In-Laws in Turkish: Family Words You Won’t Find a Single Translation For

When learners of Turkish first come across family words, they are often surprised by how detailed the system is. In Turkish culture, when you marry someone, you don’t just marry that person — you also, in a sense, marry their family.

Turkish has separate words for almost every relative by marriage. Instead of using one general term like “in-law” as in English, each relationship is clearly named. This makes conversations more precise, but it can also feel overwhelming at first for learners.

Even though Turkish family life is not as closely intertwined as it used to be, these terms are still commonly used today. Below, you’ll find the Turkish words used for in-laws, along with who each person is in English:

• kayınpeder → father-in-law

• kayınvalide → mother-in-law

The a in valide is long: /kayınva:lide/.

• enişte → your sister’s, paternal aunt (hala)’s or maternal aunt (teyze)’s husband

• yenge → your brother’s, paternal uncle (amca)’s or maternal uncle (dayı)’s wife

• kayınbirader → your husband’s or wife’s brother

The a in birader is long: /kayınbira:der/.

• baldız → your wife’s sister

• bacanak → your wife’s sister (baldız)’s husband

• görümce → your husband’s sister

• elti → your husband’s brother’s wife

Interestingly, despite all this detail, Turkish does not distinguish between nephew and niece. We simply use yeğen, adding kız or erkek only if needed.

Traditionally, Turkish used detailed expressions such as amca oğlu or dayı kızı to describe cousins. Today, however, kuzen is widely used as a simpler, more general term.

Honestly, even I got a little confused trying to keep track of who’s who while writing this! I might have skipped someone — not entirely sure. Dealing with a Turkish family? Get ready to draw a brand-new (and very large) family tree!