IELTS Speaking family and friends questions are some of the most personal in the test, and that's exactly why they're tricky. You know what you want to say, but it's easy to fall back on simple words like "nice" and "good". This page gives you thirty-three words, phrases and idioms for talking about your family, parenting, your friends and your friendships, each with a meaning and example sentences. You'll also find the questions you're likely to get, useful sentence starters, sample answers and the mistakes to watch out for.
Table Of Contents
Video Lesson: Talking About Family and Friends
The lesson covers words for your family, for parenting and for friendship. Watch how the idioms are used in context, because an idiom only sounds natural when it fits the situation.
How Family and Friends Come Up in IELTS Speaking
Family usually comes up in Part 1, and friends can appear there too. In Part 2 you might describe a family member or a friend, and Part 3 moves on to how families and friendships are changing.
Part 1 questions
- How many people are there in your family?
- Who do you get on best with in your family?
- Do you have many friends?
- Are most of your friends from school or from outside school?
- Are you still close to your school friends?
Part 2 cue card
Describe a friend you have known for a long time.
You should say: who this person is, how you met, and what you do together.
And explain why you've stayed friends for so long.
Part 3 questions
- Are families in your country getting smaller?
- Who should be responsible for teaching children good values, parents or schools?
- Is it easier to make friends now than it was in the past?
- Can people be real friends with someone they've only met online?
Vocabulary for Family and Friends
The cards come in four groups: your family, parenting, the people you're friends with, and how friendships change over time. Some are everyday phrases and some are idioms, so check the meaning before you use one.
Talk about your family
Use these to describe who is in your family and how close you are.
Immediate family / nuclear family
Your parents, brothers and sisters, children, and husband or wife.
- There are four people in my immediate family: my parents, my sister and me.
- I live with my nuclear family, but my grandparents live nearby.
- We only invited immediate family to the wedding.
Extended family
Relatives outside your immediate family, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews.
- My extended family gets together every New Year.
- I have a big extended family, with more than twenty cousins.
- In my country, many people live with their extended family.
In-laws
The family of your husband or wife.
- I get on really well with my in-laws.
- We spend the holidays with my in-laws every other year.
- My sister's in-laws live in another city.
Close / distant
Close means you have a strong relationship; distant means you don't, or that you're only loosely related.
- I'm very close to my grandmother, and we talk every day.
- He's a distant cousin, so I've only met him a few times.
- My brother and I were close as children, but we've grown more distant since he moved abroad.
On my mother's side / father's side
Part of your mother's family or your father's family.
- My cousins on my mother's side all live in the countryside.
- Everyone on my father's side is very tall.
- I'm closer to my relatives on my mother's side.
My family is pretty spread out
Your relatives live in many different places.
- My family is pretty spread out, so we rarely all see each other.
- Since my brothers moved abroad, my family is pretty spread out.
- Because my family is pretty spread out, we keep in touch through video calls.
Get on best with someone
Have the best relationship with one person in a group.
- I get on best with my younger sister because we have the same sense of humor.
- Who do you get on best with in your family?
- Of all my cousins, I get on best with the youngest one.
It runs in the family
A quality or skill that many people in a family share.
- Everyone in my family is a good cook. I guess it runs in the family.
- Being tall runs in the family on my father's side.
- Musical talent runs in the family, since my grandfather was a pianist.
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree
Children are often very similar to their parents.
- My father is a doctor, and so am I. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
- She's just as stubborn as her mother. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
- People say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree when a child follows a parent's career.
Sibling rivalry
Competition or jealousy between brothers and sisters.
- There was a lot of sibling rivalry between my brother and me when we were kids.
- Parents can reduce sibling rivalry by treating their children equally.
- Sibling rivalry is normal, but it usually fades as children grow up.
Talk about parenting
These come in handy in Part 3, where questions often turn to how children are raised.
Bring up / upbringing
To bring up a child is to care for them until they're an adult; your upbringing is the way you were brought up.
- I was brought up by my grandparents.
- I had a strict upbringing, but I'm grateful for it now.
- My parents brought me up to respect older people.
Raise
To look after a child until they're grown up.
- It's expensive to raise children in a big city.
- My mother raised three children on her own.
- I'd like to raise my kids in the countryside.
Foster
To look after someone else's child in your home for a time, without becoming their legal parent.
- My aunt has fostered more than ten children.
- Some couples foster children before they decide to adopt.
