{"id":119061,"date":"2023-01-09T06:25:22","date_gmt":"2023-01-09T11:25:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/talking-about-family-in-french\/"},"modified":"2025-02-17T06:48:30","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T11:48:30","slug":"talking-about-family-in-french","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/french\/talking-about-family-in-french\/","title":{"rendered":"The Easy Guide to Talking About Your Family in French"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>It probably doesn\u2019t sound that difficult to converse without mentioning family.\u00a0<\/strong>Think about it, though. How often in a conversation do you say something like, &#8220;Sorry, <strong>my dad<\/strong> keeps texting me.&#8221;\u00a0&#8220;Oh, you like my sweater? Thanks! <strong>My husband<\/strong> gave it to me for Christmas.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The list of ways our family members come up in conversation is endless, so we&#8217;ve put together this post to help you out.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>French Vocabulary Related to Family<\/h2>\n<p>Before we get into situations and phrases, let&#8217;s start with the basics. What is the French translation for terms related to family members?<\/p>\n<h3>Your Immediate Family<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/3\/family-in-french.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-41217\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/3\/family-in-french.jpg\" alt=\"family in french\" width=\"800\" height=\"498\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Les parents<\/em>  (parents, or in a more generic sense, relatives of any kind)<\/li>\n<li><em>La m\u00e8re<\/em>  (mother)<\/li>\n<li><em>Le p\u00e8re <\/em> (father)<\/li>\n<li><em>La maman<\/em>  (mom or mommy)<\/li>\n<li><em>Le papa<\/em>  (dad or daddy)<\/li>\n<li><em>Le fr\u00e8re<\/em>  (brother)<\/li>\n<li><em>La s\u0153ur<\/em>  (sister)<\/li>\n<li><em>Les fr\u00e8res et s\u0153urs <\/em> (siblings)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 20px\">That&#8217;s right, there&#8217;s no word for &#8220;siblings.&#8221; You just have to say &#8220;brothers and sisters.&#8221;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>La fille<\/em>  (daughter)<\/li>\n<li><em>Le fils<\/em>  (son)<\/li>\n<li><em>Les grands-parents<\/em>  (grandparents)<\/li>\n<li><em>La grand-m\u00e8re <\/em> (grandmother)<\/li>\n<li><em>Le grand-p\u00e8re<\/em>  (grandfather)<\/li>\n<li><em>La m\u00e9m\u00e9<\/em>  (grandma)<\/li>\n<li><em>Le p\u00e9p\u00e9<\/em>  (granddad)<\/li>\n<li><em>Les petits-enfants<\/em>  (grandchildren)<\/li>\n<li><em>La petite-fille<\/em>  (granddaughter)<\/li>\n<li><em>Le petit-fils<\/em>  (grandson)<\/li>\n<li><em>L&#8217;\u00e9poux  \/<em> l&#8217;\u00e9pouse<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0(spouse)<\/li>\n<li><em>Le mari<\/em>  (husband)<\/li>\n<li><em>La femme<\/em>  (wife)<\/li>\n<li><em>La belle-m\u00e8re<\/em>  (mother-in-law)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 20px\">The &#8220;in-laws&#8221; literally translate to &#8220;beautiful mother,&#8221; &#8220;handsome father,&#8221; etc. This translation really removes the negative stigma typically associated with in-laws!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Le beau-p\u00e8re<\/em>  (father-in-law)<\/li>\n<li><em>Le beau-fr\u00e8re  <\/em>(brother-in-law)<\/li>\n<li><em>La belle-s\u0153ur<\/em>  (sister-in-law)<\/li>\n<li><em>La belle-fille<\/em>  (daughter-in-law)<\/li>\n<li><em>Le beau-fils<\/em>  (son-in-law)<\/li>\n<li><em>La belle-m\u00e8re<\/em>  (stepmother)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 20px\">You&#8217;ll notice that the &#8220;in-laws&#8221; and &#8220;steps&#8221; both translate to the same word. Confusing, isn&#8217;t it?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Le beau-p\u00e8re <\/em> (stepfather)<\/li>\n<li><em>Le beau-fr\u00e8re<\/em>  (stepbrother)<\/li>\n<li><em>La belle-s\u0153ur<\/em>  (stepsister)<\/li>\n<li><em>La belle-fille<\/em>  (stepdaughter)<\/li>\n<li><em>Le beau-fils<\/em>  (stepson)<\/li>\n<li><em>Le demi-fr\u00e8re <\/em> (half-brother)<\/li>\n<li><em>La demi-s\u0153ur<\/em>  (half-sister)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Your Extended Family<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/3\/family-in-french-2.