ma famille essay

Je m’appelle Marie. Ma famille se compose de quatre personnes. Mon mari et moi avons deux enfants, une fille de sept ans et un garçon de trois ans. Nous avons également des animaux : un chat, un chien, deux lapins et des poissons rouges. Nous vivons dans une jolie maison avec un grand jardin. Notre quartier est calme et paisible. Je suis secrétaire et je m’occupe de mes deux enfants quand ils rentrent de l’école. Mon mari est professeur d’anglais dans une école qui se trouve à 20 kilomètres de la maison. Le dimanche, nous aimons nous promener en famille dans la forêt proche de notre maison et faire des jeux. Nous jouons dans le jardin quand il fait beau ou dans la maison quand il pleut.

Les grands-parents de nos enfants aiment passer du temps avec nous lors des vacances. Les parents de mon mari habitent très loin de chez nous, mais mes parents ont une maison à quelques kilomètres de la nôtre. Les enfants aiment faire du vélo avec leur grand-père après l’école. Ma fille fait parfois des gâteaux avec sa grand-mère le samedi après-midi. Nous les mangeons ensemble le samedi soir.

Ma sœur habite également dans la même ville que nous. Elle a trois enfants, deux garçons et une fille. Ils aiment venir passer le week-end à la maison, ainsi mes enfants jouent avec leurs cousins dans le jardin.

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HOW TO DESCRIBE YOUR FAMILY IN FRENCH

More often than not, we asked to talk about our family in French in an examination or when we visit our neighbouring French-speaking countries. This lesson focuses on the guidelines to clearly and simply describe your family in French with little or no difficulty. This lesson will focus on three main objectives:

1. Knowing how to call the members of your family in French. 2. Knowing how to describe the structure of your family in French. 3. Write an essay on the topic “ma famille” (my family).

I./ Knowing how to call the members of your family in French Les membres de la famille (members of the family)

II./ Knowing how to describe the structure of your family in French To describe the structure of your family in French, you need to follow the guidelines below: 1. Ton nom (your name). Here, you need to mention your name in any of the following formats: . Je m’appelle Elvis Fiati. Mon est Fiati, mon prénom est Elvis. (My name is Elvis Fiati. My surname is Fiati, my First name is Elvis) . Je me nomme Elvis Fiati. (I am by name Elvis Fiati) . On m’appelle Elvis Fiati. (I am called Elvis Fiati)

1. Ton village natale (your hometown) Here, you need to talk about where you come from as shown in the example below: . Nous sommes de Hohoe dans la région de la Volta du Ghana. . Nous venons de Krobo Adumase dans la région orientale du Ghana.

2. Combien de membres comprend ta famille (how many members is your family made up of?) In this case, you need to mention the number of members in your family depending on the type of family (nuclear or extended) you want to describe as shown in the examples below: . Ma famille comprend neuf (9) membres. (my family is made up of 9 members) . Il y a neuf membres dans ma famille. (there are 9 members in my family)

3. Nomme les membres de ta famille (name the members of your family) Here, you need not to mention their real names but who they are to you (your relationship with them). See the example below: . J’ai un frère, deux sœurs, mes parents, ma grand-mère, mon oncle, ma tante et moi-même (I have a brother, two sisters, my parents, my grandmother, my uncle, my aunt and myself)

4. Tu aimes ta famille? Pourquoi? (do you like your family? Why?) Here, you need to say whether you like your family or not and state why you do or do not like your family. See the examples below. . J’aime ma famille parce que nous sommes courageux et gentils. (I like my family because we are courageous and kind) . Ma famille est riche et honorée dans ma localité. J’aime bien ma famille. (My family is rich and honoured in my locality. I really like my family) III./ Write an essay on the topic “ma famille” (my family) Ma famille Je m’appelle John Mahama. Je suis de la famille Mahama. Nous sommes de Bole Banboi dans la région du nord au Ghana. Il y a cinq (5) personnes dans ma famille: Mr et Mme Mahama, mes parents, mon frère ainée Ibrahim Mahama, ma sœur Alima Mahama et moi-même. Nous habitons à Accra. Mon père et ma mère ont soixante-dix (70) et soixante-cinq (65) ans respectivement. Ibrahim a trente-huit (38) ans, Alima a vingt-cinq (25) ans et moi j’ai trente-cinq (35). Mon père est docteur, ma mère est comptable, mon frère est ingénieur, ma sœur est commerçante et moi-même je suis cultivateur et politicien. Notre plat favori est la Banku avec la sauce de gombo. Nous sommes chrétiens donc nous allons à l’église chaque dimanche. Mes parents dont riches et bien honorés dans la société et nous les enfants sommes très respectueux. J’aime beaucoup ma famille.

Try Yourself With This Exercise In not more than 180 words, describe your family to a friend in French. Thank you for reading. Kindly share the lesson for others to also benefit from it. Do you have a suggestion or contribution to make? Kindly drop it in the comment box. Merci.

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Learn the vocabulary needed to describe, “Ma famille”, you will find a reading of family members in French with their corresponding translation in English. Here you will learn how to say brother and sister, friends, etc, in French.

Enjoy the reading about : Ma famille.

Reading : My family

Short video: the family.

VIDEO QUIZ Now watch the video and answer the following questions :

Practice more about the family: review more vocabulary, try a dictation, listen to the reading and enjoy the conversation:, more french readings practice here:.

