When we get married or get married, our relatives immediately double in number. And all are called somehow. You can't remember it right away. No, well, you can't confuse your mother-in-law with anyone! But we’ll deal with the rest now ...

New relatives of the wife (bride)

Mother-in-law- this is the husband's mother. For the mother-in-law - the wife of her son will daughter-in-law.

Father-in-law- this is the husband's father. For the father-in-law - his son's wife will daughter-in-law.

Sister-in-law- this is her husband's sister. For the sister-in-law, her brother's wife will daughter-in-law.

Brother-in-law- this is the husband's brother. For the brother-in-law, his brother's wife will daughter-in-law.

New relatives of the husband (groom)

Mother-in-law- this is the wife's mother. For a mother-in-law, her daughter's husband will son-in-law.

Who is the father-in-law

Father-in-law- this is the wife's father. For the father-in-law, as for the mother-in-law, the husband of their daughter - son-in-law.

Brother-in-law- this is the brother of the wife. For his brother-in-law, his sister's husband, as well as for his parents - son-in-law.

Sister-in-law- this is the wife's sister. For the sister-in-law, as well as for the brother-in-law, the husband of their sister will son-in-law.

New family ties between the parents of the bride and groom

Svatya- this is the mother of one of the spouses for the parents of the other spouse.

Matchmaker- the father of one of the spouses for the parents of the other spouse.

Brother-in-law- this is the husband of one sister in relation to the husband of another. In-law is also called any family ties between people who are not in close relationship.

Who are the godfathers

Kum and godfather - godfather and the mother, but not for the godson, but among themselves and in relation to the parents and relatives of the godson.

Other relatives

All other relatives of your husband / wife will be named for you the same as for him / her. If your husband has a niece, she remains a niece for you. And you will be her uncle's wife for her.

Who are father-in-law and mother-in-law, father-in-law and mother-in-law, everyone knows. Difficulties begin when it is necessary to remember the term denoting other relatives on the part of both spouses. Even people of advanced age will not always correctly name the name of a sister's husband.

Affinity - property

In everyday communication, people who are related by blood relationship with one of the spouses are usually called simply relatives on the part of the husband or wife. Meanwhile, such relations have a specific definition - a property. In Russian, each relative has a specific name. For example, the father-in-law is the husband's father, the brother-in-law is the wife's brother. The origin of these words is associated with a person's desire to indicate the degree of kinship, as well as the place and position in the family of a new relative.

Husband of a daughter or sister

In Russian, the husband of the sister is called the same as the husband of the daughter - the son-in-law. The word goes back to the ancient Indian jñātíṣ and ​​means a relative, which indicates that the son-in-law is not just equated with to a loved one, but a relative by blood. Interestingly, a man in relation to his wife's family will also be a son-in-law for her nephews, brothers, grandparents.

Son-in-law or brother-in-law?

Difficulty finding correct name the husband of a sister shows that usually it is not the terminology itself that causes difficulties, but the need for its correct application. So, the most common confusion is a brother-in-law couple. If everything is clear with the son-in-law, then who should be called brother-in-law, since this word also denotes the husband of the sister? The brother-in-law is the husband of the sister-in-law, the wife's sister. Men married to their own sisters are brother-in-law to each other. Sometimes only the husband of an older sister is called brother-in-law. Interestingly, in the Soviet musical fairy tale “Don't Leave” the heroine Ottilia calls her sister-queen's husband her brother-in-law, while in fact King Theodore is her son-in-law.

Sister's husband in other languages

In other languages, the husband of the sister, as well as the male in-laws - the brother of the wife, the brother of the husband, the husband of the sister-in-law - are most often designated by one collective term:

• V English language- brohter-in-lаw. Literally means brother in law.
• French - beau-frere, means brother-in-law, brother-in-law, brother-in-law.
• German - Schwáger.
• Italian - cognato.
• Ukrainian and Belarusian - son-in-law and son-in-law, respectively.

Some nationalities nevertheless clearly delineate subsystems of properties. Therefore each new relative in this subsystem has its own name:

• In the Tatar language, the elder sister's husband is called “life”. Husband younger sister as well as the daughter's husband - kiyaү.
• Zhezde is the husband of an older sister in Kazakh.

Renewing and increasing the composition of the family entails building new relationships. What they will be depends more on mutual respect and to a lesser extent on the correct terminology.

