What do you call your child’s in-laws?

There’s no single English word for your child’s in-laws, so most people say “my son’s in-laws” or “my daughter’s in-laws” instead. Other languages have one. In Spanish they’re consuegros, and in Yiddish, machatunim.

At a glance

In English: No single word. Say “my son’s in-laws.”
In Spanish: Consuegros: consuegra for her, consuegro for him.
To your grandkids: They’re simply Grandma and Grandpa.

Example familyJennifer is Ethan’s mom, and Lorena is Sofía’s. When Ethan and Sofía married, the two moms became family, and today they share two grandkids: Olivia and Mateo.

Jenniferyour mother

You

Ethan

Sofíayour wife

Lorenayour mother-in-law

What people say instead

Most people say it the long way: “my son’s in-laws” or “my daughter’s mother-in-law.” It’s a mouthful, and that’s normal, because English never settled on a single word for this.

When you introduce them, go through the couple: “This is Barbara, Jenna’s mom.” Everyone understands right away, and nobody has to learn a new word.

You’ll also hear “co-in-laws” now and then. Some Jewish families use the Yiddish word, machatunim, which covers both of them at once.

Heads-up

They aren’t your in-laws

This one trips people up. Your mother-in-law is your own husband’s or wife’s mom. Your son’s mother-in-law is someone else: the mom of the person your son married.

So your child’s in-laws are in-laws to your child, not to you. You’re connected through the couple, and there’s no blood between you, even when you share grandkids.

The same goes for the rest of their family. Your son’s wife’s brother and your daughter’s husband’s grandma have no special names either, so you say it the long way.

Español

In Spanish, there’s a word: consuegros

Spanish has the word English is missing. Your consuegra is your child’s mother-in-law, your consuegro is your child’s father-in-law, and together they’re your consuegros.

In families that speak both languages, you’ll often hear it in the middle of an English sentence, because it says in one word what English needs a whole phrase for.

It goes both ways: the two sets of parents are consuegros to each other.

What they are to everyone else

To your child, they’re a mother-in-law and a father-in-law. To your child’s spouse, they’re Mom and Dad. To your grandkids, they’re simply Grandma and Grandpa, or Abuela and Abuelo, or Nana and Pop.

Everyone in the family has a name for them except you. In the example family, Lorena is Ethan’s mother-in-law and Olivia’s grandma. To Jennifer, she’s just Lorena.

In real life

Two grandmas, one birthday party

You meet your child’s in-laws at the engagement dinner, everyone a little nervous and on their best behavior. Then come the wedding, the baby shower and the first birthday party, where you take turns holding the baby.

By the second Christmas, you’re trading recipes. By the third, you’re saving each other a seat.

Somewhere along the way, you start texting each other photos of the same grandkid. There’s no English word for that, but there’s a feeling: you’re on the same team.