Kinship Terms
Kinship terms are used to identify family members. In Zapotec they can be inherently possessed or noninherently possessed. The kinship term changes depending on the person (my, your, his etc.).
Inherent possession
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For inherently possessed words, genitive pronouns are used without the use of què'.
Examples of inherent possession
| bettsi'ya' | 'My brother' |
| bettsi'lù' | 'your brother' |
| bettsi'ccwa' | 'your brother' (formal) |
| bettsi'nì | 'his, her, its brother' |
| bettsi'yé | 'his, her, its brother' (formal) |
| bettsi'tù | 'our brother' (exclusive) |
| bettsi'riu' | 'our brother' (inclusive) |
| bettsi'li | 'your brother' (plural) |
| bettsi'ccwa'li | 'your brother'(plural, formal) |
| bettsi'canì | 'their brother' |
| bettsi'cayé | 'their brother' (formal) |
Inherently possessed kinship terms
| bettsi' | brother of brother |
| daana | sibling of opposite sex |
| lattzeela | spouse |
| shi'ni | son or daughter |
| shilla | sister of sister |
| shiusi | son in law |
| shualiisi' | daughter in law |
Example sentences
Noninherent possession
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For noninherently possessed words, què' plus a genitive pronoun is used.
| cha' | my |
| cho' | your |
| què'ccwa' | your (singular, formal) |
| què'nì | his, her, it |
| què'yé | his, her, it |
| què'tù' | our (exclusive) |
| què'riu' | our (inclusive) |
| què'li | your (plural) |
| què'ccwa'li | your (plural, formal) |
| què'canì | their |
| què'cayé | their(formal) |
Noninherently possessed kinship terms
| anguula | grandmother |
| antiia | aunt |
| madrastra | stepmother |
| padrastru | stepfather |
| primu | cousin |
| shcwaa | uncle |
| shithuua | grandchild |
| taguula | grandfather |
| sobrinu | nephew |
| sobrina | niece |
Siblings
In Zapotec when a sibling is talking to or about a sibling of the opposite sex there is a different form than if the siblings are of the same sex.
| bettsi' | brother to brother |
| shilla | sister to sister |
| daana | brother to sister, sister to brother |
Example sentences
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