What is the word for cousin in Spanish?

Family is important in Spanish culture – just look at how many Spanish quotes about family
we have on our site! So, it’s important to be able to talk about different members of your family. In this latest installment in our series about Spanish vocabulary for family members, we will teach you the Spanish word for cousin.

• First cousin = primo/a carnal
• second cousin primo/a segundo/a

The important thing to remember is that the vocabulary changes depending on the gender you are referring to. Sometimes, the word itself is different, such as Madre (mother) and Padre (father). For many other family members, just the ending changes, such as abuelo (grandpa) and abuela (grandma). This is how a lot of other nouns in Spanish operate, as well.

That is how “cousin” works. A boy cousin would be “primo” in Spanish, whereas you would refer to a girl cousin as “prima”.

• Primo – male cousin
• Prima – female cousin

The plural form of cousins in Spanish is los primos or las primas. You would say primo if it is a group of all male cousins, or a group that contains both male and female cousins. If the group is entirely composed of female cousins, you can say las primas.

Example sentences
Mi primo y yo somos muy buenos amigos.
My cousin and I are really good friends.

Voy al cine con mi primo.
I go to the movie theater with my cousin.

Primo and prima also have other meanings in Spanish, so you have to be conscientious and utilize contextual clues when appropriate. Be on the lookout for these other meanings:
Primo

• Sucker
• Dupe
• Mug
• Prime

Prima

• Premium
• Bonus
• Bounty

In some cultures, such as Mexico, primo can also be used as slang to refer to anyone you are close with, even if they are not literally related to you. (Think of the way you might say “brother” in English). This is fairly common in Spanish slang – for instance, you might hear people referring to non-family members as tío, which literally means uncle but is used to mean “guy” or “dude”.

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