Hello. In this lesson, we’re going to learn useful vocabulary and questions for talking about family history. This topic is helpful when we want to describe where our family comes from, who we are similar to, and which relatives we know well.
Let’s start with the phrase family history. Your family history is the story of your family in the past. It can include where your grandparents lived, what jobs your relatives had, or how your family moved from one place to another. For example: “My parents told me a lot of stories about my family history.”
A useful question is: “Which side of the family do you know best?” We can say “my mother’s side” or “my father’s side”. In Bulgarian, this means от страна на майка ми or от страна на баща ми. For example: “I know my father’s side better because I grew up near his sister’s family.”
Now let’s talk about where your family comes from. We can ask: “Where did your ancestors come from?” Ancestors are people in your family who lived a long time ago. In Bulgarian: предци. For example: “My ancestors came from a small village near Plovdiv.” This is useful when we talk about older family stories, not just our parents or grandparents.
Another important word is great-grandparents. Your great-grandparents are the parents of your grandparents. In Bulgarian: прабаба и прадядо. You can ask: “Did you ever meet your great-grandparents?” For example: “No, unfortunately, they died before I was born.” Or: “Yes, I met my great-grandmother when I was very young.”
Let’s continue with the word relatives. Relatives are people in your family, such as cousins, uncles, aunts and grandparents. In Bulgarian: роднини. We can ask: “Are you related to anyone famous?”
Related to means connected by family. For example: “No, there are no celebrities in my family.” Or: “Yes, I’m related to a famous writer from my town.”
Now let’s look at two very useful phrases: inherit and take after. To inherit something means to receive it from your family. This can be money, a house, but also a physical or personal characteristic. In Bulgarian: наследявам. For example: “I inherited my mother’s green eyes.”
The phrase take after means to be similar to someone in your family, usually in appearance or character. In Bulgarian: приличам на някого от семейството. For example: “I take after my father because we are both calm and patient.”
Finally, let’s talk about roots and extended family. Your roots are connected with your family origins — where your family comes from and what your family story is. In Bulgarian: корени. We can ask: “Would you like to know more about your roots?” For example: “Yes, I’d love to, but my parents don’t often talk about the past.”
Your extended family means your wider family, not only your parents, brothers and sisters. It includes grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles and other relatives. In Bulgarian: разширено семейство. For example: “I live with my immediate family, but I often visit my extended family at weekends.”
So, when you talk about family, don’t only say “mother”, “father” and “brother”. Try to use phrases like family history, mother’s side, ancestors, great-grandparents, relatives, inherit, take after, roots and extended family. I hope this lesson helps you speak about your family more clearly, ask better questions, and discover interesting stories about where you come from. Thanks for watching! Until next time.
