Word for family in french

How do you say family in French and what are some vocabulary words for French family members?

The French word for family is “la famille” (pronounced “la famij” or “la fam-ee”). Vocabulary words for family members are: la mère (mother), le père (father), la soeur (sister), le frère (brother), la fille (daugher), le garçon (son), la tante (aunt), l’oncle (uncle), la grand-mère (grandmother) and le grand-père (grandfather).

This page will explain how to say the French family members (les membres de la famille) in detail. If you ever travel to France you will quickly discover that family values are very important to the French people.

These vocabulary lists cover the immediate family, extended family, specific words for steps and in-laws as well as words concerning adoption, family trees and genealogy.

In French, “les parents” means both parents and relatives. Hence, “J’ai des parents à Marseille” translates to “I have relatives in Marseille.

In addition to this list, you may also find the list at Frenchtoday.com to be very helpful!

French family vocabulary

How to pronounce famille in French

The French word for family is “la famille”. A very common mistake is for people to pronounce the LL’s. Do not pronounce the LL’s.

The LL’s sound like “ee” as in feet. Hence the pronunciation sounds like “fa-mee”. Here are some samples of how to pronounce famille correctly on Forvo.

This quick video also does a great job teaching the proper pronunciation.

French vocabulary for the immediate family

The following list is for the members of the immediate family. The “è” on the words père (father), mère (mother) and frère (brother) has an “eh” sound.

The pronunciation of soeur is quite tricky. Here are some samples of how to pronounce seour on Forvo.

For the word fille (daughter), don’t pronounce the LL’s. The pronunciation of fille is “fee”, with a slight y sound at the end. Here are some samples of how to pronounce fille on Forvo.

  • father le père
  • mother la mère
  • son le fils
  • daughter la fille
  • brother le frère
  • sister la soeur
  • husband le mari
  • wife la femme, l’épouse
  • husband l’époux, le mari

French extended family members

The following is a list of extended family members. Notice that the word for grandmother is “la grand-mère”. Be sure not to add an -e to “grand” to make it feminine. This would be a mistake.

For the great grandparents, attached the word “arrière”. Hence, “arrière-grand-père” is great grandfather and “arrière-grand-mère” is great grandmother.

  • grandparents les grand-parents
  • grandfather le grand-père
  • grandmother la grand-mère
  • great-grandfather l’arrière-grand-père
  • great-grandmother l’arrière-grand-mère
  • grandchildren les petits-enfants
  • grandson le petit-fils
  • granddaughter la petite-fille
  • uncle l’oncle
  • aunt la tante
  • great-uncle le grand-oncle
  • great-aunt la grand-tante
  • nephew le neveu
  • niece la nièce
  • male cousin le cousin
  • female cousin la cousine

French vocabulary for the in-laws and step family

French vocabulary for the in-laws and step family can become quite confusing. La belle-famille refers to the in-laws.

When describing family members by marriage, the French do not distinguish between in-laws and step.

For example, “le beau-père” means both father-in-law and step-father.

Interestingly, “le demi-frère” translates to both half brother and step brother. Logically, “la demi-soeur” translates to half sister and step sister.

  • parents-in-law les beaux-parents
  • father-in-law, step-father le beau-père
  • mother-in-law, step-mother la belle-mère
  • son-in-law, step-son le beau-fils
  • daughter-in-law, step-daughter la belle-fille
  • half-brother, step brother le demi-frère
  • half-sister, step sister la demi-soeur

Special words for the family

French has some special family terms which are necessary to learn.

l’aîné – As a noun, l’ainé(e) means eldest child. As an adjective it means ‘older than’ or ‘your senior’.

  • Marie est l’ainee de la famille. Elle a 35 ans. Marie is the eldest child in the family. She’s 35 years-old.
  • Joseph est mon aîné de cinq ans. Joseph is five years older than me.

Le cadet – As a noun, le cadet/la cadette means the youngest child. As an adjective, it means younger. Le cadet can also refer to the second-born child.

  • Notre cadet habite encore à la maison. Our youngest child still lives at home.
  • Ma soeur cadette s’appelle Julie. My younger sister’s name is Julie.

Le benjamin – Le benjamin/la benjamine also refers to the youngest child in the family.

  • Sophie est la benjamine de la famille : elle n’a que trois ans. Sophie is the youngest in the family. She’s only three years-old.

Adoption and fostering

The following list covers adoption and fostering. French culture places a heavy emphasis on the parents.

Hence, you’ll often hear French people referring to “mon parrain” (my godfather) and “ma marraine” (my godmother.