- He grew up with a foster family.
Instill values in children
To teach children good principles slowly, so they keep them for life.
- My parents instilled honesty and hard work in me.
- Schools can help instill good values in children.
- It's important to instill values in children from a young age.
Extol
To praise something very highly.
- My grandmother always extols the benefits of a good education.
- Parents often extol their children's achievements to their friends.
- Our teacher used to extol the value of reading every day.
Impose punishments
To make someone accept a penalty for doing something wrong.
- My parents rarely imposed punishments, because they preferred to talk things through.
- Some parents impose strict punishments for bad grades.
- I don't think imposing punishments is always the best way to teach children.
Ground children
To stop a child from going out with friends as a punishment.
- I was grounded for a week after I came home late.
- My parents used to ground me when I didn't do my homework.
- Grounding teenagers doesn't always change their behavior.
Give kids time-outs
To make a young child sit quietly alone for a few minutes as a punishment.
- My sister gives her kids time-outs when they fight.
- Many parents prefer time-outs to shouting.
- A short time-out gives a child a chance to calm down.
Spoiled
Badly behaved because you've always been given whatever you want.
- Children who get everything they ask for can become spoiled.
- My little brother was a bit spoiled because he was the youngest.
- I don't think an only child will necessarily be spoiled.
Describe your friends
Use these to say what kind of friend someone is, from a confidante to a casual acquaintance.
Close friend
A friend you know very well and trust.
- I have two close friends I've known since primary school.
- You can tell a close friend anything.
- Most of my close friends are from university.
Bosom friend
A very close friend. It sounds a little old-fashioned.
- She has been my bosom friend since we were six.
- They were bosom friends all through school.
- In the novel, the two girls become bosom friends.
Confidante
A person you trust with your secrets.
- My older sister is my closest confidante.
- Everyone needs a confidante they can really talk to.
- My mother has always been my confidante.
Buddy / sister / bestie
Informal words for a good friend.
- He's my gym buddy, and we train together three times a week.
- My bestie and I talk on the phone every night.
- We're not related, but she's like a sister to me.
Fair-weather friend
Someone who is only your friend when things are going well.
- When I lost my job, I found out who my fair-weather friends were.
- A fair-weather friend won't be there when you need help.
- I'd rather have one real friend than ten fair-weather friends.
Acquaintance
Someone you know a little, but not well.
- He's more of an acquaintance than a friend.
- I have lots of acquaintances at work, but only a few real friends.
- We were just acquaintances at first, and then we became close.
Netizen / net pal
A netizen is an active internet user; a net pal is a friend you know only online.
- I have a net pal in Brazil who I've never met in person.
- Many netizens make friends through online games.
- My net pal and I chat in English every week, which helps my speaking.
Describe your friendships
These phrases describe how friendships start, grow and sometimes fade.
Go through thick and thin together
Support each other in good times and bad.
- My best friend and I have been through thick and thin together.
- We've been through thick and thin together, so I trust her completely.
- Real friends go through thick and thin together.
Lose touch with someone
Stop being in contact with someone.
- I lost touch with most of my school friends after I moved.
- It's easy to lose touch with people when you're busy.
- We lost touch for years, but we found each other again on social media.
Drift apart
Slowly become less close to someone.
- We drifted apart after we went to different universities.
- It's easy to drift apart from school friends once you start working.
- Friends often drift apart when their interests change.
Have a lot in common
Share many interests or opinions.
- My best friend and I have a lot in common, especially our love of hiking.
- We don't have much in common, but we still get on well.
- It's easier to make friends with people you have a lot in common with.
Get on like a house on fire
Get on extremely well, very quickly.
- We met on the first day of university and got on like a house on fire.
- My mother and my wife get on like a house on fire.
- The two kids got on like a house on fire from the start.
Get on well with someone
Have a good, friendly relationship with someone.
- I get on well with my colleagues.
- Do you get on well with your neighbors?
- My brother doesn't get on very well with our cousin.
Hit it off with someone
Like someone as soon as you meet them.
- I hit it off with my roommate straight away.
- We didn't hit it off at first, but now we're close friends.
- We hit it off because we both support the same football team.
