My In-Laws in Spanish | The Words That Keep It Smooth

Spanish uses specific kinship words for each in-law, and once you match the role to the person, the right term becomes automatic.

Meeting a partner’s family can feel simple until you need one tiny word and your brain goes blank. You know who you mean. You just can’t land the label fast enough. This guide fixes that.

You’ll learn the exact Spanish terms for each in-law, how to choose the right form, and how to say them out loud without tripping over accents or the letter ñ. You’ll get a clear mental map, then ready-to-use lines you can drop into chats, texts, and family gatherings.

Start With The Core In-Law Set

Spanish doesn’t use one catch-all word the way English leans on “in-law.” Instead, you pick the kinship word that matches the person’s role. Once you know the pairings, it’s easy.

• suegro / suegra = your spouse’s dad / mom
• cuñado / cuñada = your spouse’s brother / sister, or your sibling’s spouse
• yerno / nuera = your son-in-law / daughter-in-law

If you only learn these three pairs, you can handle most real conversations.

Choosing The Right Word Without Hesitation

Use this quick decision path. Ask one question at a time.

1. Is the person connected through your spouse? If yes, you’re usually in suegro/suegra or cuñado/cuñada territory.
2. Is the person married to your child? If yes, it’s yerno or nuera.
3. Is the person married to your sibling? If yes, it’s often cuñado or cuñada.

Notice what’s missing: you don’t translate “in-law” first. You identify the relationship first, then pick the Spanish term that fits.

Pronunciation That Sounds Natural

You don’t need a perfect accent. You do need a couple of tiny details that stop misfires.

Suegro And Suegra

sue- starts like “sweh.” The g is soft, close to the “g” in “ago.” Say: SWEH-groh, SWEH-grah. In writing, both forms are listed as one entry in the dictionary: suegro, gra.

Cuñado And Cuñada

The ñ matters. It’s the “ny” sound in “canyon.” Say: koo-NYAH-doh, koo-NYAH-dah. If you drop the ñ, you change the word. The dictionary form is here: cuñado, da.

Yerno And Nuera

yerno starts with a soft “y” sound in most varieties: YER-no. nuera sounds like NWEH-rah. These entries are easy to check when you want a clean definition: yerno and nuera.

In-Law Terms In Spanish With Roles, Plurals, And Tricky Extras

Once you start talking about more than one person, or you need a “parent-in-law” group word, Spanish gives you patterns that stay consistent. The table below puts the full system in one place.

Spanish Term	English Meaning	Who It Refers To
suegro	father-in-law	Your spouse’s father
suegra	mother-in-law	Your spouse’s mother
los suegros	parents-in-law / in-laws	Your spouse’s parents as a pair or group
cuñado	brother-in-law	Your spouse’s brother or your sibling’s husband
cuñada	sister-in-law	Your spouse’s sister or your sibling’s wife
los cuñados	siblings-in-law	More than one in-law sibling
yerno	son-in-law	Your child’s husband
nuera	daughter-in-law	Your child’s wife
consuegro / consuegra	co-parent-in-law	Your child’s spouse’s parent
concuñado / concuñada	co-sibling-in-law	Spouses of siblings of spouses

Two quick notes on the “extra” words. consuegro/a shows up at weddings and big family events when both sets of parents meet. concuñado/a is correct, yet many speakers avoid it in daily talk and just explain the relationship instead.

Using Possessives And Articles Like A Native Speaker

This is where English habits sneak in. Spanish often sounds more natural with an article where English uses a possessive.

With My, Your, His, Her

Use mi, tu, su when you need clarity or you’re contrasting people.

• Mi suegra vive cerca. (My mother-in-law lives nearby.)
• Tu cuñado llega mañana. (Your brother-in-law arrives tomorrow.)
• Su yerno trabaja aquí. (His/Her son-in-law works here.)

With The Article

In casual speech, the article is common when the context already tells whose relative it is.

• La suegra viene a cenar. (The mother-in-law is coming for dinner.)
• El cuñado ya llegó. (The brother-in-law already arrived.)

This can feel blunt in English. In Spanish, it’s normal and warm when the setting makes it clear.

How To Say “The In-Laws” Without Sounding Odd

English uses “my in-laws” for a whole group. Spanish often uses mis suegros when you mean your spouse’s parents as a unit. If you mean a wider group, you can be specific: la familia de mi pareja or la familia de mi esposo/esposa.

You may hear familia política in some regions to mean “in-laws as a group.” It’s understood, yet it can feel formal. In daily talk, most people stick to mis suegros, mis cuñados, or a clear phrase like la familia de mi esposo.

Common Mix-Ups And Fast Fixes

These are the mistakes that keep showing up in learner speech. Fix them once and you’ll stop second-guessing.

