This page outlines vocabulary related to the family and to relationships in Brazilian Portuguese.
Family (familia) plays an essential role in Brazilian life. It is common for family members to meet regularly for BBQs and other gatherings and to spend quality time together. Multigenerational living is also common in Brazil with two or three generations living under the same roof.
The concept of family in Brazil includes extended family members as well as people who may have been ‘absorbed’ into it. My partner talks about ‘cousins’ all the time and it’s often unclear whether they’re actually related or not!
Note: The word for relatives in Brazilian Portuguese is parentes. This should not be confused with the English word parents, which translates to pais in Brazilian Portuguese.
Immediate family members
| brother | irmão |  |
| sister | irmã |  |
| dad | pai |  |
| mum | mãe |  |
| grandfather | avô |  |
| grandmother | avó |  |
Other translations of immediate family members include:
| wife | mulher |
| husband | marido |
| daughter | filha |
| son | filho |
| granddaughter | neta |
| grandson | neto |
| stepmother | madrasta |
| stepfather | padrasto |
| stepdaughter | enteada |
| stepson | enteado |
The importance of grammatical gender
When talking about family members in Brazilian Portuguese, it’s important to remember grammatical gender. Nouns in Brazilian Portuguese come in two types, those that end in a or as are generally feminine and those that end in o or os are generally masculine.
When talking about the plural for a family group that is composed exclusively of males or a mix of males and females, use the masculine form. When talking about a group that is exclusively female, use the feminine form. One exception to this rule is using the feminine plural word avós when talking about grandparents.
See below for examples of talking about family members in the masculine plural form:
| siblings | irmãos |
| children | filhos |
| grandchildren | netos |
Note: you may come across the word crianças in Brazilian Portuguese to refer to children, which refers specifically to young children. If you want to talk about children as family members, including grown-up children, use:
| son | filho |
| daughter | filha |
| sons, or mixed sons and daughters | filhos |
| daughters | filhas |
Extended family members
See below for translations of more extended family members:
| aunty | tia |
| uncle | tio |
| niece | sobrinha |
| nephew | sobrinho |
| female cousin | prima |
| male cousin | primo |
| great aunt | tia-avó |
| great uncle | tio-avô |
| mother-in-law | sogra |
| father-in-law | sogro |
| sister-in-law | cunhada |
| brother-in-law | cunhado |
| daughter-in-law | nora |
| son-in-law | genro |
Vocabulary for relationships
See below for translations of different types of relationships in Brazilian Portuguese:
| boyfriend | namorado |
| girlfriend | namorada |
| married | casada (f) / casado (m) |
| divorced | divorciada (f) / divorciado (m) |
| single | solteira (f) / solteiro (m) |
| separated | separadas (f) / separado (m) |
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