{"id":86,"date":"2026-09-30T17:07:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T16:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leweb2ks.dev\/vitrine-vocadial\/en\/resources\/family-in-french\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T17:07:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T16:07:09","slug":"family-in-french","status":"publish","type":"vd_ressource","link":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/resources\/family-in-french\/","title":{"rendered":"Family in French: vocabulary, possessives and a classroom routine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Family members in French<\/h2>\n\n

In the pronunciation column, capitals mark the syllable to lean on slightly (French stress is light and falls on the last syllable). (n) marks a nasal vowel: air goes through the nose and the n itself is not pronounced. “zh” is the s in “measure”, “uh” is the short vowel in “the”, and “\u00fc” is “ee” said with rounded lips. The French r is made at the back of the throat.<\/p>\n\n

The close family<\/h3>\n\n
French<\/th>English<\/th>Say it like<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
le p\u00e8re<\/td>father<\/td>pair<\/td><\/tr>
la m\u00e8re<\/td>mother<\/td>mair<\/td><\/tr>
les parents<\/td>parents<\/td>pa-RAH(N)<\/td><\/tr>
papa \/ maman<\/td>dad \/ mum<\/td>pa-PA \/ ma-MAH(N)<\/td><\/tr>
le fr\u00e8re<\/td>brother<\/td>frair<\/td><\/tr>
la s\u0153ur<\/td>sister<\/td>surr, lips rounded<\/td><\/tr>
le fils<\/td>son<\/td>feess<\/td><\/tr>
la fille<\/td>daughter, girl<\/td>fee-y<\/td><\/tr>
l’enfant (m. or f.)<\/td>child<\/td>lah(n)-FAH(N)<\/td><\/tr>
le b\u00e9b\u00e9<\/td>baby<\/td>bay-BAY<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

The wider family<\/h3>\n\n
French<\/th>English<\/th>Say it like<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
le grand-p\u00e8re<\/td>grandfather<\/td>grah(n)-PAIR<\/td><\/tr>
la grand-m\u00e8re<\/td>grandmother<\/td>grah(n)-MAIR<\/td><\/tr>
les grands-parents<\/td>grandparents<\/td>grah(n)-pa-RAH(N)<\/td><\/tr>
papi \/ mamie<\/td>grandad \/ granny<\/td>pa-PEE \/ ma-MEE<\/td><\/tr>
le petit-fils \/ la petite-fille<\/td>grandson \/ granddaughter<\/td>puh-tee-FEESS \/ puh-teet-FEE-y<\/td><\/tr>
l’oncle (m.)<\/td>uncle<\/td>LO(N)-kluh<\/td><\/tr>
la tante<\/td>aunt<\/td>tah(n)t<\/td><\/tr>
le cousin \/ la cousine<\/td>cousin<\/td>koo-ZA(N) \/ koo-ZEEN<\/td><\/tr>
le neveu \/ la ni\u00e8ce<\/td>nephew \/ niece<\/td>nuh-VUH \/ nyess<\/td><\/tr>
le mari<\/td>husband<\/td>ma-REE<\/td><\/tr>
la femme<\/td>wife, woman<\/td>fam<\/td><\/tr>
le beau-p\u00e8re<\/td>stepfather, father-in-law<\/td>boh-PAIR<\/td><\/tr>
la belle-m\u00e8re<\/td>stepmother, mother-in-law<\/td>bel-MAIR<\/td><\/tr>
le demi-fr\u00e8re \/ la demi-s\u0153ur<\/td>half-brother \/ half-sister (often also step-)<\/td>duh-mee-FRAIR \/ duh-mee-SURR<\/td><\/tr>
le beau-fr\u00e8re \/ la belle-s\u0153ur<\/td>brother-in-law \/ sister-in-law<\/td>boh-FRAIR \/ bel-SURR<\/td><\/tr>
le parrain \/ la marraine<\/td>godfather \/ godmother<\/td>pa-RA(N) \/ ma-REN<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

Pronunciation for English speakers<\/h2>\n\n
  • fils, fille, file:<\/strong> le fils<\/span> is “feess” (silent l, sounded s); la fille<\/span> is “fee-y”. Pupils often swap them in listening tasks.<\/li>
  • femme is “fam”,<\/strong> not “fem”.<\/li>
  • s\u0153ur:<\/strong> the \u0153u sound is close to the vowel in British “sir”, with rounded lips and no r in the middle.<\/li>
  • p\u00e8re, m\u00e8re, fr\u00e8re<\/strong> rhyme with “air”; the accent grave gives an open e.<\/li>
  • Liaison with possessives:<\/strong> mes oncles<\/span> is “may-ZO(N)-kluh”, mon oncle<\/span> is “mo(n)-NO(N)-kluh”.<\/li>
  • Silent endings:<\/strong> les parents<\/span> ends on the nasal, le neveu<\/span> on the vowel.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n

