People and family in Valencian
129 words Valencian 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'amicfriendThe article shrinks before the vowel: l'amic, l'amiga. A mere acquaintance is un conegut
- la famíliafamilyA false friend: it is the family, not the surname — the surname is el cognom. Stress on the í: fa-MÍ-lia
- la maremotherThe neutral word, for documents and talk about third persons. The cuddly mum is mamà, stress at the end. The sea is el mar — the article tells them apart
- el parefatherThe cuddly one is papà, stress at the end. The accent decides: papa without it is potato and the Pope
- el fillchildA child as somebody's son or daughter. In the plural els fills is children in general; the toddler on his own is el xiquet, a Valencian word the central norm swaps for nen
- la personapersonA person of any kind; grammatically feminine even about men: una persona amable
- l'homemanAn adult man; the plural homes. Not to be mixed with the house — that is la casa
- la donawomanAn adult woman; the wife in older speech: la meva dona
- el joveyoung manLiterally young man: jove is the adjective young
- la noiayoung womanA girl or young woman; the everyday address for waitresses too
- l'anciàelderly manThe respectful old person: l'ancià, l'ànciana. Say it this way and you will never go wrong
- el desconegutstrangerFrom desconèixer, not to know. Un desconegut m'ha ajutat — a stranger helped me: the word of kind stories
- la multitudcrowdA cousin of multitude. Una multitud de gent — a crowd of people; Valencia festivals are never any 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-hairedThe white-haired; the neighbor's hair is gray
- l'alçadaheight (of a person)The height; his is one meter eighty
- esveltslimSlender; he is slim because he runs every morning
- 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 slim downMake oneself thin; he lost five kilograms running in the park
- guanyar pesto gain weightThe same guanyar as in guanyar el partit: weight here is "won", not gained. Losing it is perdre pes — honest symmetry
- generósgenerousGenerous; he always pays for everybody's coffee
- pacientpatientThe same word as el pacient, the patient: in Latin the patient one and the one who endures are one. The noun is la paciència: tingueu paciència — bear with us. And children here is xiquets: the Valencian giveaway; the central norm says nens
- treballadorhard-workingThe worker — the hard-working one; he is serious and very much so
- de confiançatrustworthyOf confidence; Maria is a person you can trust
- modestunassumingModest; he won the match and stays modest
- sociableoutgoingSociable; he talks with all the neighbors
- atentcaringThe attentive — the caring one; he is very caring with grandma
- seriósseriousSerious; he seems it, but he has a sense of humor
- ben educatwell-manneredWell educated; the children always say thank you
- el sentit de l'humorsense of humorThe sense of humor; with it everything is easier
- gasiustingyThe stingy one; he doesn't share even a piece of bread
- tozutstubbornThe big-necked — the stubborn one; he never changes his mind
- 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
- descaratcheekyThe unashamed — the cheeky one; he asks strangers for money
- astutcunningThe astute; the cat is — it steals food from the table
- xerrairechattyFrom xerrar — to chat: a chatterbox here is a 'chatterer'. Both adjective and noun: és un xerraire — he is a chatterbox
- despistatabsent-mindedThe un-guided; he always loses the keys
- irasciblehot-temperedThe irascible; he shouts over nothing
- indiferentindifferentThe indifferent; he seems it, but he listens to everything
- l'hàbithabitThe habit; reading every night is a good one
- l'amigagirl friendThe woman friend; she invited me to supper
- el conegutacquaintanceThe known one — the acquaintance; at the market I met one from the university
- el talenttalentMasculine, an international word. Tenir talent per a… — to have a talent for: music, languages, baking
- el principiantbeginnerThe beginning one; the Tuesday course is for beginners
- 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 infànciachildhoodThe childhood; he spent it in a seaside village
- 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 generaciógenerationThe generation; mine doesn't remember landline phones
- el poble natalhome townLiterally the natal village; every summer he returns to it
- el pobletsmall villageThe little village; he was born in a mountain one
- acabar l'escolato finish schoolFinish the school; last year he did and found work
- trobar la primera feinato find a first jobThe first work; in Valencia he found one at a hotel
- viure cinc anys al paísto live five years in a countryLive five years; the family did in the neighboring country
- el recorda memoryThe record of memory; of that summer a kind one stays with me
- venir al capto come to mindCome to the head; his name doesn't come to me
- oblidarto forget (once)The entry is the forgetting — the single act; don't forget to call mum
- 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 as little; I went fishing with grandpa
- en aquella èpocain those timesThat epoch; there were no mobile phones in it
- va ser fa moltit was long agoLiterally it was long ago; we didn't have a car yet
- la primera vegadathe first timeThe first time; I flew on a plane in 2019
- no ho oblidaré maiI will never forgetI will never forget; thanks for everything
- 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 destídestinyThe entry is the destination — now fate; it brought us to one city
- començar una vida novato start a new lifeThe new life; they left for Canada to start one
- canviar de feinato change jobsChange the work; he did to be home more
- 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 familyCreate the family; they want to and buy a house
- tot ha canviateverything has changedAll has changed; since the girl was born, it has
- ricrichThe rich; he isn't, but he never lacks anything
- pobrepoorThe poor; the neighborhood was, but full of life
- el company de pisflatmateThe companion of the flat; mine never does the dishes
- l'amic d'infànciachildhood friendThe friend of childhood; I still see him every summer
- conegutfamousThe known one — the famous; he is a very famous painter in Catalonia
- fortstrong (body)The entry is strong again — of the body; he is strong and very patient
- raonablereasonableThe reasonable; a reasonable price and a reasonable schedule are half of happiness
