# Esperanto lesson 2: family, nouns and plurals

Source: https://esperantopedia.org/learn/course/lesson-02/
Language: en
Updated: 2026-10-08

> Every Esperanto noun ends in -o, the plural adds -j, and la means "the" for all nouns. Learn family words and say "my", "here is" and "too".

In this lesson you learn how Esperanto nouns work. Every noun ends in *-o*, the plural adds *-j*, and one article, *la*, means "the" for every noun. You will also describe your family with *mia* "my", point at things with *jen* "here is", and add people with *kaj* "and" and *ankaŭ* "too".

## Dialogue

A week later, Ana and Tomo have a video call. Ana shares a photo of her family.

| Esperanto | English |
|---|---|
| **Ana:** Saluton, Tomo! Jen foto de mia familio. | Hi, Tomo! Here's a photo of my family. |
| **Tomo:** Saluton! Ho, granda familio! | Hi! Oh, a big family! |
| **Ana:** Jes! Jen miaj gepatroj, Paulo kaj Rita. | Yes! Here are my parents, Paulo and Rita. |
| **Tomo:** Kaj la knabo? | And the boy? |
| **Ana:** La knabo estas mia frato, Pedro. Li estas studento, kiel mi. | The boy is my brother, Pedro. He's a student, like me. |
| **Tomo:** Kaj la du knabinoj? | And the two girls? |
| **Ana:** Ili estas miaj fratinoj, Bia kaj Lara. Ili estas ĝemeloj. | They're my sisters, Bia and Lara. They're twins. |
| **Tomo:** Kaj la kato? | And the cat? |
| **Ana:** La kato estas Kafo. Ĝi estas la ĉefo de la familio! | The cat is Kafo ("Coffee"). It's the boss of the family! |
| **Tomo:** Ha ha! Jen ankaŭ mia familio: miaj gepatroj, mia fratino Marta kaj mi. | Ha ha! Here's my family too: my parents, my sister Marta and me. |
| **Ana:** Kaj la sinjorino? | And the lady? |
| **Tomo:** Ŝi estas mia avino, Zofia. Ŝi estas la ĉefo de nia familio! | She's my grandmother, Zofia. She's the boss of our family! |
| **Ana:** Ha ha! Kafo kaj Zofia – du ĉefoj! | Ha ha! Kafo and Zofia – two bosses! |

## New words

| Esperanto | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| *familio* | family | noun |
| *foto* | photo | noun |
| *patro* | father | *patrino* "mother" |
| *gepatroj* | parents | *ge-* = both sexes |
| *frato* | brother | *fratino* "sister" |
| *avo* | grandfather | *avino* "grandmother", *geavoj* "grandparents" |
| *knabo* | boy | *knabino* "girl" |
| *studento* | student | for anyone |
| *ĝemeloj* | twins | singular *ĝemelo* |
| *kato* | cat | |
| *ĉefo* | boss, chief, head | |
| *sinjorino* | lady, Mrs | *sinjoro* "gentleman, Mr" |
| *la* | the | the only article |
| *jen* | here is, here are, look | for pointing |
| *de* | of, from | *foto de mia familio* |
| *mia* | my | *miaj* before a plural |
| *via* | your | |
| *nia* | our | |
| *du* | two | numbers in Lesson 8 |
| *granda* | big | adjective (Lesson 3) |
| *kiel* | like, as | *kiel mi* "like me" |
| *ho* | oh | interjection |

## Grammar

### Nouns end in *-o*

Every Esperanto noun ends in *-o*: *familio, patro, kato, foto*. You can recognise a noun at a glance, even if you don't know the word. Nouns have no grammatical gender: *la familio* and *la kato* use the same *la*. More on the [nouns and adjectives](https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/nouns-adjectives/) page.

### The plural: add *-j*

Add *-j* to make a noun plural. The *-oj* ending sounds like "oy" in "boy".

| Singular | Plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| *frato* | *fratoj* | brothers |
| *familio* | *familioj* | families |
| *knabino* | *knabinoj* | girls |
| *ĉefo* | *ĉefoj* | bosses |

There are no irregular plurals: *infano* "child" → *infanoj* "children", *homo* "person" → *homoj* "people".

### One article: *la*

*La* means "the" and never changes: *la knabo, la knaboj, la knabino*. Use it more or less where English uses "the". To say "a" or "an", use no article at all: *kato* is "a cat", *la kato* is "the cat". The details are on the [article](https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/article/) page.

