People and family in Catalan
129 words Catalan words on the topic “people and family”: l'amic — friend, la família — family, la mare — mother, el pare — father.
129 words on the topic
- l'amicfriendBefore a vowel the article shrinks: l'amic, l'amiga. A mere acquaintance is un conegut
- la famíliafamilyA false friend: this is the family, not the surname. The surname is el cognom. Stress the í: fuh-MEE-lyuh
- la maremotherThe neutral word, for documents and third-person talk. The tender 'mom' is mamà, stress at the end. The sea is el mar: the article tells them apart
- el parefatherThe tender one is papà, stress at the end. The mark decides: papa without it is potato and the Pope
- el fillchildA child as someone's son or daughter. In the plural els fills means children in general; a small child regardless of parents is el nen
- la personapersonThe counting unit of people: dues persones — two people, not dues homes. The neutral word instead of 'men and women'
- l'homemanNot 'home': l'home is the human and the man, as in l'home del temps — the weatherman. The plural is homes
- la donawomanOne syllable with an n at the end: DOH-nuh. The plural is dones. Dia de la Dona — March 8
- el joveyoung manJove is young in general: about a youth they say el jove, about a girl more often la noia. Jove is also 'young' about wine
- la noiagirlA girl and a teenage girl at once. Noia is the ordinary word, like Spanish chica
- l'anciàelderly personThe respectful 'older person': l'ancià, l'ànciana. Say it this way and you will not go wrong anywhere
- el desconegutstrangerFrom desconèixer, to not know. Un desconegut m'ha ajutat — a stranger helped me: a word from kind stories
- la multitudcrowdUna multitud de gent — a crowd of people; at Valencia's festivals there is no other way
- arrissatcurlyAbout hair: el cabell arrissat. From l'arruga — the wrinkle: curls here are "coils". Straight hair is the familiar llis otherwise: llisat
- calbbaldQuedar-se calb — to go bald. It is politer to speak not of the person but of the hair: té el cap calb — he has a bald head
- canósgray (hair)Not simply white hair but greying: el senyor canós — a greying gentleman. Pure white is said de cabells blancs
- l'alçadaheight (person)From alt — tall: height here is a 'person's stature'. About objects they say l'altura, about a person l'alçada
- esveltslenderA compliment: slim, shapely. Prim is simply thin, esvelt is also well-proportioned: the words praise differently
- d'alçada mitjanaof medium heightLiterally "of medium height" — how a person is described in ads and by the police. The order is obligatory: alçada mitjana, not the reverse
- aprimar-seto lose weightReflexive, like posar-se malalt: m'he aprimit — I have lost weight. How much is said without a preposition: ha aprimit tres quilos
- guanyar pesto gain weightThe same guanyar as in guanyar el partit: weight here is "won", not gained. Losing it is perdre pes — honest symmetry
- generósgenerousAbout a person and about a portion: una ració generosa — a generous portion. Feminine generosa
- pacientpatientThe same word as el pacient — the patient: the enduring and the enduring were one in Latin. The noun is la paciència: tingueu paciència — bear with us
- treballadorhardworkingOne word — both adjective and noun: treballador is hardworking and a worker. Feminine treballadora
- de confiançatrustworthyLiterally "of trust": said of a person you could tell anything. Una persona de confiança — a tried and true person
- modestmodest (unassuming)A Latin relative — "measure": modest here is "knowing one's measure". A modest salary is un sou modest too
- sociablesociable (outgoing)One form for both genders. A close word is obert — open; the opposite is tancat — closed: the door of character
- atentcaringBoth attentive and caring: atent en classe — attentive in class, atent amb la seva àvia — caring with his grandmother
- seriósseriousWith the stress on the ó, unlike the Spanish serio. About business too: una empresa seriós — a reliable firm
- ben educatwell-manneredLiterally "well-educated" — about manners, not diplomas. The un-mannered is written as one word: maleducat
- el sentit de l'humorsense of humorLiterally 'the sense of humor': the same sentit as the meaning of a phrase. The person-test question: té sentit de l'humor?
