Vocabulary for people and family forms the backbone of any introductory German conversation. The basic nouns "der Mann" (man), "die Frau" (woman), "das Kind" (child), "der Junge" (boy), and "das Mädchen" (girl) cover the most common people you will refer to. "Der Freund" means male friend and "die Freundin" female friend, while "die Familie" refers to family as a whole. Notice how every German noun comes with an article — der, die, or das — which reflects its grammatical gender.
Family members have distinct, gender-marked nouns that come up often. Parents are "die Mutter" (mother) and "der Vater" (father), while siblings are "die Schwester" (sister) and "der Bruder" (brother). Children are "der Sohn" (son) and "die Tochter" (daughter), and grandparents can be referred to either formally as "die Großmutter" and "der Großvater" or affectionately as "die Oma" and "der Opa." These words let you describe your own family and ask about others'.
Beyond the family, several common professions are useful to recognize and use. A doctor is "der Arzt," a teacher is "der Lehrer" or "die Lehrerin," and a student is "der Student" or "die Studentin." The pattern of adding "-in" to form the feminine version, as in "Lehrer" to "Lehrerin," applies broadly to professions and roles in German, helping you identify and talk about people in everyday life.