    Possessives and grammar<\/h2>\n\n
    1. The possessive agrees with the person owned.<\/strong> mon p\u00e8re<\/span>, ma m\u00e8re<\/span>, mes parents<\/span>; ton fr\u00e8re<\/span>, ta s\u0153ur<\/span>, tes cousins<\/span>.<\/li>
    2. Son and sa do not tell you whose.<\/strong> son p\u00e8re<\/span> is his or her father; sa m\u00e8re<\/span> his or her mother. Pupils must choose by the gender of the parent, not of the owner.<\/li>
    3. Mon before a vowel, even for a woman.<\/strong> mon amie<\/span>, mon arri\u00e8re-grand-m\u00e8re<\/span>, to avoid a clash of vowels.<\/li>
    4. Age uses avoir.<\/strong> Mon fr\u00e8re a douze ans<\/span>, never “est douze”.<\/li>
    5. After a negative, de.<\/strong> Je n’ai pas de s\u0153ur.<\/span> Je n’ai pas de fr\u00e8re.<\/span><\/li>
    6. Older and younger:<\/strong> mon grand fr\u00e8re<\/span>, ma petite s\u0153ur<\/span>; in more formal French, mon fr\u00e8re a\u00een\u00e9<\/span> (eldest) and ma s\u0153ur cadette<\/span> (younger).<\/li><\/ol>\n\n

      Plurals of compound words<\/h3>\n\n

      Les grands-parents<\/span>, les petits-enfants<\/span>, les beaux-p\u00e8res<\/span>, les belles-m\u00e8res<\/span>: both parts take an s. For grand-m\u00e8re<\/span>, both des grands-m\u00e8res<\/span> and the older des grand-m\u00e8res<\/span> are accepted.<\/p>\n\n

      Talking about your family<\/h3>\n\n

      Il y a combien de personnes dans ta famille ?<\/span>How many people are there in your family?<\/small><\/p>\n\n

      Nous sommes quatre : ma m\u00e8re, mon beau-p\u00e8re, ma s\u0153ur et moi.<\/span>There are four of us: my mum, my stepdad, my sister and me.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

      J’ai deux fr\u00e8res et une demi-s\u0153ur.<\/span>I’ve got two brothers and a half-sister.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

      Je suis fils unique. \/ Je suis fille unique.<\/span>I’m an only child.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

      Ma grande s\u0153ur s’appelle L\u00e9a et elle a quinze ans.<\/span>My older sister is called L\u00e9a and she’s fifteen.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

      Je m’entends bien avec mon cousin.<\/span>I get on well with my cousin.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

      Mes parents sont divorc\u00e9s.<\/span>My parents are divorced.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

      Families take many forms. Let pupils describe a real family, part of it, or an invented or famous one, and never make a family tree compulsory. The step-family words above, and phrases such as J’habite avec ma m\u00e8re<\/span> or J’ai deux mamans<\/span>, let every pupil talk about their situation if they wish.<\/p>\n\n

      Regional words<\/h2>\n\n

      The family vocabulary is shared across the French-speaking world, with a few informal variants. In Quebec, ma blonde<\/span> means “my girlfriend” and mon chum<\/span> “my boyfriend” (or a male friend); mononcle<\/span> and matante<\/span> are familiar forms of “uncle” and “aunt”. In Belgium, and in some families in France, grandparents are bon-papa<\/span> and bonne-maman<\/span>. Children everywhere say tonton<\/span> and tata<\/span> (or tatie<\/span>).<\/p>\n\n

      Idioms and expressions<\/h2>\n\n
      French<\/th>Literally<\/th>Meaning<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
      tel p\u00e8re, tel fils<\/td>such father, such son<\/td>like father, like son<\/td><\/tr>
      le mouton noir de la famille<\/td>the black sheep of the family<\/td>the black sheep of the family<\/td><\/tr>
      une m\u00e8re poule<\/td>a mother hen<\/td>an overprotective mother<\/td><\/tr>
      c’est de famille<\/td>it’s from the family<\/td>it runs in the family<\/td><\/tr>
      laver son linge sale en famille<\/td>to wash your dirty laundry in the family<\/td>to sort out problems in private<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

      Note the difference with English: the French idiom says the dirty laundry should be washed within the family, not in public.<\/p>\n\n

      Typical mistakes of English-speaking learners<\/h2>\n\n
      • Using the owner’s gender:<\/strong> “sa p\u00e8re” for “her father”. It is son p\u00e8re<\/span>.<\/li>
      • “Ma amie”:<\/strong> it is mon amie<\/span>.<\/li>
      • “Il est douze”:<\/strong> it is Il a douze ans<\/span>.<\/li>
      • “Je n’ai pas des s\u0153urs”:<\/strong> it is pas de s\u0153urs<\/span>.<\/li>
      • fils pronounced “feels”<\/strong>, or confused with fille<\/span>.<\/li>
      • Beau-p\u00e8re translated only as “father-in-law”<\/strong>: for most pupils it means stepfather.<\/li>
      • “Une b\u00e9b\u00e9”:<\/strong> le b\u00e9b\u00e9<\/span> is always masculine.<\/li>
      • Parents is also relatives:<\/strong> un parent \u00e9loign\u00e9<\/span> is a distant relative.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n