- gasiustingyIts own word, not international. About money too: un preu gasiu — a stingy price. Feminine gasiva
- tozutstubbornFrom toç — a stubborn head: -ut here means "armed with". Its own and very alive word: it describes donkeys and bosses alike
- grollerrudeRude in words and manners. The standing pair: groller amb el cambrer — rude to the waiter; by this sign a person is judged at once
- descaratcheekyFrom descarar — literally "to remove the face": the cheeky one is "faceless". The exclamation quina cara dura! is of the same breed
- astutcunningA relative of astrology — the starry cunning: astut here is "refined". The fox in fairy tales is always astuta
- xerrairechattyFrom xerrar — to chat: a chatterbox here is a 'chatterer'. Both adjective and noun: és un xerraire — he is a chatterbox
- despistatscatterbrainedFrom pista — the track: the scatterbrained is one who "lost the track". The gentlest of the difficult traits: said with a smile
- irasciblehot-temperedA Latin relative of irritation: the irascible is one who flares up in an instant. One form for both genders
- indiferentindifferentIn- — the same prefix of negation as in impossible: indifferent here is "non-distinguishing". És indiferent a tot — nothing matters to him
- l'hàbithabitA relative of the monk's habit — the garment: a habit here is an "outfit" you wear every day. Un bon hàbit — a good habit
- l'amigafriend (female)The feminine of l'amic — friend. Do not mix it up with la núvia from the basics: a friend is not a bride, though sometimes the difference is small
- el conegutacquaintanceThe participle of conèixer — to know: an acquaintance here is a "come-to-known". You know the opposite: el desconegut
- el talenttalentMasculine, an international word. Tenir talent per a… — to have a talent for: music, languages, baking
- el principiantbeginner"The beginning one" here is a noun: sóc un principiant — I am a beginner. Courses for them are marked honestly: per a principiants
- el professionalprofessionalBoth adjective and noun: un professional — a pro. Fes-ho revisar per un professional — advice that saves money
- néixerto be bornTo be born here is "to be birthed": néixer is both to be born and to rise, of the sun. Vaig néixer — I was born: the first word of any biography
- la infànciachildhoodFeminine, a relative of infantile — childish. Passar la infància — to spend one's childhood: the village, the yard, grandma
- la joventutyouthFeminine, from jove — young: youth here is 'youngness'. La joventut d'abans — the youth of earlier times: the theme of all table talk
- la vida adultaadult lifeLiterally "the adult life": it begins suddenly — with the first rent. La vida adulta no és fàcil — said with a sigh
- la generaciógenerationFeminine, an international word. La meva generació — we and our peers: always a little guilty
- el poble natalhome townLiterally "the native village": natal — native by birth. About a city they say la ciutat natal: the same word, the gender changes
- el pobletvillageA diminutive of el poble: a village here is a "little town". Two hundred residents, one square — and everyone knows everyone
- acabar l'escolato finish schoolLiterally 'to finish the school': acabar — to end, to complete. Va acabar l'escola — got the school diploma and exhaled
- trobar la primera feinato find a first jobLiterally "to find the first work": la feina — work, the job. First here is not by count but by meaning: it is remembered all one's life
- viure cinc anys al paísto live five years in a countryLiterally "to live in the country five years": viure — to live and to have lived. Residence terms in papers are counted exactly so
- el recorda memoryA relative of recordar — to remember: a memory here is what the "heart brings back". A souvenir is also un record: a thing that keeps memory
- venir al capto come to mindLiterally 'to come to the head': the name spins — and does not come. El seu nom no em ve al cap — the phrase familiar to all
- oblidarto forget toA Latin relative of oblivion. No ho oblidis — do not forget: the polite request and the favorite card signature
- una vegadaonce upon a timeLiterally "one time": once here works in a fairy tale and in life alike. The opening of all grandpa's stories
- de petitas a childLiterally "being small": in childhood here is "when I was little". For a woman — de petita: the ending remembers the gender
- en aquella èpocain those timesLiterally "in that epoch": times here are "epochs", even if it is about the nineties. En aquella època no hi havia mòbils — and it is true
- va ser fa moltit was long agoLiterally "it was much [time] ago": time in Catalan is "made" — fa molt. The indefinite past puts the period
- la primera vegadathe first timeLiterally "the first time": la vegada — a time, a repeat of an event. Vaig volar per primera vegada — an event remembered in details
- no ho oblidaré maiI will never forgetLiterally "I will not forget it never": the future tense here is a promise. Mai at the end works like a hammer blow
- la fotografia antigaold photographLiterally "an ancient photograph": antiga — of old, not simply worn. On these everyone is in black and white and nobody looks into the lens
- el destífateMasculine, a Latin relative — "given in advance". El destí ens va portar aquí — said of moves and meetings
- començar una vida novato start a new lifeLiterally "to begin a new life": it happens without moving too — from Monday. The classic: començar una vida nova en una ciutat nova
- canviar de feinato change jobsLiterally "to change the job": canviar de — to swap for another. With this preposition one changes house, topic and life
