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Talking about family is a cornerstone of daily conversation in Arabic. In this lesson, we will expand your vocabulary beyond immediate relatives to include extended family members, in-laws, and relationship statuses. You will see how seamlessly these new nouns combine with the possessive suffixes you already know.

### Grandchildren

To talk about grandchildren, use **حفيد** for a grandson and **حفيدة** for a granddaughter. Just like other family members, simply attach a possessive suffix to express relationships like "our" or "his."

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### Children-in-Law

For the spouses of your children, the words are **صهر** (son-in-law) and **كنة** (daughter-in-law).

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### Parents-in-Law

The terms for parents-in-law are **حم** (father-in-law) and **حماة** (mother-in-law). Note that **حم** is one of a special group of Arabic nouns that lengthens its ending with an extra vowel letter when a possessive suffix is attached (for example, becoming **حماه** for "his father-in-law" in the accusative case).

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### Engagement and Marital Status

When a couple is engaged, refer to the fiancé as **خطيب** and the fiancée as **خطيبة**.

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To describe other marital situations, use the noun **طلاق** for a divorce. If someone has lost their spouse, use the word **أرمل** (widowed / widower) for a man, and add a Taa Marbuta for a woman: **أرملة** (widow).

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Extended Family and In-Laws

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

interrogative

noun

numeral

particle

prefix

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

The definite article and locatives (الـ)

Basic noun gender (ة)

Sun and moon letters

Singular subject pronouns (أنا، أنت، هو، هي)

Indefinite nouns and nominal sentences (ـٌ)

Demonstrative pronouns for 'this' (هذا / هذه)

Separate prepositions (في، من، إلى، على)

Attributive adjectives

Predicative adjectives

Yes/No questions (هل، أ)

Basic questions (من، ما، أين)

Singular possessive pronouns (ـي، ـك، ـه، ـها)

Plural subject pronouns (نحن، أنتم، هم)

Plural possessive pronouns (ـنا، ـكم، ـهم)

Noun possession

Attached prepositions (بـ، لـ، كـ)

Pronouns with prepositions

Having and possessing (عند، لـ، مع)

Regular plural nouns (ـون، ـين، ـات)

Broken plurals

Dual nouns (ـان / ـين)

Plural and distant demonstratives (هؤلاء، ذلك، تلك)

Non-human plural agreement

Present tense singular verbs

Verbal sentences (VSO)

Present tense plural verbs

Topicalized sentences (SVO)

The indefinite accusative case (ـاً)

Verb object pronouns (-ني، -ك، -ه)

Present tense negation (لا)

Question words with verbs (متى، كيف...)

Adverbs of time and place

The future tense (سـ / سوف)

Intentions and desires (أن)

Negating states and possession (ليس)

Past tense singular suffixes

Past tense plural suffixes

Negating past events (ما)

Singular commands

Numbers 1 to 10

Number agreement for 1 and 2 (واحد، اثنان)

Asking how many (كم)

Numbers 3 to 10 (ثلاثة إلى عشرة)

Ordinal numbers 1 to 10 (الأول، الثاني)

Basic conjunctions (فـ، أو، لكن)

Ordering at a café (واحد، اثنان)

Food and drink with conjunctions (و، ف، أو، لكن)

There is and there are (هناك / ليس هناك)

Direct address (يا)

Giving reasons (لأنّ)

Relative pronouns (الذي / التي)

Quantifiers (كل / بعض)

The past tense of 'to be' (كان)

Past possession

Numbers 11 to 19 and tens to 80

Telling time (الساعة)

This book vs this is a book (هذا الكتاب، هذا كتاب)

Greetings (مرحبا، السلام عليكم)

How are you? and goodbye (كيف حالك، مع السلامة)

Nationalities (مصري، مصرية)

Roots and patterns (كتب، كتاب، مكتب)

Politeness (من فضلك، آسف)

Complex possession chains

Colors and traits (أفعل / فعلاء)

Plural colors and traits (فُعْل)

Comparative adjectives (أفعل من)

Superlative adjectives (أفعل)

Adverbs of manner (ـاً)

The nominative case (ـُ)

The genitive case (ـِ)