Explore More French Reading Levels: Click on the level of your interest:

• Readings Level 1 
• Readings Level 2
• Readings Level 3
• Readings Level 4
• Readings Level 5
• Readings Level 6
• Readings Level 7
• Readings Level 8

French Resources for Level 1:

Do you want to practice another Resource? Click on the image of your interest:

Writing About Family in French - Beginner Lesson

• Brian J. Donovan
• Categories : French lesson plans for secondary grades 6 12
• Tags : Teaching english speaking students a second language

Discussing Family in French

Language level: I try to make all of my lessons easily adaptable to different levels, but this is geared more towards beginners. For more advanced students, it will be review. For this lesson on writing about the family in French, your students will begin by learning basic family vocabulary, and they’ll pull together the basics they’ve already learned about simple sentence structure and verbs like être and avoir.

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Grade level: 6 or 7 through university Format: I’ve kept the format very simple to avoid too many layout issues. Paste the text into a document, and you can make the changes you’d like to make. I’ve given you a Student Section (below) which you can copy to a document, so you have something to hand out to your students. Your students will be able to follow along and make notes on the page as you talk about the different parts of the lesson. This Teacher Section will have tips and suggestions to share with them.

Writing about Family in French: Teacher Section

*Teacher: Some students aren’t comfortable talking about their families, so I tell them it’s ok to make it up! The whole point is to use the vocabulary and to put together sentences. A. Le Vocabulaire / Vocabulary Begin by introducing basic vocabulary. I use un/une a lot, and always tell my students to learn words with those, so they’ll more easily remember the gender. It’s not as important with a word whose gender is obvious, but it’s a good practice. (Note: be sure to remind them about le and la becoming l’.) 1. Qui / Who: *Teacher: You may have to add words to fit different family make-ups. Hint: If “sœur” is difficult for them, remind them to ignore the -o and that leaves them with -eu.

• une mère / mother
• un père / father
• un fils / son
• un garçon / boy
• un frère / brother
• une fille / daughter, girl
• un mari / husband
• un homme / man
• une femme / wife, woman
• un grand-père / grandfather
• un petit-fils / grandson
• une tante / aunt
• un oncle / uncle
• un cousin / male cousin
• une cousine / female cousin
• une sœur / sister
• un(e) enfant / child
• une nièce / niece
• un neveu (-x) / nephew
• une grand-mère / grandmother
• une petite-fille / granddaughter

2. L’État Civil / Marital Status: *Teacher: Once again, you may have to add words to fit different family make-ups. Remind them of the difference between “mari” and “marié.”

• célibataire / single
• fiancé(e) / engaged
• décédé(e) / deceased
• veuf / veuve / widower / widow
• marié(e) / married
• divorcé(e) / divorced
• remarié(e) / remarried

3. Les Adjectifs Possessifs / Possessive Adjectives: Possessive adjectives personalize your writings about your family. You wouldn’t want to constantly say, “I have a mother. I have a brother. I have an aunt.” You can use the different forms of “my” (mon, ma, mes) to vary your sentences. 4. Les Verbes / Verbs: You won’t need a lot of verbs to talk about your family: Être, avoir and habiter should be enough for most descriptions. *Teacher: I find examples often work best, but if you’d like you can spend time talking about the basic verbs they’ll need–or even ask them what verbs they think they’ll need! I have sample sentences for you in section II. Don’t forget to talk about “habiter” (live, reside/where) with a city, with states and streets, and how it differs from “vivre” (live/how, when). You may also want to talk about the difference between using “chez” and “avec.” B. Les Phrases / Sentences *Teacher: Examples tend to work best, so I’ve included some basic sentences to cover many situations. You can add as many as you’d like, and your students can take notes on their copies. Don’t forget to remind your students to also use words like “et” and “mais” to vary the sentences more. 1. Qui / Who (with verbs):

a. J’ai un frère/une sœur. J’ai deux frères./deux sœurs.

b. J’ai un petit frère/une petite sœur. J’ai un grand frère/une grande sœur.

*You can also teach aîné, cadet, etc. It’s depends on how much time you have to spend on the family lesson.

c. Je n’ai pas de frère(s)./pas de sœur(s). **Teacher: Remind them that the noun can be singular or plural, but that they’ll still use de/d’ in the negative in many cases…

d. On n’a pas d’animaux.

*Teacher: d’/vowel

e. C’est le frère de mon père. Le mari de ma tante (mon oncle) est décédé. (mort(e))

f. Mon oncle s’appelle Marc. Ma tante s’appelle Marie.

g. J’ai un oncle qui s’appelle Marc et il a 50 ans.

h. Mes parents s’appellent Sophie et Pierre. Mes parents sont Sophie et Pierre.

2. L’État Civil / Marital Status:

a. Mon frère est marié. Ma sœur n’est pas mariée.

b. Mes parents sont divorcés. Ma sœur est divorcée.

c. Je ne suis pas marié(e). Je suis célibataire.

d. J’ai un frère/une sœur qui n’est pas marié(e).

3. L’Age / Age:

a. Mon frère a 14 (quatorze) mois. Mon frère a 1 (un) an.

b. Mon frère a 9 (neuf) ans.

c. Mes deux sœurs ont 13 (treize) ans et 14 (quatorze) ans.

4. Où ? / Where?:

a. J’habite à Boston. **Teacher: à + ville

b. Mes parents habitent en Californie. / en Floride. / dans le Vermont. **Teacher: masculine & feminine//au

c. Mon grand-père habite avec un ami. / Mon grand-père habite chez ma tante. / tout(e) seul(e)

d. Mon cousin habite 9 Rue Corbert. Ma tante habite une grande maison/un bel appartement.

e. Mes grands-parents sont en France. / au Méxique.

