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Titres
While not as diverse as they used to be, a few honorifics are commonly used in French and are as important as any other polite vocabulary. Here are the French titles you need, along with their abbreviations – click for sound files.
General titles
| Title | Abbrev. | Plural | English | |
| Monsieur | M. | Messieurs | Mister, Mr., sir | |
| Madame | Mme | Mesdames | Madam, Mrs., Ms., ma’am | |
| Mademoiselle | Mlle | Mesdemoiselles | Miss |
General titles are used when talking to and about a person. When followed by the person’s last name, they are capitalized.
Par exemple…
| Bonjour Madame Terbois. | Hello Mrs. Terbois. | |
| J’ai parlé à Monsieur Gueldry hier. | I spoke to Mr. Gueldry yesterday. |
Titles are not capitalized when used without a name – learn more.
Par exemple…
| Oui madame. | Yes ma’am. | |
| Au revoir, monsieur. | Good-bye, sir. |
When do you need definite articles with titles?
Related apheresis: messieurs dames – used to address a group of people when entering a room, e.g., Bonjour messieurs dames – "Hello everyone, Hello ladies and gentleman."
Professional titles
| Docteur | Dr | Doctor | |
| Maître | Me | ~Mr. / Ms. (for lawyers, professors, etc) | |
| Professeur | Pr | Professor |
Religious titles
| Frère | F. | Brother | |
| Mère | M. | Mother | |
| Père | P. | Father | |
| Révérend Père | R.P. | Reverend | |
| Saint | St | Saint (male) | |
| Sainte | Ste | Saint (female) | |
| Sœur | Sr | Sister |
Rare, old-fashioned or obsolete titles
| Title | Abbrev. | English | |
| Monseigneur | Mgr | Your Eminence, Your Grace | |
| Veuve | Vve | widow | |
| Votre Majesté | V.M. | Your Majesty | |
| Sa Majesté | S.M. | His / Her Majesty |
Related lessons
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