Family Words Around the World

Think about the people in your family. You might live with a parent, a sibling, or a grandparent. Did you know that people all over the world use different words for the same family members? A child in Paris says 'mère' for mother. A child in Madrid says 'madre'. A child in London says 'mother'. Three different words — one meaning! In this lesson you will collect family words from three languages: English, Spanish, and French.

Every language has its own special words for family members. Let's learn five important family words across three languages. Here is your word table: | Family Member | English | Spanish | French | |---|---|---|---| | Mother | mother | madre | mère | | Father | father | padre | père | | Brother | brother | hermano | frère | | Sister | sister | hermana | sœur | | Grandmother | grandmother | abuela | grand-mère | In Spanish, many words for women in the family end in '-a' (madre, hermana, abuela) and words for men end in '-o' (hermano). This is called gender — in Spanish, nouns (naming words) are either masculine (male) or feminine (female). In French, 'mère' means mother and 'père' means father. Notice they look similar! The small mark over the 'e' is called an accent. It changes how the letter sounds. Here is a tip to help you remember: the Spanish word 'madre' sounds a little like the English word 'mother'. The French word 'frère' sounds a bit like the English word 'friar' — both come from very old Latin roots!