Follow these additional French study guides for more practice!

• French cuisine
• The completed past

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Home » Articles » Talk About Family in French – A Guide to French Family Vocabulary [with Audio]

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written by Alice Cimino

Language: French

Reading time: 13 minutes

Published: Feb 28, 2022

Talk About Family in French – A Guide to French Family Vocabulary [with Audio]

If you’re learning French, you should learn how to talk about family in French. That’s because family is an important topic that often comes up in conversations. In this article, I’ll share the words you need to know, with audio recordings from myself, a native French speaker.

Allons-y!  Let’s get started.

Table of contents

French words to talk about your family.

• How to Say “Family” in French: Famille

Rules of Gender, Number Agreement, and the French Family Member Collectives

French terms of endearment for family members, how to write about your family in french – some more vocabulary.

• 1. Qu’est-ce qu’on a fait au Bon Dieu ?
• 2. C’est quoi cette famille?!
• 3. Il a déjà tes yeux

You’re All Set to Talk About Your Family in French!

Psst… Do you like French cinema? Stick around until the end of the article for French movie recommendations that revolve around family!

“Family” in French is  famille‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ .

To say “family member” in French you would say  membre de la famille‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ . You can also say  parent‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ , which also translates to “parent”, as in father or mother.

If you want to talk about family in French, you will need to know the appropriate words to describe the different  liens de famille  (“family relationships”).

Immediate family:

• la femme ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ or  l’épouse‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the wife”
• le mari ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ or  l’époux‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the husband”
• les parents ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the parents”
• la mère ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the mother”
• le père ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the father”
• les enfants ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the children”
• la fille ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the daughter”
• le fils ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the son”
• la sœur ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the sister”
• le frère ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the brother”

Extended family:

• la tante ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the aunt”
• l’oncle ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the uncle”
• la nièce ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the niece”
• le neveu ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the nephew”
• la cousine ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the cousin” (feminine)
• le cousin ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the cousin” (masculine)
• la petite-fille ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the grand-daughter”
• le petit-fils ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the grandson”
• la grand-mère ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the grandmother”
• le grand-père ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the grandfather”
• l’arrière-petite-fille ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the great-granddaughter”
• l’arrière-petit-fils ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the great-grandson”
• l’arrière-grand-mère ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the great-grandmother”
• l’arrière-grand-père ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the great-grandfather”

All of these form  les proches ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ (“close relations”).

Since this is a lot of information, you can download this chart to keep it for further studies:

Step-family:

• la belle-mère ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the stepmother”
• le beau-père ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the stepfather”
• la demi-sœur ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the stepsister” or “the half-sister”
• le demi-frère ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the stepbrother” or “the half-brother”
• la belle-fille ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the stepdaughter”
• le beau-fils ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the stepson”
• la belle-mère  – “the mother-in-law”
• le beau-père  – “the father-in-law”
• la belle-sœur ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the sister-in-law”
• le beau-frère ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the brother-in-law
• la belle-fille  – “the daughter-in-law”
• le beau-fils  – “the son-in-law”

It might also be useful for you to learn the members of the “godparent family”:

• les parrains ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the godparents”
• la marraine ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the godmother”
• le parrain ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the godfather”
• la filleule ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the goddaughter”
• le filleul ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the godson”

How to Say “Family” in French:  Famille

As I mentioned above, “Family” in French is  famille ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ .

Famille  is a noun, so you will often see  famille  coming after an article or a pronoun.

The most common ones are:

• La  famille  – “(the) family”
• Une  famille  – “a family”
• Ma  famille  – “my family”

Let’s pause for a second and take a look at how similar  famille  is to “family”. These words are  cognates : even though they’re from different languages, their spelling and pronunciation are similar, and they have the same meaning.

Cognates help you start learning a new language by giving you an instant vocabulary base. One of our favorite courses at  Fi3M ,  French Uncovered , teaches you to recognise French cognates from the very start of yourjourney learning French. It’s a great way to feel more confident in your knowledge and less intimidated by your target language.

(Remember, at  Fi3M  we’re all about simple language hacks like this that help you learn a language faster 😉.)

The Different Types of Family in French

Once you’ve mastered how to say  famille , you can go a little more in-depth and learn the different types of family categorization in French:

• la famille nucléaire‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ or  la famille traditionnelle‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “immediate family”
• la famille monoparentale‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “single-parent family”
• la famille recomposée‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “stepfamily” or “reconstituted family”
• la famille élargie‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ or  la famille étendue‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “extended family”
• la belle-famille‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “in-laws”
• la famille adoptive‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “adoptive family” or “foster family”

French follows rules of gender and number agreement. This means that if a noun is feminine, the article and adjective(s) that describe it will also be feminine. The same goes for when a noun is singular or plural. This is important to know if you want to describe your family members, for example.

Let’s look at how the agreement rules work.

While we’re looking at the plural forms of French family members, let’s talk about the collective terms for family members. These are words like “the parents” or “the siblings”, which describe the whole group of family members with the same titles, regardless of their gender.

Here are the most common:

• les parents  – “the parents”
• all other terms with  parents  in them, such as  les grandparents
• les enfants  – “the children”
• all other terms with  enfants  in them, such as  les petits-enfants
• les cousins  – “the cousins”

For the other collective terms, you would mention the plural of both the masculine and femenine members. Here are some examples:

• les frères et sœurs  – “the siblings”
• les oncles et tantes  – “the uncles and aunts”

When you’re referring to several members of the same gender, for examples “the sisters”, you would use the plural of the term, so  les sœurs .