        In class: family as a word of the day<\/h2>\n\n
        1. Show the picture (a grandmother with a child) and the English word: “grandmother”.<\/li>
        2. Ask Comment dit-on “grandmother” en fran\u00e7ais ?<\/span> Pupils guess on mini whiteboards; give the first letter if needed.<\/li>
        3. Reveal la grand-m\u00e8re<\/span> with its pronunciation. The class repeats it, then two pupils alone.<\/li>
        4. Show the example sentence: Ma grand-m\u00e8re habite en \u00c9cosse et elle a soixante-dix ans.<\/span><\/li>
        5. Give the reuse task: each pupil says a sentence about a grandparent, real or invented, with elle s’appelle<\/span>, elle habite<\/span> or elle a \u2026 ans<\/span>.<\/li>
        6. Recall yesterday’s word: Comment dit-on “uncle” ?<\/span><\/li><\/ol>\n\n

          That is exactly what a daily routine does: one relationship at a time, repeated until the whole family tree is automatic.<\/p>\n\n

          Guessing games<\/h3>\n\n

          Relationship riddles make a good A2 extension: C’est la s\u0153ur de ma m\u00e8re. Qui est-ce ?<\/span> (ma tante<\/span>). C’est le fils de mon oncle.<\/span> (mon cousin<\/span>). A famous family, from a series, a book or a royal family, lets you practise son<\/span>, sa<\/span> and ses<\/span> without personal questions.<\/p>\n\n

          • A1<\/b>The word with its possessive: mon p\u00e8re<\/span>, ma s\u0153ur<\/span>, mes grands-parents<\/span><\/li>
          • A2<\/b>Describe a family member: Mon grand fr\u00e8re s’appelle Tom, il a quatorze ans et il est dr\u00f4le.<\/span><\/li>
          • B1<\/b>Relationships over time: Quand j’\u00e9tais petit, je me disputais avec ma s\u0153ur, mais maintenant on s’entend bien.<\/span><\/li>
          • B2<\/b>Opinions on family life: Il est important que les grands-parents passent du temps avec leurs petits-enfants.<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n

            At KS2, a picture family and a song are enough. At KS3, insist on mon \/ ma \/ mes<\/span>, avoir<\/span> for age and pas de<\/span>. At GCSE, family and relationships is a core theme: move to s’entendre avec<\/span>, the imperfect and opinions.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Family members in French with their article and pronunciation, the possessives, the step-family words and a daily routine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"menu_order":27,"template":"","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Family in French: Vocabulary, Tree, Possessives | VocaDial","_seopress_titles_desc":"Family members in French with articles and pronunciation, mon, ma, mes, beau-p\u00e8re and demi-fr\u00e8re, Quebec words, idioms and a family word of the day.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"_vd_topic":"famille","_vd_target":"fr","_vd_module":"palabra","_vd_level":"A1","_vd_minutes":"7","_vd_card_word":"la grand-m\u00e8re\u2026","_vd_answer":"The core family words in French are le p\u00e8re<\/span> (father), la m\u00e8re<\/span> (mother), le fr\u00e8re<\/span> (brother), la s\u0153ur<\/span> (sister), le grand-p\u00e8re<\/span> (grandfather) and la grand-m\u00e8re<\/span> (grandmother). Les parents<\/span> means \"parents\", and possessives agree with the person owned: mon p\u00e8re<\/span>, ma m\u00e8re<\/span>, mes parents<\/span>.","_vd_faq":"[{\"q\":\"How do you say \\\"family\\\" in French?\",\"a\":\"La famille<\\\/span>. \\\"My family\\\" is ma famille<\\\/span>, and \\\"How many people are there in your family?\\\" is Il y a combien de personnes dans ta famille ?<\\\/span>\"},{\"q\":\"How do you say \\\"stepfather\\\" in French?\",\"a\":\"Le beau-p\u00e8re<\\\/span>, which also means father-in-law. \\\"Stepmother\\\" is la belle-m\u00e8re<\\\/span>. The context makes the meaning clear.\"},{\"q\":\"Is it son p\u00e8re or sa p\u00e8re for \\\"her father\\\"?\",\"a\":\"Son p\u00e8re<\\\/span>. French possessives agree with the person owned, not with the owner: son p\u00e8re<\\\/span>, sa m\u00e8re<\\\/span>, ses parents<\\\/span>.\"},{\"q\":\"How do you pronounce fils?\",\"a\":\"\\\"Feess\\\": the l is silent and the s is pronounced. Do not confuse it with fille<\\\/span> (fee-y).\"},{\"q\":\"How do you say \\\"I'm an only child\\\" in French?\",\"a\":\"Je suis fils unique<\\\/span> for a boy, Je suis fille unique<\\\/span> for a girl.\"}]","_vd_key":"famille-fr","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-86","vd_ressource","type-vd_ressource","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource\/86","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/vd_ressource"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource\/86\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}