Our daily lives are shaped by the people we live with. Whether you are living with parents, a partner, children, or roommates, you need specific vocabulary to describe those connections. While words like “love” and “talk” are important, native speakers use phrasal verbs to describe the deeper dynamics of home life.
This guide will help you talk about your family and relationships naturally.
Quick Summary: 17 Family and Relationship Phrasal Verbs
| Phrasal Verb | Meaning | Example Sentence |
| Bring up | To raise a child | She brought up three kids. |
| Grow up | To become an adult | I grew up in Japan. |
| Look after | To take care of | Look after the dog. |
| Take after | To resemble a relative | You take after your mom. |
| Get along | To be friendly | We get along great. |
| Go through | To experience difficulty | They went through a lot. |
| Settle down | To start a stable life | They want to settle down. |
| Fall out | To argue and stop talking | Don’t fall out over money. |
| Make up | To forgive and be friends | Let’s make up now. |
| Open up | To share feelings | He finally opened up. |
| Count on | To rely on someone | You can count on me. |
| Check in | To see if someone is okay | Check in with me later. |
| Tell off | To scold someone | Mom told me off. |
| Put up with | To tolerate | I can’t put up with it. |
| Wait in | To stay home for someone | I’ll wait in for you. |
| Stay in | To remain at home | We’ll stay in tonight. |
| Pop over | To visit briefly | Pop over for coffee! |
Growing Up and Raising a Family
Many phrasal verbs in this category describe the journey from childhood to adulthood. These are essential for anyone talking about their childhood.
1. Bring up
To bring up means to care for a child and teach them how to behave as they grow.
- Example: My parents worked very hard to bring us up with strong values and a love for learning.
2. Grow up
While “bring up” is what parents do, grow up is what the child does. It means to change from a child into an adult.
- Example: I grew up in a small town before moving to the city for university.
3. Look after
To look after someone means to take care of them and make sure they are safe. This is very common when talking about children or elderly relatives.
- Example: Can you look after your little brother for an hour while I go to the store?
4. Take after
If you take after a family member, it means you look like them or have a similar personality.
- Example: Everyone says that I take after my father because we both love history and long walks.
Getting Along and Living Together
Living in the same house requires cooperation. These verbs describe how we interact with others on a daily basis.
5. Get along
To get along with someone means to have a friendly relationship with them without many arguments.
- Example: I am lucky because I get along very well with my mother-in-law.
6. Go through
In a relationship, to go through something means to experience a difficult time together.
- Example: My sister and her husband went through a tough year, but they are very happy now.
7. Wait in
When you are expecting a family member to come home or a delivery to arrive, you wait in.
- Example: I need to wait in tonight because my brother is dropping off some boxes.
8. Settle down
To settle down means to begin living a quiet, stable life, often by getting married or buying a permanent home.
- Example: After traveling for five years, he finally decided to settle down in London.
Communication and Conflict
Even the best families have disagreements. These phrases help you describe the “ups and downs” of relationships.
9. Fall out
To fall out means to have a serious argument with someone that results in you stopping your friendship or communication.
- Example: I fell out with my cousin over a silly mistake, and we haven’t spoken in months.
10. Make up
After an argument, to make up means to become friends again and forgive each other.
- Example: Life is too short to stay angry, so we decided to make up and move on.
11. Open up
To open up means to start talking about your feelings and thoughts more honestly with someone you trust.
- Example: It took a long time, but my teenager is finally starting to open up to me about school.
12. Count on
To count on someone means to rely on them or trust them to help you when you are in trouble.
- Example: I know I can always count on my sister whenever I have a problem.
Daily Interactions and Social Bonds
These verbs describe the small, regular actions we take with the people we live with or the relatives who visit us.
13. Check in
To check in with someone means to contact them to see if they are okay or to tell them where you are.
- Example: I always check in with my wife when I leave the office so she knows when to start dinner.
14. Tell off
If someone does something wrong, you tell them off. This means to speak angrily to them because of their behavior.
- Example: My mother told me off for tracking mud onto the clean kitchen floor.
15. Put up with
To put up with means to accept an unpleasant situation or person without complaining.
- Example: I have to put up with my roommate’s loud snoring every single night.
16. Stay in
To stay in means to remain at home rather than going out to a restaurant or party. Families often do this to spend quality time together.
- Example: Instead of going to the cinema, we decided to stay in and play board games.
17. Pop over
To pop over means to visit someone’s home for a short time, usually without a formal invitation. It is very common for neighbors or close relatives.
- Example: My aunt likes to pop over on Sunday afternoons for a quick cup of tea.
Strengthening Your Bonds
Using these phrasal verbs allows you to describe the complexity of your home life. Whether you are making up after a small fight or checking in with a partner, these words are the building blocks of natural conversation.
Try to observe your relationships today. Who do you get along with the most? Who do you take after in your family? Using these words in your thoughts is a great way to make them feel like a natural part of your English.