  • adoptive fatherpère adoptif
  • adoptive mothermère adoptive
  • biological parents – les parents biologiques
  • biological father le père biologique
  • biological motherla mère biologique
  • foster familyla famille d’accueil 
  • foster motherla mère de la famille d’accueil
  • foster fatherle père de la famille d’accueil
  • godfather le parrain
  • godmother la marraine 
  • godson le filleul
  • goddaughter la filleule 

How to introduce family members

The following list of short phrases can come in handy for introducing family members in social situations.

“Je vous présente” is formal and translates to “I introduce you to”. The informal version for people you know better is “Je te présent”.

  • This my wife. Je vous présente ma femme.
  • This is my husband. Je vous présente mon mari.
  • These are my kids. Je vous présente mes enfants.
  • This is my daugher/son. Je vous présente ma fille/mon fils.
  • This is my sister/brother. Je vous présente ma soeur/mon frère.
  • This is my mother/father. Je vous présente mon père/ma mère.

Genealogy and distant relatives

If you are traveling to France with the intention of looking for distant relatives the following list covering genealogy and family trees will come in handy.

  • genealogy la généalogie
  • direct line of descent la filiation
  • family tree un arbre généalogique
  • ancestry, bloodline, lineage l’ascendance (f)
  • generation une génération
  • ancestors les ancêtres, les aïeux
  • distant relative un(e) parent(e) éloigné(e)
  • relationship, kinship la parenté
  • first cousin un(e) cousin(e) germain
  • second cousin un(e) cousin(e) issu de germain
  • once removed au deuxième degré
  • paternal (adj) paternel(le)
  • maternal (adj) maternel(le)
  • DNA le AND

Family in French – Summary Table

Here are ways of saying family members in French organized by each person with comments and pronunciation tips.

French English Comments
la famille family Pronounced «la fam-ee». Don’t pronounce the LL’s.
la mère mother è is pronounced «eh». This is the accent grave.
le père father è is pronounced «eh». This is the accent grave. Pronunciation clip here.
le frère brother è is pronounced «eh». This is the accent grave.
la soeur sister Pronunciation clip here.
le fils son Pronounced «le fees». Don’t say the -L.
la fille daughter Pronounced «la fee-ya» with a slight ya. Pronunciation clip here.
la grand-mère grandmother Do not add an -e to grand.
le grand-père grandfather Pronunciation clip here.
l’oncle uncle Pronunciation clip here.
la tante aunt Pronunciation clip here.
le cousin, la cousine cousin Presented both masculine and feminine forms. Cousin: nasal «in»; Cousine: pronounce the -n.
Related lessons:
  • conversation lesson covering the family
  • French baby vocabulary
  • marriage vocabulary
  • songs for learning French
More resources:
  • La famille flashcards (Quizlet)
  • French family vocabulary (Frenchcrazy)
  • How to talk about your family (FluentU)
  • La Famille – LePointduFLE.net
  • Family Vocabulary – TV5Monde

  • Author
  • Recent Posts

David Issokson is a lifelong language enthusiast. His head is swimming with words and sounds as he speaks over six languages. Of all the languages he speaks, he’s the most passionate about French! David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private online lessons. When procrastinating working on his site, FrenchLearner.com, David enjoys his time skiing and hiking in Teton Valley, Idaho.

If you’re learning to speak French, you might find yourself talking about la famille among friends and relatives quite a lot. To simplify the learning for you, this article first introduces an overview of close and extended family members in French, then clarifies some of the common misconceptions and differences between the English and French expressions. Finally, you are presented with a sample dialogue on the topic of family.

La Famille Proche (Close Family Members)

As you will see, there are a few similarities between some of the English and French vocabulary about family that might help your understanding and memorization. You might also note commonalities between the two genders, as in some cases it is possible to simply add an «e» to the end of a word to change it from masculine to feminine.

Masculine Feminine
French English French English
Un père Father Une mère Mother
Papa Dad Maman Mom
Un grand-père Grandfather Une grand-mère
(note no «e» at «grand»)
Grandmother
Papy Grandpa Mamie, mémé Grandma
Arrière-grand-père Great grandfather Arrière-grand-mère Great grandmother
Un époux Spouse Une femme
(pronounced «fam»)
Spouse
Un mari Husband Une épouse Wife
Un enfant Child Une enfant
(no «e»)
Child
Un fils
(«L» silent, «s» pronounced)
Son Une fille Daughter
Un petit-fils Grandson Une petite-fille Granddaughter
Les parents Parents
Les grandparents Grandparents
Les petits-enfants Grandchildren

La Famille Etendue (Extended Family)

Masculine Feminine
French English French English
Un oncle Uncle Une tante Aunt
Un cousin Cousin Une cousine Cousin
Un cousin germain First cousin Une cousine germaine First cousin
Un cousin issu de germains Second cousin Une cousine issue de germains Second cousin
Un neveu Nephew Une nièce Niece

Famille par Mariage (Family by Marriage) / La Famille Recomposée (Blended Family)

