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85 family quotes to share with the people you love most

Family is one of life's most sacred treasures, but how can you put that love into words?

You don’t need a special occasion to gush about your loved ones but if you're struggling to find the words to capture these deep and meaningful relationships, these family quotes will help. Whether it's for a life event, important milestone or special holiday, these quotes can make any occasion more memorable.

Even if you're just looking to laugh and commiserate with a sibling, try one of these family quotes to summarize the unique bond family shares and help put that unexplainable love into words.

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85 family quotes to show your love

Whether you're searching for a quote to write inside a card to your dad, a sentimental quote to share with a grandparent or just a funny family quote to make your mom laugh, these inspirational family quotes embody love, humor and appreciation for the people we love the most.

Inspirational family quotes

• "If the family were a boat, it would be a canoe that makes no progress unless everyone paddles." — Letty Cottin Pogrebin

• “Home is people. Not a place. If you go back there after the people are gone, then all you can see is what is not there any more.”― Robin Hobb
• “The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, lies in its loyalty to each other.” — Mario Puzo
• "A family is a risky venture, because the greater the love, the greater the loss … That’s the trade-off. But I’ll take it all." — Brad Pitt
• "Family is family, whether it’s the one you start out with the one you end up with, or the family you gain along the way." — Unknown
• "To care for those who once cared for us is one of the highest honors.” ― Tia Walker
• “Family is the most important thing in the world.” — Princess Diana
• “Families don’t have to match. You don’t have to look like someone else to love them.” — Leigh Anne Tuohy

• “Being a family means you are a part of something very wonderful. It means you will love and be loved for the rest of your life.” — Lisa Weed
• “A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it.” — George A. Moore
• “So much of what is best in us is bound up in our love of family, that it remains the measure of our stability because it measures our sense of loyalty.” — Haniel Long
• “That’s what people do who love you. They put their arms around you and love you when you’re not so lovable.”― Deb Caletti
• “My family is my life, and everything else comes second as far as what’s important to me.” — Michael Imperioli
• “The love of family and the admiration of friends are much more important than wealth and privilege.” — Charles Kuralt
• “Our most basic instinct is not for survival but for family.” — Paul Pearsall

• “In every conceivable manner, the family is a link to our past, bridge to our future.”— Alex Haley
• “It is the smile of a child, the love of a mother, the joy of a father, the togetherness of a family.” — Menacheim Begin
• “Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.” — Jane Howard
• “When everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching — they are your family.” — Jim Butcher

• “Families are the compass that guides us. They are the inspiration to reach great heights, and our comfort when we occasionally falter.” — Brad Henry
• “The homemaker has the ultimate career. All other careers exist for one purpose only — and that is to support the ultimate career.” ― C.S. Lewis
• “The greatest gift of family life is to be intimately acquainted with people you might never even introduce yourself to, had life not done it for you.” — Kendall Hailey
• “The world, we’d discovered, doesn’t love you like your family loves you.” — Louis Zamperini
• “We may have our differences, but nothing’s more important than family.” — Miguel from "Coco"

• "I believe the world is one big family, and we need to help each other." — Jet Li
• “Family and friendships are two of the greatest facilitators of happiness.” — John C. Maxwell

Short family quotes

• "A man should never neglect his family for business.” — Walt Disney

• "The most important thing in the world is family and love.” — John Wooden
• "Alone, you are strong, but together, you’ll be stronger than ever." – Unknown
• “In time of test, family is best.” — Burmese Proverb
• “The family is one of nature’s masterpieces.” — George Santayana
• “Family is not an important thing. It’s everything.” — Michael J. Fox
• “Families are like fudge — mostly sweet with a few nuts.” — Unknown

• “Life is beautiful. It’s about giving. It’s about family.” — Walt Disney
•  “A happy family is but an earlier heaven.” — George Bernard Shaw
• “I have learned that to be with those I like is enough.”― Walt Whitman
• “Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life.” — Albert Einstein
• “Family is family.” — Linda Linney
• “Sticking with your family is what makes it a family.” — Mitch Albom

• "Life feels complete when you’re together with your family." –Unknown
• “Together, we make a beautiful family.” — Unknown
• “It didn’t matter how big our house was; it mattered that there was love in it.” — Peter Buffett

