esta es mi familia
/esta es mi familja/from spelling rules
esta es mi familia is the Spanish way to say "this is my family".
This phrase is used to introduce the people in one's family to someone else.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use the masculine plural estos son because they think of 'family' as a group of people, but in Spanish, familia is a singular feminine noun and requires esta es.
Did you know?
- The Latin root of familia originally referred specifically to the 'slave staff of a household' rather than blood relatives.
- Spanish has no single word for 'siblings', so when introducing a familia, speakers must say hermanos y hermanas or use the masculine plural hermanos to cover both.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, 'la familia' is often treated as an extended unit that includes cousins and even close friends, making the phrase more inclusive than in English.
Examples in context
- Esta es mi familia. Mi esposa se llama María, mi hijo Juan y mi hija Sofía.This is my family. My wife's name is María, my son is Juan, and my daughter is Sofía.
- Quiero presentarte a todos, esta es mi familia.I want to introduce everyone to you, this is my family.
Example conversation
Daniel is showing a photograph to María at a cafe.
- DanielMaría, mira esta foto.María, look at this photo.
- María¿Quiénes son?Who are they?
- DanielEsta es mi familia.This is my family.
- María¡Qué linda familia tienes!What a lovely family you have!
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries es, esta, familia, mi, CC BY-SA 4.0.
