EFE learning modules / Family & Relationships

Family & Relationships @ Identifying family members, describing complex relationships, and talking about relatives' lives and backgrounds.

Common Expressions Back to Catalog

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Blood is thicker than water

/ብለድ ኢዝ ዚከር ዛን ዋተር/

የደም ትስስር ከማንኛውም ነገር ይበልጣል

Family relationships are more important than any other connections.

የቤተሰብ ግንኙነት ከሌሎች ግንኙነቶች ሁሉ የላቀ ጠቀሜታ አለው።

In Practice

"No matter what happens, blood is thicker than water."
"He helped his brother because blood is thicker than water."
Fluent Tip

Used to emphasize family loyalty.

Black sheep of the family

/ብላክ ሺፕ ኦፍ ዘ ፋሚሊ/

የቤተሰብ ጥቁር በግ (የተለየ ወይም መጥፎ ተብሎ የሚታሰብ)

A member of a family who is regarded as a disgrace to them.

በቤተሰቡ ዘንድ እንደ ውርደት የሚቆጠር የቤተሰብ አባል ።

In Practice

"He is the black sheep of the family because he dropped out."
"Every family has a black sheep."
Fluent Tip

Describing someone who doesn't fit in or behaves badly.

Like father, like son

/ላይክ ፋዘር ላይክ ሰን/

አባትየውን እንደመሰለ ልጅ

Sons tend to do what their fathers did before them.

ወንዶች ልጆች አባቶቻቸውን የመምሰል ዝንባሌ አላቸው።

In Practice

"He is a doctor just like his dad; like father, like son."
"Like father, like son; they both love football."
Fluent Tip

Comparing a son's behavior or appearance to his father.

Spitting image

/ስፒቲንግ ኢሜጅ/

አምሳያ ወይም በጣም የሚመሳሰል

Looking exactly like someone else, usually a relative.

አንድን ሰው (ብዙውን ጊዜ ዘመድን) በትክክል መምሰል።

In Practice

"She is the spitting image of her mother."
"The boy is the spitting image of his grandfather."
Fluent Tip

Describing strong physical resemblance.

Breadwinner

/ብሬድዊነር/

ቤተሰብ አስተዳዳሪ (ገቢ የሚያመጣ)

The person who earns the money to support their family.

ቤተሰቡን ለማስተዳደር ገንዘብ የሚያገኝ ሰው።

In Practice

"In many homes, both parents are breadwinners."
"He is the sole breadwinner of the family."
Fluent Tip

Talking about financial responsibility in a family.

Tied to mother's apron strings

/ታይድ ቱ ማዘርስ ኤፕሮን ስትሪንግስ/

በእናቱ ቀሚስ የተያዘ (ሁልጊዜ በእናቱ የሚመራ)

Being excessively influenced or controlled by one's mother.

በእናት ከመጠን በላይ ተጽዕኖ መደረግ ወይም መመራት።

In Practice

"At thirty, he is still tied to his mother's apron strings."
"He needs to make his own decisions instead of being tied to her apron strings."
Fluent Tip

Often used negatively about an adult who is too dependent on his mother.

Run in the family

/ራን ኢን ዘ ፋሚሊ/

በቤተሰብ የሚወረስ (ባህሪ ወይም በሽታ)

A quality or ability that many members of a family have.

ብዙ የቤተሰብ አባላት ያላቸው ባህሪ ወይም ችሎታ።

In Practice

"Musical talent runs in their family."
"Diabetes runs in the family."
Fluent Tip

Talking about inherited traits or conditions.

To have a falling out

/ቱ ሃቭ ኤ ፎሊንግ አውት/

መጣላት ወይም መኮራረፍ

To have a serious argument that stops a friendship or relationship.

ጓደኝነትን ወይም ግንኙነትን የሚያቆም ከባድ ክርክር ማድረግ።

In Practice

"The two brothers had a falling out over the inheritance."
"They haven't spoken since their falling out last year."
Fluent Tip

Describing a break in a relationship.

Flesh and blood

/ፍሌሽ ኤንድ ብለድ/

የራስ ስጋና ደም

A near relative or one's own family.

የቅርብ ዘመድ ወይም የራስ ቤተሰብ።

In Practice

"I can't turn my back on him; he's my own flesh and blood."
"Treat them well, they are your flesh and blood."
Fluent Tip

Emphasizing biological connection.

Under one's thumb

/አንደር ዋንስ ሳም/

በአንድ ሰው ቁጥጥር ስር

Under someone's complete control.

በአንድ ሰው ሙሉ ቁጥጥር ስር መሆን።

In Practice

"He is completely under his wife's thumb."
"She keeps the whole family under her thumb."
Fluent Tip

Describing a controlling relationship.

Wear the pants in the family

/ዌር ዘ ፓንትስ ኢን ዘ ፋሚሊ/

በቤተሰቡ ውስጥ የበላይነት ያለው (ውሳኔ ሰጪ)

To be the person in a relationship who makes the decisions.

በግንኙነት ውስጥ ውሳኔዎችን የሚያስተላልፍ ሰው መሆን።

In Practice

"In their house, it's clear she wears the pants."
"Who wears the pants in your family?"
Fluent Tip

Talking about who has authority in a household.

Keep it in the family

/ኪፕ ኢት ኢን ዘ ፋሚሊ/

በቤተሰብ ውስጥ መያዝ (ሚስጥር)

To prevent outsiders from knowing about family matters.

የውጭ ሰዎች ስለ ቤተሰብ ጉዳዮች እንዳያውቁ መከላከል ወይም መደበቅ።

In Practice

"We should keep this argument in the family."
"The business was kept in the family for generations."
Fluent Tip

Referring to family secrets or businesses.