• “Everyone needs a house to live in, but a supportive family is what builds a home.” — Anthony Liccione
• “Some people are worth melting for.” — Olaf in "Frozen"
• "Without a family, man, alone in the world, trembles with the cold." — Andre Maurois
• “Many men can make a fortune but very few can build a family.” — J.S. Bryan

• “Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future.” — Gail Lumet Buckley
• “It’s all about the quality of life and finding a happy balance between work and friends and family.” — Philip Green

Funny family quotes

• “Obviously, if I was serious about having a relationship with someone long-term, the last people I would introduce him to would be my family.”— Chelsea Handler
• “A 2-year-old is kind of like having a blender, but you don’t have a top for it.”— Jerry Seinfeld 
• “I grew up with six brothers. That’s how I learned to dance — waiting for the bathroom.” — Bob Hope

• “Having one kid makes you a parent. Having two kids makes you a referee.”— David Frost
• “A family is a unit composed not only of children but of men, women, an occasional animal, and the common cold.”— Ogden Nash
• “If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.”— George Bernard Shaw
• “Being part of a family means smiling for photos.” — Harry Morgan
•  “One day you will do things for me that you hate. That is what it means to be family.”― Jonathan Safran Foer
• “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” — Leo Tolstoy
• “When your mother asks, 'Do you want a piece of advice?' it’s a mere formality. It doesn’t matter if you answer yes or no. You’re going to get it anyway.” — Erma Bombeck
• “My dear young cousin, if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the eons, it’s that you can’t give up on your family, no matter how tempting they make it.” ― Rick Riordan
• “My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She’s 97 now, and we don’t know where the heck she is.” ― Ellen DeGeneres
• "There is no such thing as fun for the whole family.¨ — Jerry Seinfeld
• “Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.” ― George Burns
• “The other night I ate at a real nice family restaurant. Every table had an argument going.” — George Carlin
• “Some family trees bear an enormous crop of nuts.” — Wayne Huizenga
• “I want my children to have all the things I couldn’t afford. Then I want to move in with them.” — Phyllis Diller

• “Family ties mean that no matter how much you might want to run from your family, you can’t.” — Anonymous
• “As a child my family’s menu consisted of two choices: take it or leave it.” — Buddy Hackett
• “Families are messy. Immortal families are eternally messy. Sometimes the best we can do is to remind each other that we’re related for better or for worse ... and try to keep the maiming and killing to a minimum.” ― Rick Riordan
• “After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations.” — Oscar Wilde

Blessed family quotes

• "You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them." — Desmond Tutu

• “There is no doubt that it is around the family and the home that all the greatest virtues… are created, strengthened and maintained.” — Winston Churchill
• “What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.” — Mother Teresa
• “To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there.” — Barbara Bush

• "Children can never have too many positive adult role models in their lives." — Unknown
• "When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses." — Joyce Brothers
• "Being happy in your family is more important than being perfect." — Unknown
• “The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life.” — Richard Bach
• “Parents were the only ones obligated to love you; from the rest of the world you had to earn it.”― Ann Brashares
• “The family is the first essential cell of human society.” — Pope John XXIII

• “Ohana means family and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.” — Stitch from "Lilo & Stitch"
• “I sustain myself with the love of family.”― Maya Angelou
• “I am blessed to have so many great things in my life — family, friends, and God. All will be in my thoughts daily.” ― Lil' Kim
• “I have a wonderful shelter, which is my family.” — José Carreras

• “Having a place to go is a home. Having someone to love is a family. Having both is a blessing.” — Donna Hedges
• "You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth." — Khalil Gibran

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wisdom quotes trending all quotes

110 Family Quotes To Inspire Closeness With Your Relatives

By Maxime Lagacé

Maxime is the founder of WisdomQuotes. He has been collecting quotes since 2004. His goal? To help you develop a calm and peaceful mind. Learn more about him on his about page .

Here are 110 of the best family quotes I could find. Hope you’ll find wisdom and inspiration to connect even more with your loved ones. You’ll discover quotes by Einstein, Obama, Martin Luther King Jr, and more. Enjoy!

