Family Vocabulary in French: La Famille
Talking about family is one of the first real conversations you will have in French. Learn each person with the article, then practise the possessive form you will actually say: mon frère, ma sœur, mes parents.
Immediate family
- la mère — mother; ma mère — my mother
- le père — father; mon père
- les parents — parents
- la sœur — sister; ma sœur
- le frère — brother; mon frère
- la fille — daughter (or girl)
- le fils — son; the final s is pronounced
Grandparents and extended family
- la grand-mère / le grand-père — grandmother / grandfather
- les grands-parents — grandparents
- la tante / l'oncle — aunt / uncle
- la cousine / le cousin — female / male cousin
- la nièce / le neveu — niece / nephew
Useful sentences
- Tu as des frères et sœurs ? — Do you have siblings?
- J'ai une sœur aînée. — I have an older sister.
- Je suis enfant unique. — I am an only child.
- Mes parents habitent à Lyon. — My parents live in Lyon.
Two traps to avoid
Les parents normally means your mother and father, but un parent can mean a relative. Also, French possessives agree with the noun: mon frère and ma sœur, regardless of whether the speaker is male or female.
Keep building your vocabulary
Replay the quiz, describe your own family aloud, then learn body parts in French or browse the French vocabulary hub.
Practise this on your own
Reading about family vocabulary is the easy half — you only own it once you've heard it and used it yourself. Parisly has short illustrated stories written for beginners, from your first A1 sentences, each with a guided lesson — the words in this article, met again in a story. Start here: A1 French stories for beginners.