Counting family members
Here are some phrases to use when writing about the number of people in your family.
- Wir sind vier in meiner Familie. – There are four of us in my family.
- In meiner Famile sind sechs Personen. – In my family are six people.
- Es gibt drei Personen in meiner Famile. – There are three people in my family.
You also need to know how to write down who the family members are, and use the correct word for 'my' – mein, meine or mein.
| mein (m) | meine (f) | mein (nt) | meine (pl) |
| Vater | Mutter | Eltern | |
| Papa | Mama | ||
| Stiefvater | Stiefmutter | ||
| Bruder | Schwester | Geschwister | |
| Stiefbruder | Stiefschwester | Brüder | |
| Zwillingsbruder | Zwillingsschwester | Schwestern | |
| Großvater | Großmutter | Großeltern | |
| Opa | Oma | ||
| Onkel | Tante | ||
| Cousin | Cousine | Cousins | |
| Kind | Kinder |
| mein (m) | Vater |
|---|---|
| meine (f) | Mutter |
| mein (nt) | |
| meine (pl) | Eltern |
| mein (m) | Papa |
|---|---|
| meine (f) | Mama |
| mein (nt) | |
| meine (pl) |
| mein (m) | Stiefvater |
|---|---|
| meine (f) | Stiefmutter |
| mein (nt) | |
| meine (pl) |
| mein (m) | Bruder |
|---|---|
| meine (f) | Schwester |
| mein (nt) | |
| meine (pl) | Geschwister |
| mein (m) | Stiefbruder |
|---|---|
| meine (f) | Stiefschwester |
| mein (nt) | |
| meine (pl) | Brüder |
| mein (m) | Zwillingsbruder |
|---|---|
| meine (f) | Zwillingsschwester |
| mein (nt) | |
| meine (pl) | Schwestern |
| mein (m) | Großvater |
|---|---|
| meine (f) | Großmutter |
| mein (nt) | |
| meine (pl) | Großeltern |
| mein (m) | Opa |
|---|---|
| meine (f) | Oma |
| mein (nt) | |
| meine (pl) |
| mein (m) | Onkel |
|---|---|
| meine (f) | Tante |
| mein (nt) | |
| meine (pl) |
| mein (m) | Cousin |
|---|---|
| meine (f) | Cousine |
| mein (nt) | |
| meine (pl) | Cousins |
| mein (m) | |
|---|---|
| meine (f) | |
| mein (nt) | Kind |
| meine (pl) | Kinder |
Question
Look at the picture. Write down how Nils would explain how many people are in his family, and who they are.
You could give several correct responses. Here are some sample answers.
- Wir sind fünf in meiner Familie - mein Vater, meine Mutter, meine Geschwister und ich.
or
- In meiner Famile sind fünf Personen - mein Vater, meine Mutter, mein Bruder, meine Schwester und ich.
or
- Es gibt fünf Personen in meiner Familie - meinen Vater, meine Mutter,meinen Bruder und meine Schwester und mich.
Did you know?
Max und Moritz are two naughty boys from stories written and illustrated by Wilhelm Busch in 1865.
The seven humorous, but dark, tales are written in rhyme and tell of the brothers' mischievous deeds.
They get away with six pranks, until the final story, when a farmer carts them off to the mill in a grain sack they've slit open, where they're ground up and eaten by ducks.
Despite their grizzly end, the tales remain popular with German speakers, who often reference the rhymes knowing that the quotes will be recognised immediately.
Some people with two of something (twin boys, two male pets etc) will often name them Max and Moritz.