- marxar a l'estrangerto move abroadLiterally "to leave abroad": marxar — to leave. L'estranger — abroad: one letter from "strange" (estrany)
- crear una famíliato start a familyLiterally "to create a family": a family here is "created", like a project. Crear una família i comprar casa — the classic list for a decade
- tot ha canviateverything has changedLiterally "everything has changed": the perfect here is right — it changed and stayed so. Said after children are born and renovations done
- ricrichShort and without shame: rich with money or with time. He is not rich, but he never lacks anything
- pobrepoorThe opposite of rich, said of people, districts and soil. The neighborhood was poor but full of life
- el company de pisflatmateThe company of the flat: the colleague of unit one, at home. My flatmate never washes the dishes
- l'amic d'infànciachildhood friendLiterally "the friend of childhood": the one from the yard and the school desk. I still see my childhood friend every summer
- conegutfamousThe same conegut as the acquaintance: famous is "well-known". He is a very famous painter in Catalonia
- fortstrong (body)You knew fort as loud: here it is the body's strength. He is strong but also very patient
- raonablereasonableFrom raó — the reason you know: reasonable is "reasonable-of-reason". A reasonable price and a reasonable schedule are half the blessing
- la bondatkindnessFrom bo — good: kindness is the "goodness". His kindness is seen in small things: he always carries bread for the pigeons
- la sang fredacomposureLiterally "the cold blood": calm under fire. With his composure not even a fire breaks the calm
- la paciènciapatience (virtue)The same paciència as the patient: bearing without complaint. Teaching to read demands patience and much coffee
- l'egoismeselfishnessA Latin relative of the ego — the I: selfishness is the "I-ness". A little selfishness is useful: you can care for others if you are all right yourself
- la mandralaziness (feeling)The feeling of laziness, not the character. Today laziness wins: the sofa and a film decided for me
- l'obstinacióobstinacyFrom obstinat — standing firm: the obstinacy. His obstinacy carries him to the finish, even if it rains for three days
- la curiositatcuriosityA Latin relative — care, attention: curiosity is the "care to know". His curiosity has no age: he asks about everything he sees
- l'honestedathonestyA Latin relative — honor: honesty is the "honored-ness". His honesty is known: he returns the change even if it is ten cents
- l'enginyingenuityA Latin relative of the mind: ingenuity is the "in-mind-ness". With his ingenuity he fixed the fridge with a rubber band
- la despreocupaciócarefreenessLiterally "the dis-worrying": without worries. His carefreeness amuses, until the electricity bill arrives
- deciditdecisiveThe participle of decidir — decided: decisive is "decided". He is decisive: tomorrow he leaves, and that is it, asking nobody
- tímidshyA Latin relative — of fear: shy is "timorous". He is shy at first, but when he sings, the voice opens to everyone
- susceptiblethin-skinnedA Latin relative — capable of receiving: the thin-skinned "receives" every word. Do not tell him he sings badly: he is very thin-skinned
- de tracte fàcileasygoingLiterally "of easy treatment": easy to deal with. He is easygoing: ask him to swap a shift and he will say yes
- minuciósmeticulousA Latin relative of the minutia — the small detail: the meticulous watches details. He is meticulous: he checks every bill three times before paying
- orgullóspridefulFrom orgull — pride: prideful is "prided". He is prideful: he would rather lose the game than ask forgiveness
- servicialhelpfulFrom servei — the service: the helpful is "serviceful". He is helpful: he carries groceries to the neighbor every Wednesday
- reservatreservedA Latin relative — kept back: the reserved keeps himself. He is reserved: you learn his birthday only from documents
- directestraight-talkingThe same directe as the live broadcast: straight-talking goes direct. He is straight-talking: if the soup is oversalted, he tells the waiter and the cook
- imprevisibleunpredictableUn- + previsible — unforeseeable: the unpredictable escapes foresight. He is unpredictable: one day he comes with flowers, the next with a new excuse
- obedecerto obeyA Latin relative — to listen toward: to obey is to "listen toward". The dog obeys the first time; the cat pretends not to have heard
- presumirto boastA Latin relative — to suppose beforehand: to boast is to "presume". He boasts about his grandson: already walking, and ten months old
- xafardejarto gossip (verb)The verb behind the gossip: to talk people's lives. At the bar they gossip more than they work, says the waiter
- fingirto feignA Latin relative — to shape, to fashion: to feign is to "shape" an appearance. He feigns sleep when he hears the alarm, like all cats
- contenir-seto hold oneself backThe reflexive of contenir — to contain: to hold oneself in. He held himself back and did not say what he thought of the report
- prendre el pèlto teaseLiterally "to take the hair": to pull the leg, to tease. The older brother always teases the younger in front of friends
- inventar-seto make up (a story)The reflexive of inventar — to invent: to make up "for oneself". He made up a meeting to leave an hour early
- escoltar d'amagatto eavesdropLiterally "to listen in hiding": amagat — hidden. The child eavesdropped on the parents' talk from the stairs
- impossar-seto impose oneselfThe reflexive of imposar — to impose: to impose oneself on others. At dinner he always imposes himself and ends up deciding the menu
