin).
What a headache! To recap:
- “mio fratello“
- “i miei fratelli“
- “il mio fratellino“
Is it easier to understand now?
Bonus: Italian family vocabulary list!
If you made it through these quirky Italian language facts, you deserve a prize! Here is a list of Italian family words to enhance your vocabulary… now you know how to use them!
Mother – La madre
Mom – La mamma
Father – Il padre
Dad – Il papà , il babbo
Brother – Il fratello
Sister – La sorella
Siblings – I fratelli
Grandfather – Il nonno
Grandmother – La nonna
Uncle – Lo zio
Aunt – La zia
Cousin (male) – Il cugino
Cousin (female) – La cugina
Son – Il figlio
Daughter – La figlia
Husband – Il marito
Wife – La moglie
Nephew – Il nipote
Niece – La nipote
Grandson – Il nipote
Granddaughter – La nipote
Father-in-law – Il suocero
Mother-in-law – La suocera
Brother-in-law – Il cognato
Sister-in-law – La cognata
Son-in-law – Il genero
Daughter-in-law – La nuora
Now you are ready to describe your family in Italian! Give it a try!