The attitude of the husband's relatives is often very worrisome for women. Father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother, sister, matchmaker, brother-in-law - in all these terms it is quite easy to get confused. It happens that the husband's parent requires that he be called by his first name and patronymic. In some families, the mother-in-law wants to be called mother. In any case, having come to new family, you have to be friendly and become your own. After all, after the wedding, this family should also become your family.

Who will my brother's wife be?

• The most common question that many do not know the answer to. A brother's wife is a daughter-in-law. Sometimes referred to as sister-in-law. At weddings, they like to arrange contests to test such knowledge - who is the wife of a brother, and who is the father of a son-in-law. So remember, it might come in handy.
• Brother-in-law is the wife's brother. The groom needs to be careful, especially if it is the elder brother of his bride. Men have a particularly reverent attitude towards their younger sisters; he certainly will not give her offense.
• Who is my husband's mom? The husband's mother is a mother-in-law. Many women are afraid of their mother-in-law, and in vain. Very often, a mother-in-law becomes a second mother for her daughter-in-law, because any woman who has a son will be glad to have a daughter as well. So the attitude of the mother-in-law can pleasantly surprise you, do not tune in to the negative right away. Of course, you will have to go through a strict check on her part, but think, you too will have a child someday. And he, having found his soul mate, will bring her to your house. Be condescending to both your parents and your husband's parents. You yourself still have to go through all this.
• Godparents are godparents in relation to each other. The relationship is not so close, but, nevertheless, it is accepted that after the baptism of the child, the godfathers must maintain family relations. Become godparent is not just going to church. This is caring for the godson for life. If you are invited to become a godfather - think how ready you are for such responsibility.
• Who is the wife's sister to the husband? Sister-in-law. Enlist good attitude the husband's sister is just as important as in the case of the mother-in-law. The relationship of a sister and brother is so close that a newly-made sister-in-law can be quite jealous of you. To prevent this from happening, indicate right away that you are not going to take your husband out of the family, but want to become a part of it.
• Primak. Previously, it was rare to meet a primak, because this is the name of a son-in-law who came to his wife's house. Usually, after all, a daughter-in-law was accepted into the family. But in our time, traditions are not honored as much as they used to be, so primak is an ordinary picture that you can hardly surprise anyone with.
• Twin brothers. First cousins, second cousins, distant relatives and just friends who are ready to help out at any time. Previously, in order to become brothers, it was required to go through a real ritual, with a triple kiss and exchange of crosses.
• Stepdaughter or stepson. This is the name for step children in relation to one of the spouses. Usually, families try not to emphasize that the child is not native. Therefore, it is rare to hear such a definition.
• Stepfather, stepmother - adoptive parents children. Ideally, the stepfather or stepmother should replace the child's real parent, but often children refuse to perceive them as a family member. Stepmother is a less common word in families as few mothers leave their children. But the fact that a child calls the husband of his mother's stepfather can often be encountered.
• Great-aunt. This is how the aunt of the father or mother is called. Using banal logic, it is easy to understand that she has grand-nephews and nieces. So a child does not always have only two grandfathers and two grandmothers.

In ancient times, it was customary to know your ancestors, honor their memory and remember the names of the grandfather and grandmother of your grandfather and grandmother. Today, people often do not even know what kind of relatives they are to each other and what is the correct name of this

Kinship history

Kinship is subdivided into blood, close and distant. As early as 200 years ago, it was customary for blood relatives to live in one yard. For this, a house was built for his son, where he brought his young wife, next to his father's home. It used to be that houses of the same family line were lined up along the street, and such a concept as grand-nephews (these are the grandchildren of a sister or brother) was quite common for understanding the depth of kinship.

Family ties were so strong that mutual assistance was not considered something of a favor, but was natural for the survival and preservation of the clan. With this approach, people knew not only their blood relatives and friends, but also distant relatives, for example, fourth cousins ​​and brothers, and even deeper.

Nowadays, parents and children can live in the same city and see each other infrequently. Blood ties are no longer supported by a common way of life, the survival of the clan is not threatened, so more distant kinship is no longer tracked. Thus, the spiritual ancestral connection is lost. People who are relatives to each other are in fact strangers to each other, and it is sometimes difficult to understand who belongs to whom.

Blood relations

Blood family ties are divided into:

Distant blood kinship

• The fourth degree of blood, but more distant kinship includes cousins ​​and brothers, great-uncles and grandmothers, as well as grand-nephews - these are the grandchildren of siblings.
• The fifth degree of blood, but distant relationship - cousins, aunts and nephews.
• Sixth degree - second cousins ​​and brothers. They are children of the parents' cousins ​​and sisters.

