Family words in Polish

Words for family members and other relatives in Polish, a Western Slavic language spoken in mainly Poland, and also in Lithuania and Belarus and a number of other countries.

Key to abbreviations: m = male, f = female, frm = formal/polite, inf = informal

	Polish (Polski)
family	rodzina
parents	rodzice
father	ojciec (frm) tata/tato (inf)
mother	matka (frm) mama (inf)
children	dzieci
son	syn
daughter	córka
husband	mąż małżonek
wife	żona małżonka
brother	brat
sister	siostra
uncle	wujek
aunt	ciotka
cousin	kuzyn (m) kuzynka (f)
nephew	bratanek (brother's son) siostrzeniec (sister's son)
niece	bratanica (brother's daughter) siostrzenica (sister's daughter)
grandparents	dziadkowie
grandfather	dziadek
grandmother	babka (frm) babcia (inf)
grandchildren	wnukowie wnuczęta
grandson	wnuk
granddaughter	wnuczka
great grandfather	pradziadek
great grandmother	prababka
father-in-law	teść
mother-in-law	teściowa
brother-in-law	szwagier
sister-in-law	bratowa (brother's wife) szwagierka

Notes

The standard term for uncle in modern Polish is wujek. The term wuj used to be used as a formal term for mother's brother (wujek is an diminutive). Stryj or stryjek was used for father's brother, and pociot for father's sister's husband or mother's sister's husband.
In modern Polish ciotka is aunt. This used to mean father's sister or mother's sister. Wujenka was used for mother's brothers wife, and stryjenka was used for father's brothers wife
Old words for cousin were: brat stryjeczny (father's brother's son), siostra stryjeczna (father's brother's daughter), brat wujeczny (mother's brother's son), siostra wujeczna (mother's brother's daughter), brat cioteczny (parent's sister's son), siostra cioteczna (parent's sister's daughter).
Szwagierka can mean husband's sister, wife's sister, husband's brother's wife or wife's brother's wife. Bratowa only means brother's wife.

Corrections and notes provided by Grzegorz Jagodziński

Links

Family words in Slavic languages

Belarusian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Polish, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Ukrainian

Family words in other languages

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