When I’m speaking French with my parents, I don’t call my them *  mère  (“mother”) and père  (father).

For parents, the most common terms used in French are:

• la maman‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the mom”
• le papa‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the dad”

There isn’t a collective term for parents other than  parents  in French, you would simply say  maman et papa  (“Mom and Dad”).

Grandparents too have their own terms of endearment:

• la mamie‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ – “the granma”
• le papi‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ (sometimes also spelt  papy ) – “the grandpa”

You might also hear  mémé‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ (“grannie”) and  pépé‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ (“granda”), although they are more old fashioned words. My grandmother has never wanted her grandchildren to call her  mémé ; she says it makes her sound too old!

For siblings, adding  petit(e)  or  grand(e)  does the work:

• petite sœur  – “little sister”
• petit frère  – “little brother”
• grande sœur  – “big sister”
• grand frère  – “big brother”

When it comes to the rest of the family,  oncle  has a more tender version:  tonton‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ (“uncle”). In some places,  tante  also has a sweeter version in  tatie‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‎ . In Guadeloupe, where I grew up, children use  tatie  as an affectionate term for women, even if they aren’t their aunts.

You’ve learnt the basics of French family vocabulary. Now are you ready for some more specific phrases?

Here are a few phrases you might want to know to talk or write about your family:

• J’ai une grande famille  – “I have a big family.”
• J’aime ma famille  – “I love my family.”
• La famille d’abord  – “family comes first”
• La famille pour toujours  – “family forever”

Depending on how deep you get into conversation about your family tree, you might want to know how to say just that. In French, “family tree” is  arbre généalogique , which literally translates to “genealogical tree”.

French Cinema and Family – A Few Recommendations

French cinema likes to focus on family. Extended families, reconstituted families, adoptive families… All of them can be the foundation of great French comedy!

As promised at the beginning of the article, here are some of the most popular French films about family.

1.  Qu’est-ce qu’on a fait au Bon Dieu ?

Qu’est-ce qu’on a fait au Bon Dieu ? , or “Serial (Bad) Weddings” in English, is a comedy that features an extended family.

Claude and Marie, a Catholic bourgeois couple from a small village in the north of France, see their conservative views challenged by the marriages of their daughters. The three eldest have married men of different ethnic origins and religious beliefs, so their hopes for a Catholic son-in-law rest with their youngest.

This movie and its sequel, which both star some famous French comedians, is a window into complex French modern culture.

2.  C’est quoi cette famille?!

C’est quoi cette famille?! , or “We Are Family” in English, focuses on a reconstituted family.

After several marriages and divorces of both his parents, thirteen-year-old Bastien finds himself part of a very big reconstituted family. Tired of being moved from house to house for shared parenting, the many “half-siblings” decide to live together and have their parents move houses instead.

Even though this movie exaggerates for the sake of comedy, it taps into the reality of reconstituted families, which are very common in France.

3.  Il a déjà tes yeux

Il a déjà tes yeux , “He Even Has Your Eyes” in English, is the story of a black couple who can’t have biological children and decide to adopt a baby. The baby is four-months-old, and white. Several people around the couple refuse to accept the adoption.

There is also a mini series whose events take place after the movie.

You can now shop at the  père et fils  business and listen to your B&B host’s story, and understand everything! Well, at least the part about the family.

If you’re looking for more vocabulary to learn, you could start by checking out  this guide to 27 French colors  (with audio).

If you’re ready for something else, try working on grammar!  French pronouns  are a good starting point.

Or maybe try some of these articles:

• How to Speak French: The Faster Way to Learn French
• FrenchPod101 Review: 30 Days with FrenchPod101
• 111 Core French Words — The Most Commonly Used Words in French
• An In-Depth Review of the Staircase Method — Learn a Language through Story
• 30+ Free Online French Classes and Resources (Only the Best!)

Alice Cimino

Student, Freelance Content Creator

Alice is an undergraduate student who loves fiction, languages, and challenges. She's a bilingual by birth and a quadrilingual by consequence .

Speaks: French, Italian, Spanish, English

Have a 15-minute conversation in your new language after 90 days

How to talk about family (la famille) in French

How do you say “family” in French? It’s a question that seems pretty simple, but as is the case with families in general, sometimes things can get a little complicated!

Let’s look at some common French family vocabulary and clear up some confusion about things like talking about family members in French and how to differentiate between step-family and in-laws.

How do you say “family” in French?

The French word for “family” is la famille . It’s a feminine word and can also be used to say “relatives” in some cases.

If you want to talk about your family specifically, you can say ma famille . The pronoun “ma” is used because famille is a feminine word .

Family members in French

• les parents  – parents. This word can also be used to mean “relatives”, so pay attention to context.
• la mère  – mother
• Maman  – Mom/Mum
• le père  – father
• Papa  – Dad/Da
• l’enfant/les enfants  – child/children
• le fils  – son
• la fille  – daughter
• l’époux/l’épouse – spouse
• La famille étendue / la famille élargie – extended family
• le frère  – brother
• un frérot  – an affectionate term for “brother”. Can also be slang for bro/bruv.
• un frangin  – an affectionate term for brother.
• le demi-frère  – half-brother (a brother who shares one biological parent with you)
• la sœur  – sister
• une frangine  – an affectionate term for sister
• la demi-sœur – half-sister (a sister who shares one biological parent with you)

Note that there is no single French word for “sibling” or “siblings”. You have to specify if you’re talking about a  brother or sister, or you can say either mes fr è res, mes sœurs, or mes fr è res et soeurs.

