Today’s Spanish word of the day is a two for one: “hermano” and “hermana”.
These words mean “brother” and “sister” respectively.
The masculine plural “los hermanos” can refer to either a group of brothers or a mixed gender group of siblings, whereas the feminine “las hermanas” would refer to a group of sisters.
The words “hermano” and “hermana” derive from Latin germanus (“of brothers and sisters”), which itself derived from germen, meaning “sprout” or “bud”. This is also the root of the English word “germ”, both in the sense of a microorganism and a bud or seed.
Example sentences
Mi hermana es mayor que yo.
My sister is older than me.
Quiero mucho a mi hermano.
I love my brother very much.
Cada vez que mis hermanos y yo jugamos Monopoly, se convierte en una guerra mundial.
Every time my siblings and I play Monopoly, it turns into a world war.
Mi hermana toca el piano maravillosamente.
My sister plays the piano wonderfully.
Mi hermano siempre sabe cómo hacerme reír.
My brother always knows how to make me laugh.