The accusative case (ـَ)

Dual noun cases (ـان / ـين)

Masculine plurals and 'the best of' (أفضل النجارين)

Emphasizing sentences (إنّ)

Connecting clauses (أنّ)

Reporting speech (قال إنّ)

Expressing contrast (لكنّ)

Comparison and probability (كأنّ, لعلّ)

Distant plural pointing (أولئك)

Plural relative pronouns (الذين, اللواتي)

Past habits (كان + present)

Ongoing actions (ما زال)

Masculine plurals online (مبرمجون، مؤثرون)

Perfective past (قد)

Probability (قد)

The subjunctive mood (أن)

Question	Answer
grandson	حفيدhafîd
granddaughter	حفيدةhafîda
The grandfather gifted his grandson and granddaughter a beautiful gift.	أهدى الجد حفيده وحفيدته هدية جميلة.ahdâ al-jaddu hafîdahu wa-hafîdatahu hadiyyatan jamîlatan.
Our granddaughter's wedding party is very wonderful.	حفلة زفاف حفيدتنا رائعة جدا.haflatu zifâfi hafîdatinâ râ'i'atun jiddan
Their grandson wanted to study engineering, but he preferred agriculture.	أراد حفيدهم أن يدرس الهندسة، لكنه فضل الزراعة.arâda hafiduhum an yadrusa al-handasata, lâkinnahu faddala az-zirâ'ata.
son-in-law	صهرsihr
Their son-in-law is a smart and hardworking man.	صهرهم رجل ذكي ومجتهد.sihruhum rajulun zakiyyun wa mujtahid
daughter-in-law	كنةkannah
The mother welcomed her new daughter-in-law into the family.	رحبت الأم بكنتها الجديدة في العائلة.rahhabat al-ummu bikannatihâ al-jadîdati fi al-â'ilah
The manager's son-in-law and his daughter-in-law came to the company's office.	حضر صهر المدير وكنته إلى مكتب الشركة.hadara sihru-l-mudîri wa-kannatuhu ilâ maktabi-sh-sharikah
father-in-law	حمham
mother-in-law	حماةhamâh
My son visited his father-in-law and his mother-in-law on Friday.	زار ابني حماه وحماته يوم الجمعة.zâra ibnî hamâhu wa hamâtahu yawma l-jumu'ati
My father-in-law's old car is very slow.	سيارة حمي القديمة بطيئة جدا.sayyâratu hamî al-qadîmatu batî'atun jiddan
My brother's mother-in-law is a nice woman, but she is always busy.	حماة أخي امرأة لطيفة، لكنها مشغولة دائما.hamâtu akhî imra'atun latîfah, lâkinnahâ mashghûlatun dâ'iman.
fiancé	خطيبkhatîb
Fatima met her fiancé in front of the hospital door.	التقت فاطمة بخطيبها أمام باب المستشفى.iltaqat fâtimatu bikhatîbihâ amâma bâbi al-mustashfâ
fiancée	خطيبةkhatîba
My fiancée's ring is expensive.	خاتم خطيبتي غالي الثمن.khâtamu khaṭîbatî ghâli ath-thaman.
The fiancé and his fiancée traveled to Paris together.	سافر الخطيب وخطيبته إلى باريس معا.sâfara al-khatîbu wa-khatîbatuhu ilâ bârîsa ma'an
divorce	طلاقtalâq
After their divorce, the relationship between them remained good.	بعد طلاقهما، بقيت العلاقة بينهما جيدة.ba'da talâqihimâ, baqiyati l-'alâqatu baynahumâ jayyidatan.
The reason for my friend's divorce is very mysterious.	سبب طلاق صديقي غامض جدا.sababu talâqi sadîqî ghâmidun jiddan.
widowed	أرملarmal
My neighbor is a widowed man, but he is always optimistic.	جاري رجل أرمل، لكنه متفائل دائما.jâri rajulun armalun, lâkinnahu mutafâ'ilun dâ'iman.
My grandmother lived as a widow for twenty years.	عاشت جدتي أرملة لمدة عشرين عاما.'âshat jaddatî armalatan limuddati 'ishrîna 'âman