The word la fratrie may also be used, but this is closer to “the children” in meaning.

Other immediate family members

• un tuteur/une tutrice  – legal guardian
• un animal de compagnie/ un animal domestique  – a pet
• le couple  – the couple
• le mari  – the husband
• la femme – the wife
• le/la fiancé(e)  – fiancé
• le/la conjoint(e)  – formal name for domestic partner
• le copain/la copine  – boyfriend/girlfriend

Note that in many French families with children, the parents may not be married.  In some cultures, this might be seen as controversial, but in France it’s not an issue .

Grandparents and grandchildren

• les grands-parents  – grandparents
• la grand-mère  – grandmother. Note that while this is a feminine word, grand  doesn’t take an e at the end.
• Mamie – Grandma/Gran. As in English, there can be some exceptions and variants for this term, but this is the most common way for someone to address their grandmother in France. Ex: Salut Mamie, comment vas-tu aujourd’hui ? (Hi Grandma, how are you doing today?)
• le grand-père  – grandfather
• Pépé/Papy  – Grandpa/Granddad. As in English, there can be some exceptions and variants for this term, but these are the most common ways for someone to address their grandfather in France. Ex: On fait un petit tour en village, Papy ?  (Shall we take a walk around the village, Granddad?)
• les petits-enfants  – grandchildren
• le petit-fils  -grandson
• la petite-fille  – granddaughter
• les arrière-grands-parents – great-grandparents
• l’arrière-grand-père  – great-grandfather
• l’arrière-grand-mère  – great-grandmother
• les arrière-petits-enfants  – great grandchildren

Aunts, uncles, cousins….

la tante  – aunt. Note that this word is almost always preceded by an article or possessive pronoun. For instance, in English you might say, “Aunt Judy is coming over.” But in French, you’d more likely hear, La tante Judy vient chez nous  or Ta tante Judy vient chez nous , not Tante  on its own.

(une) tatie  – aunt/auntie. This is an informal term of endearment for an aunt or great-aunt. It’s not used by everyone, but you will probably come across it. Note that unlike tante , this word isn’t always preceded by an article or possessive pronoun, and can be used to directly address one’s aunt.  Ex: Tatie Simone, la tante Clara nous attend au cafe.  (Auntie Simone, Aunt Clara is waiting for us at the cafe.)

l’oncle  – uncle. Note that this word is almost always preceded by an article or possessive pronoun. For instance, in English you might say, “Uncle Charles is coming over.” But in French, you’d more likely hear, L’oncle Charles vient chez nous  or Ton oncle Charles vient chez nous , not Oncle  on its own.

(un) tonton  – an informal, somewhat childish term for an uncle or a great-uncle, somewhere between “Uncle” and “Unky”. Note that unlike oncle , this word isn’t preceded by an article or possessive pronoun, and can be used to directly address one’s uncle. Ex: Voici mon oncle Pierre. Tonton Pierre, je te présente Sylvie, ma copine.  (This is my uncle Pierre. Uncle Pierre, I’d like you to meet Sylvie, my girlfriend.)

le neveu  – nephew

la nièce  – niece

un cousin/une cousine  – a cousin. As with some other words on this list, this word is usually preceded by an article or possessive pronoun.  Ex: La Cousine Bette est un superbe livre écrit par Honoré de Balzac. ( Cousin Bette  is an amazing book by Honoré de Balzac.)

Godparents and godchildren

• le parrain  –  godfather. Even if you’re not familiar with the Catholic practice of naming godparents (usually relatives or close family friends who would care for a child if their parents died – at least traditionally speaking), you’ve probably come across this word, since it’s the French title of the film The Godfather .
• la marraine  – godmother. Fellow fairy tale fans, note that this word is not the same when you’re talking about a fairy godmother: that would be une bonne fée .
• le filleul – godson
• la filleule  – goddaughter

Step-family and in-laws in French

You may wonder why these two categories of family members are grouped together. That’s because in French, both are said the same way:

• les beaux-parents  – mother- and father -in-law OR stepparents
• la belle-mère – mother-in-law OR stepmother
• le beau-père – father-in-law OR stepfather
• le beau-frère – brother-in-law OR stepbrother
• la belle-sœur – sister-in-law OR stepsister
• le beau-fils – son-in-law OR stepson
• la belle-fille – daughter-in-law OR stepdaughter
• la belle-famille – in-laws or stepfamily. Note that it is far more common to hear this word used to mean “in-laws”, though.

Associating both of these kinds of family members with the word beau  or belle  (beautiful, lovely, handsome) probably came from the fact that the initial intention was to put them in a positive light…but it can lead to a lot of confusion.

For example, if I want to talk about my half-brother and my brother-in-law in the same sentence in French, I could say: Lors de mon dernier voyage aux États-Unis, j’ai vu mon beau-fr è re et mon beau-fr è re.  (On my last trip to the US, I saw my stepbrother and my brother-in-law.)

Luckily, there are ways to avoid confusion, both as a speaker and a listener.

If you’re listening to someone else, try to pay attention to context. For instance, if the person talking is a child, it’s likely they mean “stepbrother”, since most of the time siblings are close enough in age that the child probably doesn’t have any married brothers or sisters. Of course, that’s not a total certainty.

If you’re reading a story, you can also use context. for instance, the wicked stepmother is a typical trope in fairy tales, so if you come across the word belle-m è re  in a French fairy tale , it probably doesn’t mean “mother-in-law”.  