Further kinship is considered even more distant, therefore, it is possible to determine who belongs to whom only by digging into the pedigree.

Non-blood relatives

Each family, where children grow up and marry, acquires new relatives, which do not belong to the category of blood relatives, but are called in-laws. For each representative of the in-laws there are names of kinship, which are forgotten by many today.

Phrases like “brother of the wife of the brother of the husband” sometimes make one think about their meaning.

In fact, everything is very simple:

1. For the bride:

• the husband's mother is the mother-in-law;
• dad is a father-in-law;
• the husband's sister is a sister-in-law;
• brother - brother-in-law;
• the wife of the brother-in-law is the daughter-in-law;
• the sister-in-law's husband is a son-in-law.

2. For the groom:

• the wife's mother is the mother-in-law;
• the wife's father is a father-in-law;
• the wife's sister is a sister-in-law;
• the brother of the wife is the brother-in-law;
• brother-in-law's wife - daughter-in-law;
• the sister-in-law's husband is a son-in-law.

The wives of the brothers are Yatrov, and the husbands of the sisters are brothers-in-law. Thus, it sounds in a new way - "brother of the husband's daughter-in-law." All relatives of the groom or bride of the second and subsequent degrees are the same kindred as blood, but in-laws.

Nephews

Nephews are blood relatives, and sometimes they replace their own children. This is the name of the offspring of sisters and brothers. Between themselves, these children are cousins ​​and sisters, they are also called cousins ​​and cousins.

There have been cases when between such marriages arose, which were accompanied by the birth of children with genetic abnormalities. Marriages between cousins ​​and brothers are discouraged in many countries, but such unions do not experience any persecution.

For nephews, the siblings and brothers of the parents are aunts and uncles.

Great-nephews

Such a relationship as grand-nephews is the deepening of the branch of the clan from the side of sisters and brothers. When a brother or sister has children of their own grow up and marry, it gives a new branch to the family tree.

The more children there are in the family, the more beautiful and magnificent the generic "crown" will be, and the degree of kinship is determined solely by the depth of the "roots".

To understand, for example, who a grand-nephew is, it is worth considering in detail family life a woman who has brothers and sisters. The children of a woman are nephews for her blood brothers or sisters. When they grow up, get married and have children themselves, these babies become grandchildren for a woman. For her brothers and sisters, a sister's grandson is a great-nephew. Thus, the entire depth of the clan will be called nephew - grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, etc.

The depth of the kind

The number of generations of children with consanguinity determines the depth of the family ancestral tree. Crown, or branches family tree are the families of these children. Sometimes it is difficult to trace all weddings, divorces, births and deaths, so in the old days it was customary for aristocratic families to keep their own family chronicles.

Nowadays, it is not customary for most families to enter names and dates of birth in the chronological table, so the degree of kinship is not traced deeper than the third or fourth generation. When, for example, a child is born in a sister's family, some loving uncles and aunts ask themselves the question: "Who is my nephew's son"?

In fact, all children born by nephews are called nephews. It can be a nephew or granddaughter, a great-grandson or a great-granddaughter, and further along the depth of birth. In turn, the uncle or aunt of the nephews become nephews and grandparents.

A brother's grandson can overnight make a pretty young aunt and uncle a grandmother or grandfather. It often happens that a brother's grandson (granddaughter) is the same age or even older youngest child his sisters. Such children grow up like the weather, and are often called sisters and brothers.

Although this is not as close blood relationship as the offspring of their own children, nevertheless, grand-nephews are still grandchildren.

The depth of the cousin

The parents' cousins ​​and cousins ​​are great uncles and aunts for their children. Accordingly, the children of a cousin or cousin are called cousins. The child of a great-nephew is called a great-uncle.

This is a category of blood, but distant kinship. For aristocrats, tracing all the branches of the clan is important in connection with the proof of aristocratic lineage. Even 200 - 300 years ago, they knew not only their main roots, but also their offshoots - families living in other cities and provinces. The same was then applied to the merchants and wealthy townspeople.

Families whose ancestors were their founders still live in the ancient cities of Europe. Usually the lineage is from the father and passed on to the son. Therefore, the birth of an heir was so important for most royal and aristocratic families. If he was not there, then the family name faded away and a new branch began with the name of the married daughter.

