clan / extended family
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extended family
An extended family group that goes beyond the nuclear family and often also includes distant relatives; a clan.
Zur goldenen Hochzeit kam die ganze Sippe aus dem ganzen Land zusammen.
For the golden wedding anniversary, the whole extended family came together from all over the country.
You can tell from the context whether the neutral or the derogatory meaning is intended. If it is about family celebrations, it means the extended family. In connection with negative adjectives such as 'arrogant' (arrogant) or 'unerträglich' (unbearable), it is a derogatory term for a group.
Zu Omas Geburtstag reiste wieder die ganze Sippe an.
For Grandma's birthday, the whole extended family arrived again.
In the meaning 'erweiterte Familie' (extended family), 'Sippe' is often used today in a slightly colloquial or humorous way. It sounds less formal than, for example, 'die Verwandtschaft' (the relatives).
An Weihnachten trifft sich bei uns immer die halbe Sippe.
At Christmas, half the extended family always gets together at our place.
This meaning is purely colloquial and has a strongly negative, derogatory connotation. Use the word in this sense only if you deliberately want to insult a group of people.
Er nannte die Kollegen der anderen Abteilung eine furchtbare Sippe.
He called the colleagues from the other department a terrible bunch.
family
'die Familie' and 'die Sippe' can both mean a group of relatives. 'Familie' is neutral and normal in everyday language. 'Sippe' tends to mean a larger, extended family group with many relatives, sometimes including distant relatives. Today the word often sounds old-fashioned or colloquial. Sometimes it is also used derogatorily when referring to a group of people negatively. For that reason, 'Familie' is safer and more natural in most situations. 'Sippe' only fits when the large group or a particular, often somewhat negative tone is meant.
Bei der Feier kam David mit seiner ganzen Sippe.
David came to the celebration with his whole clan.
Am Wochenende ist meine Nachbarin bei ihrer Familie gewesen.
At the weekend, my neighbor was with her family.