On the other hand, in more contemporary storytelling, the difficult mother-in-law is a common trope, so if you watch a French sitcom or sketch comedy show  and hear someone complaining about their belle-mère , that’s who they probably mean.

When you’re talking to a French person, the good news is that you can always ask for clarification – even simply by using intonation: For instance: –  Mon beau-fr è re est un passionn é  de veilles voitures.   – Ton beau-frère ? – Oui, le mari de ma sœur.  (“My beau-frère  is a fan of old cars.” “Your beau-frère ?” “My sister’s husband.”)

Some people may even clarify in advance, the same as you might in English. It’s not uncommon to hear something like: Nous sommes partis en vacances avec mon fr è re et sa femme (We went on vacation with my brother and his wife) or La femme de mon fr è re travaille dans le IT.  (My brother’s wife works in IT.)

There are a two words that only apply to stepfamily members or in-laws, though. These are:

un gendre – a very common word for son-in-law

une bru  – a less common, somewhat old-fashioned term for “daughter-in-law”

How to address family members in French

As you can see from the list, in most cases, you have to use an article or possessive pronoun when talking about family members in a general way in French. Some family members can also be called by their title in lieu of their name.

For instance, although this would be considered formal or old-fashioned, a French person could directly address their mother as M è re  or their grandfather as Grand-p è re . You could say this is the English equivalent of someone addressing their mom as “Mother” rather than “Mom” or “Mum”, and “Grandfather” rather than “Grandpa”, “Granddad”, and so on. (These family members are more typically directly addressed as Maman  and Papy , respectively.)

The French family members that you can normally do this with are:

In addition, you may hear frère  or soeur  used either abstractly, as in poetry, or as a religious title for a monk or nun.

In most other cases, all other French family members’ titles would have to be used with an article or possessive pronoun.

That said, there are some exceptions. For instance, Scrooge McDuck (Picsou) is a very popular character in France. Picsou’s nephews often address him directly as Oncle Picsou .

Typically, though, when addressing a family member directly in French, you either omit their title or use a more affectionate one.

For example, my French husband used to call his uncle Tonton Yves  when talking to him directly as a child. Now that he’s an adult, he just calls him by his first name, Yves.

On the other hand, when he speaks to his mom, he always calls her Maman . His grandmother is always addressed as Mamie , and he always called his great-aunt Tatie .

Keep in mind that this is just a general rule. Each family is different, and some may not even use typical or traditional family member titles in the first place, but rather nicknames or the like. You can think of this the way many people in English have fond nicknames for their grandparents – for example, instead of Granddad or Grandpa, they might say “Pop-Pop.”

The most important preposition for talking about family relationships in French

In English, we use the possessive form a lot when talking about family: My mother’s brother; My uncle’s cat; My sisters’ farm, etc.

The same goes for French, which means you’ll often see and use the preposition de  when family is being described or discussed: le frère de ma mère ; le chat de mon oncle ; la ferme de mes sœurs , etc.

French family vocabulary

Here are some common family-related words and expressions you’ll come across in French.

la famille – the family. Note that this word can also have a more figurative meaning, or a scientific one or mathematical one. You can visit this helpful webpage to find a list of famille ’s many meanings .  

la famille [nom]  – the ___ family. Example: C’est une famille presque aussi bizarre que   la famille Addams.  (This family is nearly as bizarre as the Addams Family.)

Les [nom]  – The ___s : Ex: Voici nos voisins, les Dupont.  (Those are our neighbors, the Duponts.)  Note that, unlike in English, while the article in French is plural, the family’s name stays singular.

en famille  – among family OR “family” as an adjective. For example: Hier soir, on a dîné en famille.  (Last night, we had a family dinner.)

un foyer  – household

un ménage  – household

une famille monoparentale  – a single-parent family

une famille d’adoption  – a found family (a group of friends who become like your family)

une famille d’accueil  – a foster family. Note that this term can also sometimes be used to denote a host family, when dealing with exchange students, for instance.

une famille recomposée  – a blended family (a family where the parents have remarried/gotten together and now there are step-parents, step-siblings, etc.)

un fils adopté/un fils adoptif/une fille adoptée/une fille adoptive  – adopted son/adopted daughter. Ex: C’est le fils adoptif de mon oncle.  (He’s my uncle’s adopted son.) Note that, as in English,there is nothing wrong with specifying that someone is adopted, in some contexts. But family is family and so it isn’t polite or normal or necessary to point out that someone is adopted in most situations.

avoir un air de famille (avec)  – to have a family resemblance (with). Ex: Ça se voit que c’est ton cousin, vous avez un vrai air de famille !  (You can tell that you’re cousins; you two really have a strong family resemblance!)

C’est de famille. – It runs in the family.

You can find more family-related French words and expressions  in this Wiktionnaire entry.  

How can I learn about French family life?

If you’d like to learn more about family life in France, our list of statistics about France is a good place to start.  

Once you’ve learned the basics, you can gain more insights by reading books in French and watching French movies and TV shows  – after all, families of one kind or another are kind of ubiquitous.

An easy way to practice French family vocabulary is to describe your family, either written down on your own, or to online friends and conversation partners .  You can also imagine a family and write about it in French!

We’re glad that you’re part of the French Together family, or at least that you’ve stopped by for a visit!