- la bondatkindnessThe goodness; his is seen in little things: he always carries bread for the pigeons
- la sang fredacomposureThe cold blood — the composure; with it even a fire doesn't shake his calm
- la paciènciapatienceThe patience; teaching to read requires it and a lot of coffee
- l'egoismeselfishnessThe selfishness; a little is healthy: you can care for others if you're all right yourself
- la mandralaziness (the feeling)The laziness; today it wins: the sofa and a film decided for me
- l'obstinacióobstinacyThe obstination; his brings him to the finish even if it rains three days
- la curiositatcuriosityThe curiosity; his has no age: he asks about everything he sees
- l'honestedathonesty (uprightness)The honesty; his is known: he returns the change even if it's ten cents
- l'enginyresourcefulnessThe wit — the resourcefulness; with it he fixed the fridge with a rubber band
- la despreocupaciócarefreenessThe un-care; his amuses until the electricity bill comes
- deciditresoluteThe decided; he is resolute: tomorrow he leaves, and that's it, asking nobody
- tímidtimidThe timid; he is at first, but when he sings his voice opens to everybody
- susceptiblethin-skinnedThe susceptible; don't tell him he sings badly: he is very thin-skinned
- de tracte fàcileasy-goingOf easy dealing; he is: ask him to change a shift and he says yes
- minuciósmeticulousThe meticulous; he checks every bill three times before paying
- orgullóspridefulThe proud; he is so he'd rather lose the game than ask forgiveness
- servicialobligingThe serviceful; he carries the neighbor's groceries every Wednesday
- reservatreservedThe reserved; you learn his birthday only from his documents
- directestraightforwardThe entry is direct — the speech kind; if the soup is oversalted he tells the waiter and the cook
- imprevisibleunpredictableThe un-predictable; one day he comes with flowers, another with a new excuse
- obedecerto obeyObey; the dog obeys at the first call; the cat pretends not to have heard
- presumirto boastPresume; he boasts of his grandson: already walking, and ten months old
- xafardejarto gossip (verb)The entry is the gossiping; in the bar they gossip more than work, says the waiter
- fingirto feignFeign; he feigns sleep when he hears the alarm, like all cats
- contenir-seto hold backContain oneself; he did and didn't say what he thought of the report
- prendre el pèlto teaseTake the hair — tease; the older brother always teases the younger in front of friends
- inventar-seto make something upInvent oneself; he made up a meeting to leave an hour earlier
- escoltar d'amagatto eavesdropListen hidden; the child eavesdropped on the parents from the stairs
- impossar-seto impose oneselfImpose oneself; at supper he always does and in the end decides the menu himself
- mantenir la paraulato keep one's wordMaintain the word; the rain fell all day, but he kept his word and came
- mereixerto deserveMerit; he deserved the prize: three years of training in the rain
- retreureto reproachRe-prove; he reproached me a thousand times for being late, but he is never on time either
- lloarto acclaimThe entry is the praising — the public kind; the critics acclaimed the film, but the public didn't come
- condemnarto condemnCondemn; all the papers condemned the decision to close the library
- fallarto let downFail; on the exam day memory let me down, not effort
- de propòsitdeliberatelyOf purpose — deliberately; he did it on purpose: the chair stood right before
- per una estupidesaover a silly thingFor a stupidity; he lost his job over one: he told the boss the truth
- amb la millor intenciówith the best intentionsWith the best intention; he dropped the cake with the best intentions — he wanted to help cut it
- això no es fathat's not doneThis is not done; neighbors' news is not discussed at full voice
- sense mala intenciówithout maliceWithout bad intention; he broke the jug without malice — he only wanted to move it
- la confiançatrustThe confidence — the trust; it is earned little by little and lost in one go
- l'envejaenvy (feeling)The entry is the envy — the feeling; the neighbor's of the new window lasts longer than the repair
- la llàstimapityThe entry is the pity; he helped the street cat not from pity but with care and food
- la influènciainfluence (power)The entry is the influence — the power; grandpa has great influence in the town: his word opens doors
- l'autoritatauthorityThe authority; he doesn't shout: he has it, and it is seen at first glance
- recíprocamentmutuallyReciprocally; we like each other mutually, without counting or queues
- d'igual a igualas equalsOf equal to equal; the children argue as equals with grandpa, and nobody yields
- portar-se béto hit it offCarry oneself well — get along; both dogs did from the first day, a miracle
- mantenir-se al margeto stay out of itKeep oneself at the margin; she stays out of the quarter's quarrel, and in the end she decides
- la gentpeopleGrammatically singular: la gent espera — people are waiting. English takes a plural verb here, the language a singular one
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 TarragonaA friend of mine lives in Tarragona
- El diumenge dina tota la famíliaOn Sunday 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 xiquet i una xiquetaThey have two children, a boy and a girl
- Per aquí passen moltes personesMany people pass through here
What is worth knowing about these words
l'amic — friend. The article shrinks before the vowel: l'amic, l'amiga. A mere acquaintance is un conegut
la família — family. A false friend: it is the family, not the surname — the surname is el cognom. Stress on the í: fa-MÍ-lia
la mare — mother. The neutral word, for documents and talk about third persons. The cuddly mum is mamà, stress at the end. The sea is el mar — the article tells them apart
el pare — father. The cuddly one is papà, stress at the end. The accent 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 Valencian?
The article shrinks before the vowel: l'amic, l'amiga. A mere acquaintance is un conegut
- How do you say “woman” in Valencian?
An adult woman; the wife in older speech: la meva dona
- How do you say “bald” in Valencian?
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 Valencian?
Generous; he always pays for everybody's coffee
- How do you say “serious” in Valencian?
Serious; he seems it, but he has a sense of humor
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 Valencian?
«l'amic». The article shrinks before the vowel: 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.