An ounce of blood is worth more than a pound of friendship. Spanish proverb

You don’t choose your family. They are god’s gift to you, as you are to them. Desmond Tutu

As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live. Pope John Paul II

The more you’re loving and understanding, the more your kids will sing. Maxime Lagacé

I have learned that to be with those I like is enough. Walt Whitman

A man can’t make a place for himself in the sun if he keeps taking refuge under the family tree. Helen Keller

Treat your family like friends and your friends like family. Unknown

It is a wise father that knows his own child. William Shakespeare

The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence. Denis Waitley

A happy family is but an earlier heaven. George Bernard Shaw

Children are educated by what the grown-up is and not by his talk. Carl Jung

Put your family in order. Jordan Peterson

Your parents miss you and wish you’d call. Later you’ll miss them and wish you could. Paul Graham

The only rock I know that stays steady, the only institution I know that works, is the family. Lee Iacocca

Families are like branches on a tree – we grow in different directions yet our roots remain as one. Unknown

• 100 Respect Quotes To Create More Unity In The World
• 100 Sister Quotes That You Will Instantly Relate To
• 155 Brother Quotes That Will Make You Feel Lucky

The Best Family Quotes

What divides us pales in comparison to what unites us. Ted Kennedy

The more you understand and accept your roots, the more beautiful you become. Maxime Lagacé

The family you create is more important than the family you come from. Unknown

I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve. J.R.R. Tolkien

The sun looks down on nothing half so good as a household laughing together over a meal. C.S. Lewis (The Weight of Glory)

Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family. Anthony Brandt Click to tweet

I think our job as parents is to give our kids roots to grow and wings to fly. Deborah Norville

Your children need your presence more than your presents. Jesse Jackson

The family is the test of freedom; because the family is the only thing that the free man makes for himself and by himself. Gilbert K. Chesterton

Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring, and integrity, they think of you. H. Jackson Brown Jr

Your greatest contribution may not be something you do but someone you raise. Unknown

Govern a family as you would cook a small fish – very gently. Chinese proverb

Everyone needs a house to live in, but a supportive family is what builds a home. Anthony Liccione

A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it. George A Moore

The family is the nucleus of civilization. Will Durant

To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order ; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right. Confucius

I don’t know who my grandfather was; I am much more concerned to know what his grandson will be. Abraham Lincoln

Think of your family today and every day thereafter, don’t let the busy world of today keep you from showing how much you love and appreciate your family. Josiah

Many men can make a fortune but very few can build a family. J.S. Bryan

There is no doubt that it is around the family and the home that all the greatest virtues, the most dominating virtues of human, are created, strengthened and maintained. Winston Churchill

If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace. Thich Nhat Hanh

The greatest legacy one can pass on to one’s children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one’s life, but rather a legacy of character and faith. Billy Graham

Family is everything. Christiano Ronaldo ( Source )

Part 2. Family Quotes That ARE…

The most famous family quotes.

Go to table of contents

Family isn’t an important thing. It’s everything. Michael J. Fox

The family is one of nature’s masterpieces. George Santayana

My wife has been my closest friend, my closest advisor. And she’s not somebody who looks to the limelight, or even is wild about me being in politics. And that’s a good reality check on me. When I go home, she wants me to be a good father and a good husband. And everything else is secondary to that. Barack Obama

The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family. Thomas Jefferson

Poor folks have neither any kindred nor any friends. Italian proverb

Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life. Albert Einstein

After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations. Oscar Wilde

I believe in large families: every woman should have at least three husbands. Zsa Zsa Gabor

With all my fans I got a family again. Tupac Shakur

A family can develop only with a loving woman as its center. Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel

If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance. George Bernard Shaw

Family is the most important thing in the world. Princess Diana

A man should never neglect his family for business. Walt Disney

The most important thing in the world is family and love. John Wooden

You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending. C.S. Lewis

As a child, the family that I had and the love I had from my two parents allowed me to go ahead and be more aggressive, to search and to take risks knowing that, if I failed, I could always come home to a family of love and support. Tiger Woods

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. Martin Luther King Jr

Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream. George W. Bush

Like all the best families, we have our share of eccentricities, of impetuous and wayward youngsters and of family disagreements. Queen Elizabeth II