Useful Phrases for Talking About People You Know
When you talk about a person, the examiner wants to hear who they are, what they're like and how you feel about them. These sentence starters cover all three.
| Phrase | Use it to | Example |
|---|---|---|
| There are … of us in my family: … | Introduce your family | There are five of us in my family: my parents, my two sisters and me. |
| I take after my … | Say who you're like | I take after my father. We're both quiet and patient. |
| We've known each other since … | Say how long you've been friends | We've known each other since we were in kindergarten. |
| What I like about her is that … | Describe someone's character | What I like about her is that she always tells me the truth. |
| We see each other … | Say how often you meet | We see each other about once a month, but we message every day. |
| Growing up, my parents always … | Talk about your upbringing | Growing up, my parents always made us eat dinner together. |
| These days, families tend to … | Describe a trend | These days, families tend to be smaller than they were fifty years ago. |
Sample Answers
These answers show the family and friendship vocabulary in action, with the card phrases in bold. Notice that each idiom appears only where it really fits.
Part 1: Who do you get on best with in your family?
I'd say my older sister. We're only two years apart, so there was a bit of sibling rivalry when we were kids, but now we're really close. I get on best with her because we have the same sense of humor, and she's the first person I call when something goes wrong.
Part 2: Describe a friend you have known for a long time
I'd like to talk about my friend Daniel, who I've known for almost fifteen years. We met on the first day of primary school, when the teacher sat us next to each other, and we hit it off straight away because we both loved drawing.
These days we live in different cities, so I'd describe him as a close friend rather than someone I see every day. We usually meet up a few times a year, and when we do, we go hiking or just sit in a café and talk for hours. We have a lot in common, so we never run out of things to say.
There was a time, at the end of high school, when we nearly lost touch. We went to different universities and started to drift apart, which happens to a lot of school friends. But when my grandfather passed away, Daniel was the first person who came to see me. Since then, we've been through thick and thin together.
I think we've stayed friends because he's not a fair-weather friend. He's honest, he's reliable, and he's always there when it matters. Plenty of people I know are really just acquaintances, but Daniel is more like family to me.
Part 3: Who should be responsible for teaching children good values, parents or schools?
Mainly parents, I'd say. Children spend their first few years almost entirely at home, so that's where their upbringing really happens, and it's the best time to instill values in children. Schools definitely play a part, especially in teaching things like fairness and teamwork. But a teacher with thirty students can't do the job of a parent. If parents give a child everything they want and never say no, the child may end up spoiled, and that's very hard for a school to fix later on.
How to Use This Vocabulary Well
- Describe character, not just facts. "My sister is 25" tells the examiner very little. "She's my closest confidante" tells them a lot more.
- Use one idiom, not five. An idiom like "get on like a house on fire" is impressive once. Several in one answer sound memorized.
- Add a short story. In Part 2, a quick example of something you did together is the easiest way to keep talking and to use your vocabulary naturally.
- Switch to general language in Part 3. Move from "my family" to "families in my country", and bring in parenting words like "upbringing" and "raise".
Common mistakes
- Saying "we are four" to describe your family. In English, say "There are four of us in my family".
- Using "relatives" and "parents" as if they mean the same thing. Your parents are your mother and father; your relatives are everyone in your extended family.
- Calling every person "very friendly". Say what makes them a good friend instead.
- Dropping the preposition in phrases like "close to" and "get on well with": "I'm very close to my mother", not "I'm very close my mother".
What Learners' Part 1 Scores Tell You
Family and friends questions mostly come up in Part 1, where you've only got a few sentences to make an impression. BestMyTest tutors scored learners' Part 1 answers at an average of 5.7 for lexical resource, next to 7.1 for pronunciation. In 49% of the Part 1 recordings our automated scoring marked, vocabulary came in below the other four scores.
On average, a Part 1 answer from our learners lasted around 30 seconds. That's about enough time for two or three sentences, so plan to fit in one strong phrase, like "we're really close" or "sibling rivalry", and a quick example.
Practise and Get a Band Score
Record yourself answering the Part 1 questions above about your own family and friends, and try to use one phrase from each group of cards. Then do an IELTS Speaking Part 1 practice test in our app, where every answer you give is scored straight away by our instant AI review. You'll see your vocabulary band next to the other three. If it's the lowest, work through the speaking vocabulary exercises in our AI Tutor.
Keep going with the vocabulary for accommodation or your hometown, or browse every IELTS speaking vocabulary topic.
The figures on this page come from the BestMyTest IELTS learner performance data, our records of IELTS practice on BestMyTest up to October 2026. That page explains how we measure each figure. Last updated 15 October 2026.