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Alysa Salzberg

Alysa Salzberg is an American writer, worrier, teacher, and cookie enthusiast who has lived in Paris, France, for more than a decade. She has taught English and French for more than ten years, most notably as an assistante de langue vivante for L'Education Nationale. She recently published her first novel, Hearts at Dawn , a "Beauty and the Beast" retelling that takes place during the 1870 Siege of Paris. You can read about her adventures here , or feel free to stop by her website .

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Learn French the fast and easy way!

Common French phrases: talking about family

Family is an important topic of conversation in any language, and being able to talk about your family in French is a useful skill.

In this lesson, we’ll go over some common French phrases for talking about family.

Ma famille est très importante pour moi. (My family is very important to me.) This phrase is used to indicate the significance of your family in your life.

J’ai une grande famille. (I have a big family.) This phrase is used to describe the size of your family.

Mes parents s’appellent ____ et _____. (My parents are named ____ and _____.) This phrase is used to introduce the names of your parents.

Mon père/mère est _____. (My father/mother is ___.) This phrase is used to describe the occupation or characteristics of your parents.

J’ai ____ frères/sœurs. (I have ____ brothers/sisters.) This phrase is used to describe the number of siblings you have.

Mon frère/ma sœur s’appelle _____. (My brother/sister’s name is _____.) This phrase is used to introduce the names of your siblings.

Ma famille est originaire de ____. (My family is originally from ___.) This phrase is used to describe the origins of your family.

Nous avons une tradition de ____. (We have a tradition of ___.) This phrase is used to describe a tradition that your family has.

Nous aimons passer du temps ensemble. (We like to spend time together.) This phrase is used to describe the time you spend with your family.

Ma famille me soutient toujours. (My family always supports me.) This phrase is used to indicate the support you receive from your family.

Learning these common French phrases for talking about family will help you to communicate more effectively with native French speakers and better express yourself in a French-speaking environment. Additionally, it is helpful to learn some basic French vocabulary related to family, such as different family members or family-related activities. With practice and persistence, you’ll soon be able to speak confidently about your family in French.

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Lesson 5 of French for beginners: introduce your family

French lesson 5 of communication: introduce your family in french.

At the beginner level (level A1), knowing how to introduce your family in French is one of the first things to learn. This will allow you to have a basic conversation with a French speaker. Please note that to successfully complete the first part (guided conversation) of DELF A1, DELF A2 and DELF B1 speaking test, you must be able to introduce your family. The video below will teach you how to introduce your family in French. To understand and speak, watch the video several times, repeating aloud after the teacher.

Thanks to this video and this article, you will be able to introduce your family in French. Taking the example expressed by the professor in the video, you will be able to say:

“Voici ma famille : Lui, c’est mon père. Il s’appelle Gilbert. Il a 60 ans. Il est agriculteur. Elle, c’est ma mère. Elle s’appelle Martine. Elle a 57 ans. Elle est institutrice. J’ai 2 soeurs. Ma grande soeur a 30 ans. Elle s’appelle Anaïs. Ma petite soeur a 24 ans. Elle s’appelle Manon. Je n’ai pas de frère. Eux, ce sont mes grands-parents. Mon grand-père s’appelle Léo. Il a 81 ans. Ma grand-mère s’appelle Janine. Elle a 78 ans. Ils ne travaillent plus. Ils sont retraités.”

Obviously, you need to adapt the example given by the teacher according to your family situation.

Learn to present your family in this way, without thinking too much, in a natural way, without asking yourself questions about grammar, conjugation, etc.

This fifth French communication lesson is part of the French course 4:  learn to present your family in French  which includes 9 additional videos and articles on communication, conjugation and grammar.

Once you have mastered this fifth French lesson for beginners “introducing your family in french”, you can move on to the next French communication lesson:

Lesson 6 of French: ask a closed question in French

You can find other communication lessons in French  by clicking here . You can also perfect your learning of the French language thanks to our:

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French › Level one lessons › The family · La famille

• People and things
• Description

Lessons · Vocabulary · Grammar · Appendices · Texts

and possibly understand:

• 1 Vocabulary review · First fifty cardinal numbers
• 2 Dialogue · Avoir-to have
• 3.1 Formation
• 3.2 Examples
• 3.3 Expressing age
• 3.4 Interrogatives
• 4 Vocabulary · Immediate family
• 5.1 Examples
• 6.1 Formation
• 6.3 Liaison and adjective changes
• 6.4 Examples
• 7.1 Examples
• 8.1 Examples
• 10 Exercises
• 11 Supplementary exercises

Vocabulary review · First fifty cardinal numbers [ edit | edit source ]

Dialogue · avoir-to have [ edit | edit source ].

Jean and Chantal are discussing what types of pen they have.

Jean - J'ai un stylo rouge.

Chantal - Moi, j'ai un stylo bleu. Et toi, tu as un stylo rouge.

Jean - Aussi, j'ai un stylo jaune.

Of course, you can use avoir for anything you have!

Chantal - J'ai deux frères et trois sœurs, et toi ?

Jean - J'ai un frère et une tante.

Chantal - J'ai deux tantes et un oncle.

Avoir is also used to describe age

Jean - J'ai quatre ans. Et toi ?

Chantal - J'ai trois ans.

Grammar · To have · Avoir [ edit | edit source ]

Avoir , meaning to have , is conjugated irregularly.

Formation [ edit | edit source ]

Remember to liaison between "nous avons", "vous avez", and "ils ont/elles ont".

Examples [ edit | edit source ]

Expressing age [ edit | edit source ].

Avoir is used to express age.

