Il Suocero! FATHER-IN-LAW in Italian

Learn how to say suocero, the word for father-in-law in Italian, as well as how to pronounce and use it. You’ll discover how and why to say my father-in-law (mio suocero), and also find out why the same word means fathers-in-law and parents-in-law (suoceri). Andiamo! 

FATHER-IN-LAW IN ITALIAN

The word for father-in-law is suocero.

Un suocero is a father-in-law, while il suocero means the father-in-law.

The pronunciation of suocero is: soo-OH-cheh-roh

Listen to how to pronounce suocero here:

Ho un suocero molto anziano.
I have a very elderly father-in-law.

Daughter-in-law laughs at her father-in-law wearing boxing gloves and in a fun fighting stance.  She says in a graphic speech bubble, "ho un suocero molto anziano."

FATHERS-IN-LAW

Suoceri means fathers-in-law. Suoceri is the plural of suocero

The pronunciation of suoceri is:  soo-OH-cheh-ree

Listen to how to pronounce of suoceri here:

I suoceri di Pietro e Dario sono fratelli.
Pietro’s and Dario’s fathers-in-law are brothers.

Suoceri has two possible meanings. It can refer to a group of all fathers-in-law, or a group of mothers-in-law and fathers-in-law: parents-in-law. Keep reading to find out why!

HOW TO USE THE WORD SUOCERO

MY FATHER-IN-LAW: POSSESSIVES

Use mio suocero to say my father-in-law. This is an exception to the Italian rule about possessives.

Usually possessives in Italian also require the direct article (the). For example: il mio amico  means my (male) friend. However, family members are a big exception.

Do not use the direct article with the SINGULAR, unaltered nouns of most family members. If there is an adjective before or after the family member, use the article. Also, use the article with the possessive loro. 

So:

mio suocero is my father-in-law
tuo suocero is your father-in-law (informal you) 
suo suocero is his/her/your father-in-law (formal you) 
nostro suocero is our father-in-law
vostro suocero your father-in-law (plural you) 

But:

Il loro suocero is their father-in-law
Il mio gentile suocero is my kind father-in-law
Il mio suocerino is my (little) father-in-law

Mio suocero riprende i bambini a scuola mercoledì e venerdì.
My father-in-law picks the kids up at school on Wednesday and Friday.

SUOCERO RELATIONSHIPS  

If you have a suocero, that makes you either a nuora (daughter-in-law), or a genero (son-in-law).

Your suocero is the father of your marito (husband) or moglie (wife).

To learn more about these words, read Daughter-in-law in Italian, Son-in-law in Italian, Husband in Italian, and Wife in Italian.

MOTHER-IN-LAW IN ITALIAN

Suocera means mother-in-law in Italian. To learn more, read Mother-in-law in Italian.

The pronunciation of suocera is: soo-OH-cheh-rah.

PARENTS-IN-LAW

There are two ways to say parents-in-law in Italian.

The first is suocera e suocero (literally: mother-in-law and father-in-law), or suocere e suoceri (mothers-in-law and fathers-in-law).

However, because of how Italian word genders work, the plural masculine word suoceri (fathers-in-law) can be used for a mixed group with a mother-in-law and father-in-law: parents-in-law. This is true even if there are 100 mothers-in-law and 2 fathers-in-law: just one man trumps a feminine group and turns the noun masculine, to suoceri. So the word for parents-in-law in Italian is suoceri

You may want to read more about Relatives in Italian.