Talking about family in French
Vocalyra teaching team · Last updated:
Family is one of the first conversation topics in French. The vocabulary is easy to learn in pairs, and each word also practises the possessives mon, ma and mes, which change with the gender of the family member, not your own.
The core words in pairs
Learn each word with its article so the gender sticks: le père and la mère, le frère and la sœur, le fils and la fille, le mari and la femme, l'oncle and la tante, le cousin and la cousine, le grand-père and la grand-mère. Parents in the plural, les parents, means both parents and close relatives in everyday French.
Possessives follow the noun's gender
Mon goes with masculine words (mon père, mon frère), ma with feminine words (ma mère, ma sœur) and mes with all plurals (mes parents, mes cousins). Before a feminine word starting with a vowel, use mon for smooth sound: mon amie, ma grand-mère retains ma because grand-mère starts with a consonant. English speakers often choose the possessive by their own gender; in French only the noun's gender counts.
| Masculine (mon) | Feminine (ma) | Plural (mes) |
|---|---|---|
| mon père | ma mère | mes parents |
| mon frère | ma sœur | mes frères et sœurs |
| mon fils | ma fille | mes enfants |
| mon oncle | ma tante | mes grands-parents |
| mon mari | ma femme | mes petits-enfants |
False friends and pitfalls
La fille means the daughter or the girl; la femme means the wife or the woman, so ma femme is my wife and mon mari is my husband. Une famille nombreuse is a big family, not a numerous one in any odd sense. To ask about siblings say tu as des frères et sœurs ?, literally you have brothers and sisters, with no word for how many needed.
Extended and step family words follow the same pattern: le beau-père can mean father-in-law or stepfather, la belle-mère mother-in-law or stepmother, and le demi-frère and la demi-sœur are half siblings. Grandchildren are les petits-enfants, and a great-grandmother is une arrière-grand-mère. When introducing people, French often adds the possessive plus first name: je te présente mon frère Thomas. Practise by describing your own family tree aloud in three or four sentences; it combines the vocabulary, the possessives and the verb avoir in one realistic exercise.
Quick self-check
Choose: (Mon / Ma) sœur habite à Lyon.
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Ma
Choose: (Mon / Ma / Mes) frères sont étudiants.
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Mes
Choose: (Mon / Ma) amie Claire vient ce soir.
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Mon
Choose: (Mon / Ma) mari travaille Ă Paris.
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Mon