The family is not only an institution, but a foundation, the foundation of nearly all institutions. G.K. Chesterton

Short Family Sayings

Family makes a house a home. Jennifer Hudson

Family. Where life begins and love never ends. Unknown

Family. A little bit of crazy, a little bit of loud and a whole lot of love. Unknown

In time of test, family is best. Burmese proverb

Family. Being loved no matter what. Unknown

Home is the nicest word there is. Laura Ingalls Wilder

When we have each other, we have everything. Unknown

When you love what you have, you have everything you need. Unknown

Family and health are above everything. Gal Shapira

Together is my favorite place to be. Unknown

The love of family is life’s greatest blessing. Unknown

Friends are God’s way of apologizing for your family. Wayne Dyer

Blood makes you related. Loyalty makes you family. Unknown

Find your tribe. Love them hard. Unknown

There is no job more important than parenting. This I believe. Ben Carson

Children learn to smile from their parents. Shinichi Suzuki

Inspirational Family Sayings

Home is where your story begins. Unknown

In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future. Alex Haley

I’ve learned through the years that it’s not where you live, it’s the people who surround you that make you feel at home. J.B. McGee

Home should be an anchor, a port in a storm, a refuge, a happy place in which to dwell, a place where we are loved and where we can love. Marvin J. Ashton

The family is the first essential cell of human society. Pope John XXIII

Never let anyone tell you that you can’t; show them that you can. Gloria Mallette

I love people. I love my family, my children… but inside myself is a place where I live all alone and that’s where you renew your springs that never dry up. Pearl S. Buck

To nourish children and raise them against odds is in any time, any place, more valuable than to fix bolts in cars or design nuclear weapons. Marilyn French

If you want lasting influence in the world, influence your family. Bob Goff

You are my sun, my moon and all of my stars. E.E. Cummings

Perhaps the greatest social service that can be rendered by anybody to this country and to mankind is to bring up a family. George Bernard Shaw

Families are the tie that reminds us of yesterday, provide strength and support today, and give us hope for tomorrow. No government, no matter how well-intentioned, or well-managed, can provide what our families provide. Bill Owens

Your family is the most important business you’ll ever run. Unknown

A baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on. Carl Sandburg

You leave home to seek your fortune and, when you get it, you go home and share it with your family. Anita Baker

Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children. Charles R. Swindoll

I’m inspired by the love people have for their children. And I’m inspired by my own children, how full they make my heart. They make me want to work to make the world a little bit better. And they make me want to be a better man. Barack Obama

Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family. Kofi Annan

I believe the world is one big family, and we need to help each other. Jet Li

Let us sacrifice our today so that our children can have a better tomorrow. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Related :  The secret to happiness? The longest-running study on happiness (health.harvard.edu)

Wise Family Sayings

Home is where you are loved the most and act the worst. Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Having children makes you no more a parent than having a piano makes you a pianist. Michael Levine

You are born into your family and your family is born into you. No returns. No exchanges. Elizabeth Berg

Home is people. Not a place. If you go back there after the people are gone, then all you can see is what is not there anymore. Robin Hobb

While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about. Angela Schwindt

We never know the love of a parent till we become parents ourselves. Henry Ward Beecher

Remember that children, marriages, and flower gardens reflect the kind of care they get. H. Jackson Brown Jr

If you as parents cut corners, your children will too. If you lie, they will too . If you spend all your money on yourselves and tithe no portion of it for charities, colleges, churches, synagogues, and civic causes, your children won’t either. And if parents snicker at racial and gender jokes, another generation will pass on the poison adults still have not had the courage to snuff out. Marian Wright Edelman

I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it. Harry S. Truman

Let the wife make the husband glad to come home, and let him make her sorry to see him leave. Martin Luther

Children are the keys of paradise. Eric Hoffer

A brother is like gold and a friend is like diamond. If gold cracks you can melt it and make it just like it was before. If a diamond cracks, it can never be like it was before. Unknown

Soup is a lot like a family. Each ingredient enhances the others; each batch has its own characteristics; and it needs time to simmer to reach full flavor. Marge Kennedy

The most important thing that parents can teach their children is how to get along without them. Frank A. Clark

The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home. Confucius

Related :  3 Steps to a Closer, Stronger Family (psychcentral.com)

It didn’t matter how big our house was; it mattered that there was love in it. Peter Buffett

Key Takeaways

• Friendships can end. Family is forever.
• A beautiful way to see your family? As a gift from life. Be grateful!
• The family is the foundation of a good society.
• Want to raise good kids? Love and understand them, but most importantly, set an example .
• Want to make a dent in the universe? Be yourself and create your own path.