In French, step-family and family-in-law are labeled using the same terms: beau- or belle- plus that family member:

Masculine Feminine
French English French English
Un beau-père

Step-father

Father-in-law

Une belle-mère

Step-mother

Mother-in-law

Un beau-frère, demi-frère

A half brother

A stepbrother

Une demi-soeur, une belle-soeur

A half-sister

A stepsister

Un beau-frère Brother-in-law Une belle-soeur Sister-in-law
Un beau-fils Step-son Une belle-fille

Step-daughter

Un beau-fils, un gendre Son-in-law Une belle-fille, une bru Daughter-in-law
Les beaux-parents, la belle-famille In-laws

French does not have a special word for a step-sibling. The dictionary would say un beau-frère and une belle-soeur or un demi-frère and une demi-soeur (the same as half-brother or half-sister), but in everyday French, you might also use a phrase like quasi frère or quasi soeur (almost brother, almost sister) or explain your relationship using your stepparent.

Other Family Terms

Masculine Feminine
French English French English
Un aîné

Older or oldest brother

The first-born son

Une aînée

Older or oldest sister

The first-born daughter

Un cadet

A younger brother

The second-born son

Une cadette

A younger sister

The second-born daughter

Le benjamin The youngest child in a family La benjamine The youngest child in a family

Parents vs. Relatives

The phrase les parents usually refers to the parents, as in «mom and dad.» However, when used as generic terms, un parent and une parente, the meaning changes into that of a «relative.»

Using parent/parente can become confusing in some sentence structures. Note the use of the word des in the second sentence:

  • Mes parents sont en Angleterre. My parents [my mom and dad] are in England.
  • J’ai des parents en Angleterre. I have some relatives in England.

Because of the confusion, French speakers don’t use un parent and une parente as often as English speakers do the word “relatives.” Instead, you will hear them use the word famille. It’s singular and feminine.

  • Ma famille vient d’Alsace. My family is from Alsace.

You may add the adjective éloigné(e) (distant) to make the distinction, as in:

  • J’ai de la famille (éloignée) en Belgique. I have relatives in Belgium.

Or, you can be more specific about identifying relationships, as in:

  • J’ai un cousin aux Etats-Unis. I have a cousin in the U.S.
  • J’ai un cousin éloigné aux Etats-Unis. I have a distant cousin in the U.S.

In French, this means s/he is not necessarily a first cousin (child of a parent’s sibling), but could be the person’s a second or third cousin.

Common Confusions

It might also be a good reminder that the adjectives “grand” and “petit” in family vocabulary don’t pertain to people’s sizes. They are rather indicators of age.

Similarly, the adjectives “beau” and “belle” don’t mean beautiful when describing family relationships, but are used for “in-law” or “step” family.

Family Vocabulary in Dialogue

To aid in learning French family vocabulary, you can view the terms we learned above in a simple dialogue, as in this example where Camille et Anne parlent de leurs familles (Camille and Ann are talking about their families).

French English

Camille: Et toi, Anne, ta famille est originaire d’où?

Camille: What about you, Anne, where is your family from?

Anne: Ma famille est américaine: Du côté de ma famille paternelle, j’ai des origines françaises, et des origines anglaises du côté maternelle.

Anne: My family is American: French on my father’s side and English on my mother’s side.

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

Siblings

  • 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 frères, mes sœurs, or mes frères 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

Couples

  • 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

A group of four people, three young men and a young woman, probably in their teens or twenties, link arms and look at the horizon. They are standing in a wheat field. The view is looking down into a forest that extends to the horizon. The weather is sunny.

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-frère et mon beau-frère. (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-mère 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-frère est un passionné 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 frère et sa femme (We went on vacation with my brother and his wife) or La femme de mon frère 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 Mère or their grandfather as Grand-père. 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:

  • Mère
  • Père
  • Grand-mère
  • Grand-père

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

A man and woman dressed in summary clothes have their hands linked with a little girl in an orange sundress in between them. They are barefoot walking on grass and dirt. It seems like they are at an outdoor exhibit or sports match.

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?

Two little girls stand in a field of yellow flowers and look towards what seems to be cityscape that is blurred in the background. One girl has chin-length black hair and the other has black hair below the shoulders.

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!

Family words in French

Words for family members and other relatives in French (fran?ais).