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-41218\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/3\/family-in-french-2.jpg\" alt=\"family in french\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>La cousine<\/em>  (female cousin)<\/li>\n<li><em>Le cousin<\/em>  (male cousin)<\/li>\n<li><em>Les cousins<\/em>  \/ <em>les cousines<\/em>  (male or mixture of male and female cousins\/female cousins)<\/li>\n<li><em>L&#8217;oncle<\/em>  (uncle)<\/li>\n<li><em>La tante <\/em> (aunt)<\/li>\n<li><em>Le neveu<\/em>  (nephew)<\/li>\n<li><em>La ni\u00e8ce<\/em>  (niece)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Introducing Family Members in French<\/h2>\n<p>These are the phrases you would whip out at those work and social events, when having people over to your family&#8217;s home or if you run into someone you know on the street while out with a family member.<\/p>\n<h3>Formal Introductions<\/h3>\n<p>You would use these phrases when introducing family members at an event, or to elders and people you respect.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Je vous pr\u00e9sente&#8230; <\/em> (I present to you&#8230;)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/french\/tu-vs-vous\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Remember to use <em>vous<\/em><\/a> to talk to people who are older or in a position of authority. For example, you might use this phrase when you introduce a family member to your boss or to a friend&#8217;s parent.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px\"><em>Monsieur, <strong>je vous\u00a0pr\u00e9sente<\/strong> mon mari, Daniel.<\/em> (Sir, <strong>I present to you<\/strong> my husband, Daniel.)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px\"><em>Bonjour, Madame Thierry! <strong>Je vous\u00a0pr\u00e9sente<\/strong> ma\u00a0m\u00e8re.\u00a0<\/em>(Hello, Mrs. Thierry! <strong>I present to you<\/strong> my mother.)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Je te pr\u00e9sente&#8230;  <\/em>(I present to you&#8230;)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">Use the <em>tu<\/em> form when speaking to a friend, an equal or someone younger than yourself. In this case, you are introducing a family member to someone who fits this profile, but while using a more formal structure:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px\"><em>Salut, Brigitte! <strong>Je te\u00a0pr\u00e9sente<\/strong> mon\u00a0beau-fr\u00e8re, Charles. Charles, Brigitte est ma camarade de classe.<\/em> (Hi, Brigitte! <strong>I present to you<\/strong> my brother, Charles. Charles, Brigitte is my classmate.)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Il s&#8217;appelle&#8230;<\/em>  \/ <em>Elle s&#8217;appelle&#8230;<\/em> (His\/her name is&#8230;)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px\"><em>Je te pr\u00e9sente mon oncle.<strong> Il s&#8217;appelle<\/strong> Nico.\u00a0<\/em>(I present to you my uncle. His name is Nico.)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px\"><em>Bonjour, madame. Je vous pr\u00e9sente ma tante. <strong>Elle s&#8217;appelle<\/strong> Esther. <\/em>(Hello, ma&#8217;am. <strong>I present to you<\/strong> my aunt. Her name is Esther.)<\/p>\n<h3>Informal Introductions<\/h3>\n<p>You would use these informal introductions with your close pals. Sometimes people use these terms as quick introductions if they are in a hurry or distracted. Let&#8217;s say your mom randomly walks into the room while you guys are playing video games. You don&#8217;t have time for formalities, you&#8217;ve got dragons to kill!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>C&#8217;est&#8230;<\/em>  (This is&#8230;)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>C&#8217;est <\/em>is a casual way to say,\u00a0&#8220;This is.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px\"><em>Salut! <strong>C&#8217;est<\/strong> mon cousin.<\/em> (Hi! This is my cousin.)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Voil\u00e0&#8230;<\/em>  (Here is&#8230;)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">This\u00a0would be used in a situation when you are surprised to see someone. For example, if you weren&#8217;t expecting a family member to walk in at that moment, you use <em>voil\u00e0\u00a0<\/em>as a quick announcement of their arrival.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px\"><em>Oh, <strong>voil\u00e0<\/strong>\u00a0ma femme!<\/em>\u00a0(Oh, here is my wife!)<\/p>\n<h2>Practice Talking About Family in French<\/h2>\n<p>I bet you didn&#8217;t even think about how many family members existed until you saw that list. But don&#8217;t be overwhelmed! There are plenty of free online learning tools where you can practice memorizing all this vocabulary.<strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefrenchexperiment.com\/learn-french\/family\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Check out these simple exercises on The French Experiment<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Even watching videos in French can help you get used to new vocabulary. There are limitless videos to be found on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">YouTube<\/a>. You can also now turn any YouTube video into a language learning lesson with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/french\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FluentU<\/a>. <p><strong>FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p> \r\n<p>You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/fluentu-learn-language-videos\/id917892175\">the iOS app<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.fluentflix.fluentu&amp;hl=en&amp;gl=US\">Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p><i><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\r\n  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/3\/NativeAdFrench.jpg\" alt=\"FluentU Ad\" \/>\r\n  <p style=\"text-align: center\">\r\n    <button class=\"btn-blue\" style=\"border: none;font-size: 18px;text-align: center;padding: 0.75rem 1.5rem;cursor: pointer\">\r\n      Try FluentU for FREE!\r\n    <\/button>\r\n  <\/p>\r\n<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Of course, you can talk in-depth about your family for hours.<\/p>\n<p>But hopefully these basics will get you started!<\/p>\n<p>This way, when a date or coworker asks you about your family, you won&#8217;t have to go hide out in the bathroom to avoid the conversation.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>And One More Thing...<\/h2>\r\n<p>\r\n\tIf you like learning French at your own pace and from the comfort of your device, I have to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tell you about FluentU<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nFluentU makes it easier (and way more fun) to learn French by making real content like movies and series accessible to learners. You can check out FluentU's curated video library, or <strong>bring our learning tools directly to Netflix or YouTube<\/strong> with the FluentU Chrome extension. \r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\n<a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2097\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/FluentU-French-video-library-in-app.jpg\" alt=\"learn-french-with-videos\" width=\"320\" height=\"568\" \/><\/a><\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nOne of the features I find most helpful is the <strong>interactive captions<\/strong>\u2014you can tap on any word to see its meaning, an image, pronunciation, and other examples from different contexts. It\u2019s a great way to pick up French vocab without having to pause and look things up separately.\r\n<\/p><p>\r\n<a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2099\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/FluentU-French-video-with-interactive-subtitles-web.jpg\" alt=\"learn-french-with-movies\" width=\"600\" height=\"390\" \/><\/a><\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nFluentU also helps <strong>reinforce what you\u2019ve learned<\/strong> with personalized quizzes. You can swipe through extra examples and complete engaging exercises that adapt to your progress. You'll get extra practice with the words you find more challenging and even be reminded you when it\u2019s time to review!\r\n<\/p><p>\r\n<a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2102\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/3\/French-7.png\" alt=\"practice-french-with-adaptive-quizzes\" width=\"320\" height=\"568\" \/><\/a><\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nYou can use FluentU on your computer, tablet, or phone with our app for Apple or Android devices. <a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It probably doesn\u2019t sound that difficult to converse without mentioning family.\u00a0Think about it, though. How often in a conversation do you say something like, &#8220;Sorry, my dad keeps texting me.&#8221;\u00a0&#8220;Oh,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":526,"featured_media":249561,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"The Easy Guide to Talking About Your Family in French | FluentU French Blog","description":"Find yourself needing to talk about your family in French? They come up in conversation endlessly, so we've put together a comprehensive guide for you! From naming family members to talking about their health, it'll have you yarning about your family in no time. Read on to find out more."},"footnotes":""},"categories":[570,571],"tags":[],"coauthors":[162],"class_list":["post-119061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-french","category-french-vocabulary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/526"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119061"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":250833,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119061\/revisions\/250833"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119061"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=119061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}