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Famille
One of the interesting things about la famille and French family vocabulary is that the word parent means not just "parent" as in mother or father, but also "relative." It can be both a noun and an adjective.
Par exemple…
| J’ai un parent à Lille. | I have a relative in Lille. | |
| Nous sommes parents par mon père. | We’re related on my father’s side. |
La famille
Close relations, next of kin = les proches
| brother | un frère | sister | une sœur | |
| father | un père | mother | une mère | |
| son | un fils | daughter | une fille | |
| husband spouse |
un mari un époux |
wife spouse |
une femme une épouse |
|
| uncle | un oncle | aunt | une tante | |
| nephew | un neveu | niece | une nièce | |
| cousin – male | un cousin | cousin – female | une cousine | |
| grandfather | un grand-père | grandmother | une grand-mère | |
| great grandfather | arrière-grand-père | great grandmother | arrière-grand-mère | |
| grandson | un petit-fils | granddaughter | une petite-fille | |
| great grandson | arrière-petit-fils | great granddaughter | arrière-petite-fille |
Special family terms
Un aîné / une aînée can refer to an older brother/sister, the oldest brother/sister, or the first-born son/daughter.
Un cadet / une cadette can refer to a younger brother/sister or the second-born son/daughter in a family.
Le benjamin / la benjamine is the youngest child in a family.
For twins, triplets, etc., see the "multiple births" section of Multiplicative numbers.
| extended family | la famille étendue | |
| blended family | la famille recomposée |
Family by marriage ~ Famille par alliance
In French, there’s no distinction between step-family and family-in-law: they are both equivalent to beau- or belle- plus that family member.
| step-father father-in-law |
beau-père | step-mother mother-in-law |
belle-mère | |
| step-brother brother-in-law |
beau-frère | step-sister sister-in-law |
belle-sœur | |
| step-son son-in-law |
beau-fils | step-daughter daughter-in-law |
belle-fille | |
| But there are some additional terms for in-laws: | ||||
| in-laws | les beaux-parents, la belle-famille | |||
| son-in-law | le gendre | daughter-in-law | la bru | |
What’s the difference?
For the non-native English speakers out there:
Step-family (Famille recomposée) has to do with a spouse who has children from a previous partnership:
- My father’s new wife is my step-mother (belle-mère) and I am her step-daughter (belle-fille)
- My step-mother’s son is my step-brother (beau-frère) and I am his step-sister (belle-sœur)
- A child born to my father and step-mother is my half-brother (demi-frère) or half-sister (demi-sœur)
- My new husband’s daughter is my step-daughter (belle-fille) and I am her step-mother (belle-mère)
Family-in-law is your spouse’s family and the family of your sibling’s spouse:
- My husband’s mother is my mother-in-law (belle-mère) and I am her daughter-in-law (belle-fille or bru)
- My husband’s brother is my brother-in-law (beau-frère) and I am his sister-in-law (belle-sœur)
- My sister’s husband is my brother-in-law (beau-frère) and I am his sister-in-law (belle-sœur)
- My son’s wife is my daughter-in-law (belle-fille or bru) and I am her mother-in-law (belle-mère)
Other Family Matters
Adoptive Family ~ Famille adoptive
| biological father | père biologique | biological mother | mère biologique | |
| adoptive father | père adoptif | adoptive mother | mère adoptive | |
| adopted son | fils adoptif | adopted daughter | fille adoptive |
Foster Family ~ Famille nourricière / Famille d’accueil
| foster father | père nourricier / père d’accueil |
| foster mother | mère nourricière / mère d’accueil |
| foster child | enfant placé dans une famille |
Godparents and Godchildren
| godfather | parrain | godmother | marraine | |
| godson | filleul | goddaughter | filleule (pronounced like filleul) |
Related features
PwLF grammar quiz
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French lesson plan
- Family in French (Worksheet, 1st grade)
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