Key to abbreviations: m = male, f = female

  French
family la famille
parents les parents
father le père
papa
mother la mère
maman
children les enfants
son le fils
daughter la fille
husband le mari
l’époux
wife la femme
l’épouse
brother le frère
sister la sœur
uncle l’oncle
aunt la tante
cousin le cousin (m)
la cousine (f)
nephews & nieces les neveux
nephew le neveu
niece la niece
grandparents le grand-parents
grandfather le grand-père
grandmother la grand-mère
grandchildren les petits-enfants
grandson le petit-fils
granddaughter la petite-fille
great grandfather l’arrière grand-père
great grandmother l’arrière grand-mère
great uncle le grand oncle
great aunt la grand-tante
father-in-law le beau-père
mother-in-law la belle-mère
brother-in-law le beau-frère
sister-in-law la belle-sœur

Hear some French family:

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Links

Romance Languages Vocabulary Lists: Family & Pets
http://www.ielanguages.com/romance_family.html

Family words in Romance languages

Italian,
French,
Occitan,
Catalan,
Spanish,
Galician,
Portuguese,
Romanian

Family words in other languages

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Learn the French family vocabulary and also some fun family French idioms. Do you know what “il ne faut pas pousser Mémé dans les orties” means? Find out!

Hi. My name is Helen and I’m a French immersion teacher with French Today in Lyon.

Recently, I wrote an article about my family vacation in Martinique (see picture above), and Camille asked me to illustrate it with the French vocabulary for the family. But I provided such a complete list that Camille said it was worth doing a whole article about it.

So here is the French vocabulary list for the family – if you think of more French family words, please add them in the Disqus comment section below in French and English, and Camille will add them to this list! Merci !

French Family Vocabulary

  1. la famille – family
  2. la famille recomposée – stepfamily
  3. la famille monoparentale – single-parent family
  4. la famille homoparentale – homoparental family
  5. les membres de la famille – family members
  6. la famille élargie – extended family
  7. la belle-famille – family-in-law
  8. le mari – husband
  9. la femme – wife
  10. les parents – parents : like in English: Mom and Dad but also family members, kinfolks…
  11. le père/ papa – father/ dad(dy)
  12. la mère/ maman – mother/ mum(my)
  13. les enfants – children
  14. le fils – son
  15. la fille – daughter
  16. le frère – brother
  17. la sœur – sister
  18. l’aîné(-e) – the eldest
  19. le cadet (m)/ la cadette (f) – the younger, youngest
  20. le/la benjamin(-e) – the youngest
  21. les jumeaux (m)/ les jumelles (f) – twins
  22. les triplé(-e)s – triplets
  23. le demi-frère – half-brother or stepbrother
  24. la demi-soeur – half-sister or stepsister
  25. le beau-père – father-in-law or stepfather
  26. la belle-mère – mother-in-law or stepmother
  27. le beau-fils – son-in-law or stepson
  28. la belle-fille – daughter-in-law or stepdaughter
  29. le beau-frère – brother-in-law
  30. la belle-soeur– sister-in-law
  31. les grands-parents – grandparents
  32. le grand-père/ pépé/ papy – grandfather/ grandpa
  33. la grand-mère/mémé/mamy – grandmother/ grandma
  34. les petits-enfants – grandchildren
  35. le petit-fils – grandson
  36. la petite-fille – granddaughter
  37. les arrière-grands-parents – great grandparents
  38. l’arrière-grand-père – great grandfather
  39. l’arrière-grand-mère – great grandmother
  40. les arrière-petits-enfants – great grandchildren
  41. l’arrière-petit-fils – great grandson
  42. l’arrière-petite-fille – great granddaughter
  43. l’oncle/ tonton – uncle
  44. la tante/ tata – aunt/ auntie
  45. le neveu – nephew
  46. la nièce – niece
  47. le cousin – cousin (m)
  48. la cousine – cousin (f)
  49. le cousin germain/ la cousine germaine – first cousin
  50. le cousin issu de germain/ la cousine issue de germaine – second cousin
  51. les proches – relatives

The French family vocabulary is listed with audio and illustrated within the story of Camille’s beginner level audiobook method.

À Moi Paris Audiobook Method

A new approach to learning both traditional and modern French logically structured for English speakers.

More Details & Audio Samples

French Family Idioms

  1. laver son linge sale en famille – lit. to wash your dirty laundry in family : to settle conflicts in private
  2. être prêt à vendre père et mère pour… quelque chose – lit. to be ready to sell mom and dad for… : to betray by interest
  3. avoir un air de famille – to have some similarities
  4. être le parent pauvre – lit. to be the poor parent : to be the forgotten one
  5. une âme-soeur – a soul mate
  6. Un peu, mon neveu! – colloquial. Lit. A bit my nephew! Meaning: of course! Needless to say!
  7. Il ne faut pas pousser mémé dans les orties! – Lit. you shouldn’t push Grandma in the nettles: you must not exaggerate!
  8. C’est de famille! – It runs in the family!
  9. être de bonne famille – to be born into a well-educated family
  10. une famille de mots – a word family

Author: Hélène

Bonjour ! My name is Hélène, I’m a French immersion teacher in Lyon. Come experience a real French lifestyle, discover my region and my family. I would be happy to show you our beautiful region, teach you French and share our daily life with you.

More Articles from Hélène

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