Further Readings

• Topic: Relationships
• 139 Relationship Quotes To Level Up Your Bonding With Others
• 100 Lovely Children Quotes To Inspire You
• 100 Parenting Quotes To Encourage And Inspire You
• 62 Tolerance Quotes To Inspire Harmony
• 83 Listening Quotes To Help You Be A Better Listener
• 8 Habits Of Extraordinarily Healthy Families (huffingtonpost.ca)
• 100 Forgiveness Quotes That Will Free Yourself

Hope you enjoyed these beautiful family quotes. If you did, please share them with a friend today!

What’s your favorite family quote? And remember: words can transform your life, if you find the right ones.

Table Of Contents

Part 1 Top 15 Images Best Quotes

Part 2 Family Quotes That ARE Famous Short Inspirational Wise

Part 3 Conclusion

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"To be happy, you don't need more stuff, you need more wisdom."

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90 Best Family Quotes That Sum Up Your Unbreakable Bond

Sweet and funny sayings that prove blood really is thicker than water.

Families are certainly complicated — anyone can tell you that — but at the end of the day, they're the people you can depend on, the people who love you, the people who have your back and offer support in the bad times and celebration in the good. And even if there are moments where they annoy us a bit too much (we've all been there) or disagreements break out, with strong family bonds you know that inevitably you'll all come together and move past any minor tiffs — something that, in a way, is what makes family different from friends, acquaintances, coworkers and other people in your life.

That's why when it comes to finding the perfect thing to write in your sister's birthday card , a thoughtful Father's Day message , or a heartwarming expression of gratitude for your mom, any old saying just won't do. But these family quotes , which capture the loving and sweet energy everyone can relate to and even the funny complexities of family life , absolutely fit the bill.

Look to writers like Maya Angelou, poets like Henry David Thoreau and other thought leaders like Mother Teresa for inspiration when you can't find the right words that describe how you feel. You don't even need a special occasion to share a few of your favorites.

Send one to someone you're close with, and let them know how they've made you into the person you are today, or use one to help reconnect with someone you've lost touch with to help you reconnect.

Jane Howard

Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.

Walt Disney

A man should never neglect his family for business.

George Washington Carver

How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these.

‘The Godfather’

A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man.

Gene Perret

Grandparents are there to help the child get into mischief they haven’t thought of yet.

Robert Frost

The greatest thing in family life is to take a hint when a hint is intended — and not to take a hint when a hint isn't intended.

The greatest moments in life are not concerned with selfish achievements but rather with the things we do for the people we love and esteem, and whose respect we need.

We may have our differences, but nothing’s more important than family.

Kahlil Gibran

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

To support mother and father, to cherish wife and child and to have a simple livelihood; this is the good luck.

‘Lilo and Stitch’

Ohana means family. Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.

Having a place to go is a home. Having someone to love is a family. Having both is a blessing.

Being a family means you are a part of something very wonderful. It means you will love and be loved for the rest of your life.

Elizabeth Wurtzel

I don't think it matters how many parents you've got, as long as those who are around make their presence a good one.

Jim Butcher

When everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching — they are your family.

Barack Obama

Above all, children need our unconditional love, whether they succeed or make mistakes; when life is easy and when life is tough.

Chuck Palahniuk

Parents are like God because you wanna know they're out there, and you want them to think well of you, but you really only call when you need something.

A family is a risky venture, because the greater the love, the greater the loss... That's the trade-off. But I'll take it all.

Albert Einstein

Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life.

Burmese Proverb

In time of test, family is best.

Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; she previously wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother . She lives with her husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found dominating the audio round at her local bar trivia night or tweeting about movies.

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