 | |
| Share / Tweet / Pin Me! | |
Termes d’affection
You probably know the expressions mon cher et ma chérie, but French has many more interesting ways to refer to their dears and darlings – mostly terms related to food and animals.
Click any term for the sound file, and don’t miss the endearing modifiers at the end.
| mon amour | my love | |
| mon ange | my angel | |
| ma beauté | my beauty | |
| mon bébé | my baby | |
| ma belle | my beautiful | (informal) |
| ma biche | my doe | |
| ma bichette | my little doe | |
| mon biquet ma biquettte | my kid | as in baby goat |
| ma caille | my quail | (informal) |
| mon canard | my duck | |
| mon chaton | my kitten | |
| ma chatte | my cat | (familiar) |
| mon cher ma chère | my dear | |
| mon chéri ma chérie | my dearie | |
| mon chou ma choute | my cabbage/pastry | (informal) |
| mon chouchou | my pet | as in "teacher’s pet" (informal) |
| mon choupinet ma choupinette | ||
| mon cochon | my pig | |
| mon coco | my egg | |
| ma cocotte | my hen | (informal) |
| mon cœur | my heart | |
| ma colombe | my dove | |
| ma crevette | my prawn | |
| ma crotte | my dropping | also a small, round goat cheese |
| ma fifille | my little girl | (informal, old-fashioned) |
| ma gazelle | my gazelle | |
| mon grand ma grande | my big guy my big girl | |
| mon gros | my big guy | |
| mon jésus | my Jesus | (for children) |
| mon lapin | my rabbit | |
| ma lolotte | ||
| mon loulou ma louloute | my spitz | (familiar) |
| ma loutre | my otter | |
| mon loup | my wolf | |
| ma mie | my dear/love | Literally "my female friend"* |
| mon mignon | my cutie | |
| ma mignonnette | my cutie pie | |
| mon mimi | my pussycat | (informal) |
| mon minet ma minette | my pussycat | |
| mon minou | my kitty | |
| ma moitié | my half | |
| ma nénette | my chickie | |
| mon nounours | my teddy bear | |
| mon ours | my bear | |
| mon petit ma petite | my little guy my little girl | |
| ma poule | my hen | |
| mon poulet | my chicken | |
| ma poulette | my pullet | (informal) |
| ma poupée | my doll | |
| ma poupoune ma poupounette | my dollie | (for little girls) |
| mon poussin | my chick | (informal) |
| ma puce | my flea | (informal) |
| mon rat | my rat | |
| ma souris | my mouse | |
| mon sucre d’orge | my barley sugar | |
| ma toutoune ma toutounette | my dollie | (for little girls) |
| mon trésor | my treasure | |
| mon trognon | my (fruit) core | (for children) |
* This is an old-fashioned term contracted from mon amie > m’amie > ma mie. Incidentally, mie also refers to the soft part of bread – the opposite of croûte (crust).
Endearing modifiers
- Make the term of endearment cuter by adding petit (little) in front: mon petit chou, ma petite minette ….
- Sweeten the pot by adding en sucre (made of sugar) to the end: mon cœur en sucre, mon trésor en sucre ….
Note that the possessive adjectives mon and ma (my) always agree with the gender of the term of endearment, which may not match your gender or the gender of your beloved. When there is a masculine form and a feminine form, use the term that corresponds to the gender of your beloved. When there’s only one gender, the general rule is that masculine terms of endearment can be used for boys and girls, but feminine terms of endearment can only be used for girls.
Related lessons
- Aimer conjugations
- "I love you" in French
- More French love language
- French for Valentine’s Day
- Possessive adjectives
Share / Tweet / Pin Me!
This free website is created with love and a great deal of work.
You must log in to post a comment.