Family and Relatives (in Russian: Семья и родственники)

Lesson Objective:

By the end of this lesson, learners will be able to identify and name family members and relatives in Russian, ask and answer questions about their family, and use basic possessive forms related to family vocabulary.

Vocabulary List:

• Семья (sem’ya) – Family


• Мама (mama) – Mom


• Папа (papa) – Dad


• Брат (brat) – Brother


• Сестра (sestra) – Sister


• Бабушка (babushka) – Grandmother


• Дедушка (dedushka) – Grandfather


• Тётя (tyotya) – Aunt


• Дядя (dyadya) – Uncle


• Кузен / двоюродный брат (kuzen / dvoyurodnyy brat) – Cousin (male)


• Кузина / двоюродная сестра (kuzina / dvoyurodnaya sestra) – Cousin (female)


• Родители (roditeli) – Parents


• Дети (deti) – Children


• Родственники (rodstvenniki) – Relatives

Grammar Point:

Possessive Pronouns in Russian (used with family members):

In Russian, possessive pronouns must agree with the gender and number of the noun. Here are some examples:

• Моя мама – My mom (feminine)


• Мой папа – My dad (masculine)


• Моё дитя – My child (neuter)


• Мои родители – My parents (plural)

Note: The gender of the noun determines which form of “my” (мой/моя/моё/мои) to use.

Exercises:

Reading Comprehension:

Прочитайте текст:

Меня зовут Анна. У меня большая семья. У меня есть мама, папа, младшая сестра и старший брат. Бабушка и дедушка живут в деревне. Мы часто навещаем их. Моя тётя Оля и дядя Саша живут в Москве. У них два сына – мои кузены.

Comprehension Questions:

• Как зовут девушку?


• Сколько братьев и сестёр у неё?


• Где живут бабушка и дедушка?


• Сколько детей у тёти и дяди?

Listening Comprehension:

Listen to a recording about a person describing their family.

Instructions: Listen to the audio and write the names of the family members mentioned and their relation. If an audio file is not available, the teacher can read this aloud:

“Привет! Меня зовут Иван. Моя семья большая. У меня есть мама, папа, две сестры и один брат. Ещё у меня есть бабушка и дядя. Мы живём вместе.”

Task: Write down the number of siblings, and name the other family members mentioned.

Speaking Practice:

Task: Practice introducing your family in Russian using the vocabulary and grammar learned. Use this model:

“Привет, меня зовут [Your Name]. У меня есть мама, папа и [family members]. Моя семья [small/big].”

Example:
“Привет, меня зовут Эмма. У меня есть мама, папа и младший брат. Моя семья небольшая.”

Summary:

In this lesson, you learned vocabulary related to family and relatives in Russian. You practiced using possessive pronouns to describe your family members and read and listened to examples about families. You also practiced speaking about your own family.

Homework:

• Write a short paragraph (3–5 sentences) in Russian about your family using the vocabulary from this lesson.


• Create flashcards for at least 10 new family-related words and review them daily.


• Ask a classmate about their family in Russian and note their responses.