Family is where relatives live together and are bound together by emotional relationships. It is also a place for us to return after all the chaos of life to gather with family. In this article, Romaielts will introduce you to 54 English vocabulary words about family topics commonly found in life

In this blog, you are going to learn some great IELTS Speaking vocabulary you can talk about your family. This blog will be very, very helpful if you are taking the IELTS because they often ask you to talk about your family in the speaking section. Most of these IELTS conversational vocabulary words are important to know for your Speaking and Listening tests, but can also come up in Reading passages.

Some questions related to family vocabulary:

  1. Do you have a large family?
  2. Do you like your family?
  3. Do you frequently communicate with your extended family?
  4. How often do you meet with your family?
  5. Does everyone have the same type of family?
  6. Do you like spending time with your family?

Talk about your family:

  1. Immediate family
  2. Extended Family
  3. Nuclear Family
  4. On my mother side/ father side
  5. Maternal side
  6. Family Marital status
  7. In-laws
  8. Blended families
  9. Family friends
  10. Close-knit family
  11. Miscellaneous terms

IELTS Vocabulary Words for Family

WORD MEANING EXAMPLE
Family a group of people who are related to each other I love my family very much.
Spouse A wife or husband I've been married to my spouse for 20 years.
Foster parents to take care of someone else's child, usually for a limited time period We are constantly in need of foster parents.
Strict Limiting someone's behavior. My parents were very strict when it came to school studies.
Easy-going Not easily upset or worried. My boss is easy-going about time keeping. He doesn't get angry when we are late.
Nuclear family A family consisting of two parents and their children but not including other relatives. The average nuclear family today has two children.
Cousin The children of your aunt or uncle. Every summer we spent our holidays with our cousins at our grandparent's house.
Immediate family very close relations, such as your parents, children, brothers, sisters, husband or wife My immediate family are father, mother, and my two little sisters.
Extended family  a family unit that includes grandmothers, grandfathers, aunts, and uncles, cousin etc. I have a large extended family with many nieces and nephews.
Dysfunctional family a family that is not behaving or working normally Cyrps came from a dysfunctional family
Great Grandparents The parents of your grandparents. My great grandparents are live in paris.
Next to kin A  group of people you are most closely related to When you apply for a marriage certificate, you have to name your next of kin.
Raise To take care of someone until they are grown up. My sister raised four kids on her own after she got divorced.
Guardian a person who is legally responsible for a child The court appointed a guardian after his parents passed away.
Godmother a woman who sponsors a child at baptism; often a close family friend My aunt is my God mother
Divorced Previously married but not anymore They got divorced after a very difficult marriage.
Maternal/Paternal A mother's/father's feeling and behavior towards their child. Studies suggest that maternal care has a more positive impact than paternal.
Relative A member of your family All my relatives are great peoples.
A blood relative who is related to another person by blood or ancestry Seema is not my blood relative.
Family Idioms:
 
Idioms Meaning Examples
Helicopter parents Over-attentive parents. My grandmother supervises everything her daughter does and never lets her make decisions. She's a real helicopter parent.
A chip off the old block To have a similar personality Rahil is a professional footballer just like his father. He's a chip off the old block.
Breadwinner The person who financially supports the family. My mother and father are both  in our family. They work 6 days a week to provide for us.
Run in the family Family members have the same personal or physical quality. Baldness runs in our family. All my brothers lost the hair before they were 30 years old.
Blood is thicker than water The relationship with one's family is stronger than any other relationship. I always agree with my sister when she argues with her husband.  Blood is thicker than water
Born with a silver spoon in one's mouth To come from a wealthy family Ram was Born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His father was a multi-millionaire banker.
One big happy family one big happy family We have one big happy family.
Child's play Something that is very easy to do.  For her, computer programming is child's play.

Sibling rivalry

 Competition between brother and sisters

My sister and I had a lot of sibling rivalry growing up, but we're close now that we're adults.

 

Ways to improve your family vocabulary:

  • Read and write some family stories 
  • Watch family-related TV shows, movies, and series
  • Read children books
  • Make flashcards with pictures of family members and their names.
  • Play Scrabble games with family members. Use family-related words to boost vocabulary while having fun.
  • Create family tree


Wrapping up:

Expanding your family vocabulary can improve your language skills and strengthen your relationships with loved ones. By incorporating new words and expressions into your conversations, you can gain a deeper understanding of your family dynamics and communicate your thoughts more effectively. Additionally, the skills you develop through this process can be useful in personal and professional settings beyond the IELTS Speaking test. Language learning is a journey, and building your family vocabulary can help you connect better with your loved ones and others in your life.

Join IELTS ONLINE COACHING to boost your vocabulary words.