- mantenir la paraulato keep one's wordLiterally "to keep the word": the given word kept. It rained all day, but he kept his word and came
- mereixerto deserveA Latin relative — to merit: to deserve is to "merit". He deserved the prize: three years of training in the rain
- retreureto reproachA Latin relative — to draw back: to reproach is to "draw back" a fault to the face. He reproached me a thousand times for lateness, but he is never on time either
- lloarto praise (publicly)A Latin relative of laud — praise: to praise is to "laud". The critics praised the film, but the public did not come
- condemnarto condemnA Latin relative — to sentence together: to condemn is to "sentence" an act. All the papers condemned the decision to close the library
- fallarto let downA Latin relative — to stumble, to fail: to let down is to "fail" someone. On the exam day memory let him down, not effort
- de propòsiton purpose (deliberately)Literally "by purpose": deliberately. He did it on purpose: the chair stood right even before
- per una estupidesaout of stupidityLiterally "for a stupidity": over some foolishness. He lost the job out of stupidity: he told the boss the truth
- amb la millor intenciówith the best of intentionsLiterally "with the best intention": the kindest cause. He dropped the cake with the best of intentions: he wanted to help cut it
- això no es fathat is not doneLiterally "this is not done": against etiquette. That is not done: a neighbor's news is not discussed at full voice
- sense mala intencióhe meant no harmLiterally "without bad intention": no malice meant. He broke the jug meaning no harm: he only wanted to move it
- la confiançatrust (feeling)A relative of confiar — to trust: the trust is the "confiding". Trust is earned little by little and lost in one go
- l'envejaenvy (feeling)The feeling of envy, not the act. The neighbor's envy of the new window lasts longer than the repair
- la llàstimapityThe same llàstima as feeling sorry: here, the pity itself. He helped the street cat not out of pity, but with care and food
- la influènciainfluence (sway)The same influència as flowing into: here, the sway over people. Grandpa has great influence in the town: his word opens doors
- l'autoritatauthorityA Latin relative — the author, the founder: authority is "author-ness". He does not shout: he has authority, and it is visible at first glance
- recíprocamentmutuallyFrom recíproc — returning: mutually is "back and forth". We like each other mutually, without counting or queues
- d'igual a igualas equalsLiterally "from equal to equal": face to face, on the level. The children argue as equals with grandpa, and nobody yields
- portar-se béto get alongLiterally "to carry oneself well": to treat each other well. Both dogs got along from the first day, a miracle
- mantenir-se al margeto stay on the sidelinesLiterally "to keep oneself at the margin": out of the fray. She stays on the sidelines of the quarter's dispute, and in the end it is she who decides
- la gentpeopleFeminine and collective: people come as one bunch, la gent. The verb agrees in the singular: la gent parla
How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
- Un amic meu viu a TarragonaMy friend lives in Tarragona
- El diumenge dina tota la famíliaOn Sundays the whole family has lunch together
- La meva mare em truca cada diaMother calls me every day
- El meu pare treballa de conductorMy father works as a driver
- Tenen dos fills, un nen i una nenaThey have two children, a boy and a girl
- Per aquí passen moltes personesMany people pass here
What is worth knowing about these words
l'amic — friend. Before a vowel the article shrinks: l'amic, l'amiga. A mere acquaintance is un conegut
la família — family. A false friend: this is the family, not the surname. The surname is el cognom. Stress the í: fuh-MEE-lyuh
la mare — mother. The neutral word, for documents and third-person talk. The tender 'mom' is mamà, stress at the end. The sea is el mar: the article tells them apart
el pare — father. The tender one is papà, stress at the end. The mark decides: papa without it is potato and the Pope
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “friend” in Catalan?
Before a vowel the article shrinks: l'amic, l'amiga. A mere acquaintance is un conegut
- How do you say “woman” in Catalan?
One syllable with an n at the end: DOH-nuh. The plural is dones. Dia de la Dona — March 8
- How do you say “bald” in Catalan?
Quedar-se calb — to go bald. It is politer to speak not of the person but of the hair: té el cap calb — he has a bald head
- How do you say “generous” in Catalan?
About a person and about a portion: una ració generosa — a generous portion. Feminine generosa
- How do you say “serious” in Catalan?
With the stress on the ó, unlike the Spanish serio. About business too: una empresa seriós — a reliable firm
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Mum, friend, child, neighbour. The first thing people ask you about, and the first thing you tell about yourself.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- This holds not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “friend” in Catalan?
«l'amic». Before a vowel the article shrinks: l'amic, l'amiga. A mere acquaintance is un conegut. It is one of 129 words in the set “people and family” — the rest are in the table above.
How many family words do you need to start?
A dozen is enough. The set of 129 words on this page covers nearly every everyday case on the topic — but it is best taken a few at a time, not all at once.