Interrogatives [ edit | edit source ]

The above uses avoir affirmatively . You can also use it interrogatively . A small complication arises, in that without some help, the result does not sound very good. The use of an euphonic (pleasing to the ear) is used with vowels before the pronoun. Thus, the letter -t- is placed between the verb and the pronoun:

Ai-je ? (Have I ?) As-tu ? (Have you ?) informal (hast thou) A-t-il ? (Has he ?) A-t-elle ? (Has she ?) Avons nous ? (Have we ?) Avez vous ? (Have you ?) formal Ont ils ? (Have they ?) masculine Ont elles ? (Have they ?) feminine

The use of liaison fullfils the euphonic for "ont".

A-t-il la farine ? Oui, Monsieur, il a la farine. Avons nous la viande ? Oui, Monsieur, nous avons la viande et le pain. Avez vous la table ? Oui, Madame, j'ai la table.

Vocabulary · Immediate family [ edit | edit source ]

Grammar · possession and association [ edit | edit source ].

The preposition de /də/ ( duh ) is used to express possession or association:

De can also be translated as ' s :

Recall that du /dy/ replaces de le , and des /dɛ/ replaces de les .

Supplementary grammar · Possessive adjectives · Les adjectifs possessifs [ edit | edit source ]

Usage [ edit | edit source ].

Possessive adjective are used to express possession of an object.

In English the possessive adjective agrees with the subject ( his sister , her brother ). But in French, possessive adjectives act like all other adjectives: they must agree with the noun they modify.

Whether son , sa and ses translate to his or her is indicated by context:

Notre , votre , and leur modify singular nouns, regardless of gender; nos , vos , and leurs modify plural nouns:

Liaison and adjective changes [ edit | edit source ]

Liaison occurs when mon , ton , and son are followed by a vowel.

Liaison also occurs with all plural forms, since they all end in s .

Mon , ton , and son are used before a feminine singular noun that starts with a vowel or silent h :

Supplementary grammar · Questions [ edit | edit source ]

Recall that the expression il y a /i.lja/ means there is … or there are … :

The interrogative form of il y a is y a-t-il /i aˈt̪il/ . That is, il y a is inverted to y a-t-il , meaning is there? or are there? , within questions:

Both How much … and How many … are translated as Combien de … .

If the person or thing it refers to is countable, combien de is always followed by a plural noun:

However, with uncountable nouns, such as l'eau water /o/ and l'argent money /aʁ.ʒɑ̃/ , the singular form is used:

As with il y a , other nouns and verbs can be inverted within questions. For example, vous avez … you have … can become … avez-vous ? … do you have? :

Supplementary vocabulary · Extended family · La famille éloignée [ edit | edit source ]

To speak about complex family relations, you use de mon , de ma , and de mes :

Dialogue [ edit | edit source ]

Exercises [ edit | edit source ].

(Highlight or hover over a line to show the answer.) Translate from French to English.

(Highlight or hover over a line to show the answer.) Translate from English to French.

(Highlight or hover over a line to show the answer.) Fill in each blank with the correct form of avoir .

Supplementary exercises [ edit | edit source ]

(Highlight or hover over a line to show the answer.) State each word described.

(Highlight or hover over a line to show the answer.)

← Description ·  Level one lessons  · Recreation →

People and things · To be · Description · Family · Recreation · The house · Weather · Travel · Art · Science

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Introductory · Level one · Level two · Level three · Level four

French  : Lessons · Vocabulary · Grammar · Appendices · Texts

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My family in French 10 lines

Hello Learners here you will read My family in French 10 lines . Family plays the biggest role in making a good citizen. Only the family can show a child the right path. Families who inspire their children to do good things early on are always successful in life.

My family in French 10 lines :-

1) Ma famille est une petite famille.

2) Il y a quatre membres dans ma famille.

3) Mes parents, ma sœur et moi vivons dans la famille.

4) Ma mère fait le ménage.

5) Mon père est mécanicien.

6) Ma famille me donne une bonne éducation.

7) Nous vivons tous ensemble dans un même village.

8) Toute la famille vit heureuse.

9) Tout le monde s’aide.

10) J’adore ma famille.

In English :-

1) My family is a small family.

2) There are four members in my family.

3) My parents, my sister and I live in the family.

4) My mother does housework.

5) My father is a mechanic.

6) My family gives me good education.

7) We all live together in one village.

8) The whole family lives happily.

9) Everyone helps each other.

10) I love my family.

Family is a relationship that is given to man only by God. A good family always lives well. Society is formed from the family. If families are happy, society will be happy.

If you want to bring about any change or implement something better, you should start with your family first. Doing this will send a good message to other families, and they too will follow the right path.

The happiness that a person gets from spending time with his family cannot be found anywhere else. In ancient times, families used to be big, but nowadays families are small. In earlier times, families used to live happily, but they are rarely seen today.

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• Conversation in French between two friends

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Phrases and vocabulary for talking about your family

Often when a conversation moves beyond the weather , it turns to family: Do you have any brothers or sisters? Any children? Husband? Wife?

So let's keep that smalltalk going with a bit of family vocabulary! 

Remember that the the possessive adjectives ( my, your, his, her, their ) will change depending on whether you're talking about a male or a female member of your family. (See the lesson on  possessive adjectives  for more about this.)

Interesting note: The commonly used word for "wife" is femme , and it literally means "woman". It only becomes "wife" in the right context.

The other words for husband and wife are  épouse  (wife) and  époux  (husband), but these are not commonly used in everyday conversation. ( épouse  is very similar to "spouse" in English, and is used in similar formal situations.)

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