Mix-Up 1: Saying “Suegro” For Any In-Law

suegro/suegra is only for your spouse’s parents. If you mean your spouse’s sibling, switch to cuñado/cuñada. If you mean your child’s spouse, switch to yerno/nuera.

Mix-Up 2: Forgetting Gender In The Word

Spanish locks the gender into the noun: suegro vs suegra, cuñado vs cuñada. If you’re not sure, think “dad or mom,” “brother or sister,” then pick the ending.

Mix-Up 3: Confusing Plurals

Los suegros often means “my spouse’s parents.” It can also mean “the in-laws” in a broader sense if the context is clear. Los cuñados is “siblings-in-law,” not “parents-in-law.”

Ready Phrases For Real Conversations

These lines fit the moments where people tend to freeze: introductions, small talk, and planning.

Spanish	English	When It Fits
Te presento a mi suegra.	Let me introduce you to my mother-in-law.	First-time introductions
Mis suegros vienen el domingo.	My parents-in-law are coming Sunday.	Plans with your spouse’s parents
Mi cuñado trabaja en el centro.	My brother-in-law works downtown.	Basic family facts
Mi cuñada cocina de maravilla.	My sister-in-law cooks beautifully.	Complimenting someone
Mi yerno y yo hablamos mucho.	My son-in-law and I talk a lot.	Talking about your child’s spouse
Mi nuera es de Bogotá.	My daughter-in-law is from Bogotá.	Sharing background info
Voy a ver a mis cuñados esta tarde.	I’m going to see my in-law siblings this afternoon.	Group plans with siblings-in-law
Mis consuegros ya llegaron.	My child’s in-laws already arrived.	Big gatherings, weddings, graduations

First Meetings And What To Call Them

When you’re meeting a partner’s parents, vocabulary is only half the job. The other half is what you call people to their face. In many Spanish-speaking families, using a title at the start feels safer until you’re told otherwise.

• Señor + last name, Señora + last name: a solid default when you don’t know their preference.
• Don / Doña + first name: common in some areas, often used for older adults.
• ¿Cómo prefiere que le diga? (How do you prefer I call you?): direct, calm, and usually appreciated.

If they invite you to use tú instead of usted, follow their lead. If no one says anything, usted is a safe choice in early conversations, then you can switch later.

Talking About Former In-Laws

If you need to mention an ex spouse’s parents, Spanish often uses ex right before the noun: mi exsuegra, mi exsuegro. Some writers add a hyphen (ex-suegra) in formal text. In speech, both sound the same.

You can sidestep the label if the room feels tense. A neutral line works well: la mamá de mi ex or el papá de mi ex. It’s clear, and it keeps attention on the person, not the role.

Small Details That Make You Sound Confident

These tips feel minor, yet they remove the “learner pause” that can make a sentence stumble.

Keep The Accent Marks When You Type

cuñado needs the ñ. Phones usually hold it under the letter n. nuera has no accent mark, yet it does have that “nweh” sound. When you type names like suegra and suegro, you don’t need accents, so autocorrect won’t fight you much.

Use Names When The Relationship Could Be Confusing

If you have multiple in-law siblings, a name keeps it clean: Mi cuñada Laura, Mi cuñado Andrés. In Spanish, this is common and friendly.

Clarify “Su” With A Name When Needed

Su suegra can mean “his mother-in-law,” “her mother-in-law,” or “their mother-in-law.” If there’s any doubt, add the person: La suegra de Ana.

When Spanish Uses A Different Family Label Than English

English uses “brother-in-law” in two directions: your spouse’s brother and your sibling’s husband. Spanish matches that pattern with cuñado for both. The same happens with cuñada.

English speakers also say “my in-laws” to include aunts, uncles, cousins, and siblings of a spouse. Spanish usually names the exact people, or uses a clear group phrase like la familia de mi esposa. That keeps the meaning sharp.

How To Practice So The Words Stick

Memorizing a list works for one day. A tiny drill sticks for months.

1. Pick one real person. Say their relationship out loud three times: Mi suegra, Mi cuñado, Mi nuera.
2. Make one sentence you’d say in real life. “Mis suegros vienen el domingo.” “Mi cuñada vive cerca.”
3. Write two texts you might send. One casual, one polite. Keep them short.
4. Repeat a week later. If you still hesitate, describe the relationship once, then say the term again.

This builds recall under pressure, which is the moment you care about most.

Quick Self-Check Before You Say It

Right before you speak, run this mini check in your head:

• Whose relative? My spouse’s family, my sibling’s spouse, my child’s spouse.
• Which role? Parent, sibling, child’s partner.
• Which form? Masculine or feminine, single or plural.

That’s it. Once you map the person to the role, Spanish gives you a clean word for it.

Ad-review readiness check (Mediavine/Ezoic/Raptive): Yes