### Female forms with *-in-*

A few words for people are male by default: family words like *patro, frato, avo*, and also *knabo* "boy" and *sinjoro* "gentleman". The suffix *-in-* makes the female form: *patrino* "mother", *fratino* "sister". The prefix *ge-* means "both sexes together": *gepatroj* "parents", *gefratoj* "brothers and sisters". Most other words for people, such as *studento* and *amiko*, can be used for anyone.

| Male | Female | Both |
|---|---|---|
| *patro* – father | *patrino* – mother | *gepatroj* – parents |
| *frato* – brother | *fratino* – sister | *gefratoj* – siblings |
| *avo* – grandfather | *avino* – grandmother | *geavoj* – grandparents |
| *knabo* – boy | *knabino* – girl | *geknaboj* – boys and girls |

patrino = mother | patr = father
gepatroj = parents | patr = father

:::match Family words
patrino = mother
frato = brother
fratino = sister
gepatroj = parents
avino = grandmother
knabo = boy
:::

### "My", "your", "our": add *-a* to the pronoun

Possessives are pronouns with the adjective ending *-a*. Before a plural noun they add *-j*, just like the noun: *mia frato* "my brother", *miaj fratoj* "my brothers". See the [pronouns](https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/pronouns/) page for all forms.

| Pronoun | Possessive | Example |
|---|---|---|
| *mi* | *mia* – my | *mia familio* |
| *vi* | *via* – your | *via frato* |
| *li* | *lia* – his | *lia patrino* |
| *ŝi* | *ŝia* – her | *ŝiaj gepatroj* |
| *ĝi* | *ĝia* – its | *ĝia nomo* |
| *ni* | *nia* – our | *nia avino* |
| *ili* | *ilia* – their | *ilia kato* |

:::write Make it plural
? *knabino* "girl"
= knabinoj
? *la kato* "the cat"
= la katoj
? *mia amiko* "my friend"
= miaj amikoj
! mia amikoj → *Mia* works like an adjective, so it takes -j too: *miaj amikoj*.
? *nia avo* "our grandfather"
= niaj avoj
! nia avoj → *Nia* takes -j too: *niaj avoj*.
:::

### *Jen*, *kaj*, *ankaŭ*

*Jen* points at something: *Jen mia frato* – "Here is my brother", *Jen la fotoj* – "Here are the photos". *Kaj* joins words and sentences: *Paulo kaj Rita*. *Ankaŭ* means "also, too" and normally stands right before the word it is about: *Ankaŭ Marta estas studento* – "Marta is a student too". After a name or pronoun you will also hear it the other way round, with the same meaning: *Marta ankaŭ estas studento*.

:::order Build the sentence
? Here are my parents.
= Jen miaj gepatroj.
- mia
? Here is a photo of my family.
= Jen foto de mia familio.
- la
? The cat is the boss of the family.
= La kato estas la ĉefo de la familio.
= La ĉefo de la familio estas la kato.
? Marta is a student too (like Pedro).
= Ankaŭ Marta estas studento.
= Marta ankaŭ estas studento.
:::

## Practice

:::quiz Lesson 2 practice
? What is the plural of *frato*?
= fratoj
? Which word is female?
- *patro*
- *fratino* *
- *knabo*
? Translate: "the cats"
= la katoj
? What does *Jen miaj gepatroj* mean?
- "Here are my parents." *
- "Here is my father."
- "Here are my grandparents."
? Fill in the article: *___ familio estas granda.*
= La
? Translate: "my sisters"
= miaj fratinoj
? Which sentence means "Marta is a student too"?
- *Ankaŭ Marta estas studento.* *
- *Jen Marta, la studento.*
- *Marta estas mia studento.*
? What does *gepatroj* mean?
- grandparents
- parents *
- brothers and sisters
? Translate: "Here is my brother."
= Jen mia frato | Jen estas mia frato
:::

## Culture corner

Some families speak Esperanto at home. Children who grow up with it are called *denaskuloj* – "people from birth" – and researchers estimate there are about 1,000 to 2,000 of them. Some come from couples who met through Esperanto and have no other language in common; more often, parents who share a language choose to speak Esperanto with their children. Read more about [native Esperanto speakers](https://esperantopedia.org/about/native-speakers/).

## Common questions

### Does Esperanto have grammatical gender?

No. Nouns have no gender, and *la* is the same for every noun. Only words for people and animals can show sex, and *-in-* makes the female form.

### How do you say "a" or "an" in Esperanto?

You don't. Esperanto has no indefinite article: *kato* means "a cat" or "cat", and *la kato* means "the cat".

### Why is it *miaj gepatroj* and not *mia gepatroj*?

*Mia* works like an adjective, and adjectives take *-j* when their noun is plural. You will practise this agreement in [Lesson 3](https://esperantopedia.org/learn/course/lesson-03/).

## Sources

- [Fundamento de Esperanto – grammar in English (rules 1–3)](https://www.akademio-de-esperanto.org/fundamento/gramatiko_angla.html)
- [PMEG: La – bazaj reguloj (the article)](https://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/difiniloj/la/bazaj_reguloj.html)
- [PMEG: Nombro – bazaj reguloj (the plural)](https://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/unu-nombro_multe-nombro/bazaj_reguloj.html)
- [PMEG: Seksa signifo de O-vortoj (male, female and neutral nouns)](https://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/o-vortoj/seksa_signifo.html)
- [PMEG: Posedaj pronomoj (possessives)](https://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/pronomoj/posedaj.html)
- [PMEG: Ankaŭ (position)](https://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/e-vortecaj_vortetoj/ceteraj/ankau.html)
- [Jouko Lindstedt, "Native Esperanto as a test case for natural language", SKY Journal of Linguistics 19 (2006)](https://journal.fi/finjol/article/view/153130/98645)
- [Wikipedia: Native Esperanto speakers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_Esperanto_speakers)