All The French Words You Need To Talk About Your Family

Do you know the words needed to identify members of your family in French? 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

It’s clearly important, especially if someone asks you about your family and, for example, wants to know how old your frère is.

If you’ve found that talking about your family members once you’ve introduced yourself is a bit difficult because you don’t have the French vocabulary, this guide will help.

This guide will help you revise what you’ve covered in your French course.

How do you say family in French?

The word for “family” is la famille.

It’s a feminine noun, which you can tell by looking at the feminine article la.

To say “family members”, use the phrase les membres de la famille. It’s not too difficult to remember, since the word “members” is practically a cognate.

What does parent mean in French?

The French word parent has two meanings:

1. It can refer to your “mother” or “father” and, in this sense, is used to refer to your “parents”. In this sense, it’s not difficult to remember because it’s the same in English.
2. The word parent can also mean “relative”, and is used as a French adjective and a noun in this regard.

For example, you wanted to tell someone that you don’t have relatives in Canada, you could say:

Alternatively, you could use parents as an adjective to describe how you are related to one of your family members.

In this sense, parents means “related”. Here’s an example of how to use it:

Essential vocabulary for speaking about and identifying family in French

Now that we’ve covered some of the basics, let’s turn our attention to the essential vocabulary needed to speak about and identify family in French.

I’ve split this section into immediate and wider members of the family in French.

Vocabulary to speak about immediate family in French

Here are some of the vocabulary you can use to speak about your immediate family in French.

Which of these do you know?

Mère

Use mère when you want to say “mother” in French. This feminine French noun can be used to talk about your female parent.

Usage example:

Père

Use père when you want to say “father” in French. This masculine French noun can be used to identify and speak about your male parent.

Usage example:

Parents

Les parents can be used to talk about both your mother and father in French. This phrase is a cognate, so you’ll have less trouble remembering it.

Usage example:

Sœur

Sœur is a feminine French noun that translates to English as “sister”. Use it when you want to identify your female sibling in French.

Usage example:

Frère

Frère is the French noun for “brother”. If you’re describing your male sibling, who has the same parents as you, use frère to identify them.

Usage example:

Frères et sœurs

The French word for “siblings” is frères et sœurs. This phrase literally translates to “brothers and sisters” in English.

Usage example:

Grand-mère

Combining the words “grand” and “mère”, meaning “grand” and “mother” in English, this French noun means “grandmother”. If you’re refering to your father’s mother, or your mother’s mother, use grand-mère.

Usage example:

Grand-père

This French noun combines the words “grand” and “père”, which mean “grand” and “father. It means “grandfather” in English and can be used to refer to your mother’s father, or your father’s father.

Usage example:

Grands-parents

Combining the words “grands” and “parents” this French noun means “grandparents”. You can use it to speak about the parents of your parents.

Usage example:

Femme

Femme means “wife” in French. It can be used to refer to a married woman in a spousal relationship with her husband.

Usage example:

Mari

Mari means “husband” in French. Use it to refer to a married man in a spousal relationship with his wife.

Usage example:

Fille

Use fille when you want to talk about a “daughter” or someone’s daughter. Note the difference between enfant and fille. Use fille to talk about a daughter of any age, and enfant when talking about a child.

Usage example:

Fils

Fils means “son” in English. Use this French noun to identify someone’s son in French.

Usage example:

Enfants

Enfants, which is similar to the partial cognate “infants”, means children in English. Use this French noun when referring to more than one child.

Usage example:

Petite fille

Petite fille means “granddaughter” in English. Use this French noun to refer to the daughter of your daughter or the daughter of your son.

Usage example:

Petit fils

Petit fils translates to English as “grandson”. This French noun can be used to refer to the son of your daughter or the son of your son.

Usage example:

Petits enfants

Use petits enfants as the plural form of petit enfant to identify or talk about several “grandchildren” in the French language.

Usage example:

Vocabulary to speak about wider family in French

Let’s now focus on the vocabulary you can use to speak about your extended family in French. Which ones do you recognise? Which ones do you need to revise?

Tante

Tante means “aunt” in English. Use this to refer to the sister of your mother, the sister of your brother, or your uncle’s wife.

Usage example:

Oncle

Use oncle to refer to your “uncle” in French. This is a sort of cognate that makes oncle simpler to remember.

Usage example:

Grand-tante

A grand-tante, which combines the words grand and tante, is your “great-aunt” or “great-aunty” in English. Keep in mind that this French noun contains the word tante, meaning aunt, which will help you to remember this one.

Usage example:

Grand-oncle

Grand-oncle means “great-uncle” in English. Try to remember that oncle means “uncle”, which will help you remember this family member more easily.

Usage example:

Cousine

Cousine is a French noun that means “female cousin”. Use this to refer to the daughter of your aunt or uncle.

Usage example:

Cousin

Just like the Spanish family members, “cousin” has a masculine and feminine word. Cousin is a masculine French noun that means “male cousin”. Use this noun to refer to the son of your aunt or uncle.

Usage example:

Cousins

Cousins is the plural form of the French noun cousin. Use it to refer to several cousins – that is the sons and daughters of your aunts and uncles.

Usage example:

Nièce

This cognate, though pronounced differently in French, means “niece” in English. Use this noun to refer to the female child of your brother or sister. Your nièce can also be the daughter of your brother- or sister-in-law.

Usage example:

Neveu

A neveu is your “nephew”. Use this French noun to talk about the male son of your brother or your sister. Your neveu can also be the son of your brother- or sister-in-law.

Usage example:

Belle-mère

Belle-mère means “stepmother”. You can use this French noun to talk about a female partner of your father, where the female partner is not your biological mother and has married your father after divorce or separation.

Usage example:

Beau-père

Beau-père means “stepfather”. Use this French noun to refer to the male partner of your mother, where the male partner is not your biological father, or has married your mother after separation.

Usage example:

Belle fille

Use belle fille to refer to your “daughter-in-law” when speaking in French.

Usage example:

Beau fils

Use beau fils to refer to your “son-in-law” when speaking in French.

Usage example:

Demi-soeur

Containing the words demi (meaning “half”) and sœur (meaning “sister”) demi-sœur means “half-sister” or “step sister”.

Usage example:

Demi-frère

Containing the words demi (meaning “half”) and frère (meaning “brother”) demi-frère means “half-brother” or “step brother”.

Usage example:

Marraine

Use marraine to refer to your godmother in French.

Usage example:

Parrain

Use parrain to refer to your godfather in French.

Usage example:

Filleule

Your goddaughter is your filleule in French.

Usage example:

Filleul

Your godson is your filleul in French.

Usage example:

Belle-sœur

Belle-sœur means “sister-in-law” in French. Use this French noun to refer to the daughter of your stepmother or stepfather.

Usage example:

Beau-frère

Beau-frère means “brother-in-law” in French. Use this French noun to refer to the son of your stepmother or stepfather.

Usage example:

Speak about family in French and ask others about theirs

If you’re in a country where French is spoken, being able to talk about your family members is important. It’s crucial that you learn the right French words to describe your family.

Looking at the list, it might seem daunting.

But practising a little bit each day, and memorising these nouns will give you more confidence when chatting about your relatives.

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Any other French family members I missed?

Comment below.

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