In our time, such deep roots can no longer be traced, and the inheritance is passed on regardless of the sex of the child.

It is sometimes very difficult to understand family relationships. It used to be, when huge families for several generations lived under one roof, it was not difficult to remember who was due to whom and by whom, because all these tricky terms were constantly heard. Nowadays, when relatives are sometimes scattered all over the globe and gather together only on the occasion of big events, the words "sister-in-law", "brother-in-law", "brother-in-law", "daughter-in-law", etc. many of us find it strange and completely incomprehensible. And yet, let's try to restore it to our name so that we don't have to guess later on occasion: "My brother's wife - who is she to me?"

How to call your brother's wife

For clarity, let's imagine a specific family, otherwise we might get dizzy from the endlessly intersecting vectors of kinship. So, there were two siblings, Ivan and Vasily. Both became serious men and got married. Ivan on Marya, and Vasily on Daria. And what do you think we will need to answer the question, for example, of Ivan: "My brother's wife, who is she to me?" Indeed, who is Daria to him now?

The older generation would answer this question that such a woman in Russia was most often called her sister-in-law, in some areas - ash, and closer to Ukraine she had a different name - brother or yatrovka.

Each of the young wives - both Marya and Daria - have now acquired a new relative - a daughter-in-law (that is, they are each other's daughters-in-law or intercourse). By the way, not only the father-in-law with the mother-in-law can call them daughters-in-law, but also the husband's brother (that is, Marya became the daughter-in-law of Vasily, and Daria - to Ivan), and the whole husband's family.

Who is the brother's wife from the point of view of his own sister?

And in the case when siblings live in a family, will the sister be called something differently? No, nothing new has been invented here - for a sister, her brother's wife will also turn out to be a daughter-in-law, or, in another way, brotherly. But she herself will be a sister-in-law for the daughter-in-law. By the way, in some regions she was called “sins-in-law” (probably from an excess of feelings!).

It is interesting that in the old days the cousins ​​were called "bro" or "brat" (that's where these proud definitions of the 90s era come from!), And their wives, respectively, were called "bros". That is, finding out: "The wife of a brother - who is she to me?", Know that relatives and cousins, as well as their wives, are defined in slightly different terms.

A little more about the husband's family

Sorting out who the brother's wife is, we involuntarily dug deeper, and now we can no longer fail to mention how, after the wedding, Marya or Daria will have to call her husband's brother. For Marya, Vasily (her husband's brother) is a brother-in-law, and, as you know, Daria can also call Ivan.

But if, for example, the same Daria has his own native Stepan), then for Vasily (Daria's husband) he will be a brother-in-law or a schwager. And Stepan's son will be a shurich for both Vasily and Ivan. True, the last term is now considered completely outdated, and almost no one remembers it (but you can demonstrate your erudition!).

Let's add a little about the relatives of the imaginary and real

And if we assume that Marya, Ivan's wife, has a married Native sister, then she will be considered a sister-in-law for Ivan, and her husband, accordingly, a brother-in-law. That is, it turns out that brother-in-law are family members whose wives are sisters. If it comes about cousins, their husbands will be considered cousins ​​among themselves.

As you can see, asking the question: “Who is my brother’s wife?”, We slowly sorted out the rest of the relationship. And who knows, maybe this information will help you maintain a warm relationship in a new family. By the way, that a shining example can serve as an interesting experiment conducted by British scientists. They gathered in a group previously unknown people, having previously informed some that they were relatives among themselves. It is interesting that in the future it was these people who established the closest friendly relations among themselves, assuring the researchers that family feelings had suddenly awakened in them.

A small parting word for those who figured out who the brother's wife is

What is the name of the long line of relatives from the side of the wife and husband, we hope that we have figured it out after all. You just have to once draw yourself at least a primitive diagram of these connections, and it will be for you at the beginning married life a great tip and way to avoid awkward hitching in identifying a new relationship. And after some time, you yourself will be able, with the air of a connoisseur, to answer the question of a confused newly-made relative: "My brother's wife - who is she to me?"

And you must admit that instead of building a verbal chain like “sister of my brother’s wife”, it will be much easier to name kinship with one term “sister-in-law”. In addition, not fully mastering these terms, we make it difficult for ourselves and the perception of literary works (and the authors are very fond of using these names of relatives), as well as folklore and even everyday traditions that came to us from the past.