This is a list of 25 common words for talking about family in French, each with IPA, audio, a translation and an example sentence. Play any word to hear it, check yourself in the quiz and download the list for Anki or Quizlet.
Family in French: la famille, la mère, le père, le parent, le fils, la fille, l'enfant. The table below gives all 25 words with IPA, audio, a translation and an example sentence. A quiz of 10 questions checks what you remember, and the list can be downloaded for a spreadsheet, Quizlet or Anki.
| Word | Translation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| la famille /famij/ | family | Ma famille habite dans une petite ville. My family lives in a small town. |
| la mère /mɛʁ/ | mother | Ma mère prépare le dîner chaque soir. My mother makes dinner every evening. |
| le père /pɛʁ/ | father | Mon père travaille près de la maison. My father works near the house. |
| le parent /paʁɑ̃/ | parent | Mes parents viennent nous voir dimanche. My parents are coming to see us on Sunday. |
| le fils /fil/ | son | Leur fils joue au football après l'école. Their son plays soccer after school. |
| la fille /fij/ | daughter | Leur fille lit dans sa chambre. Their daughter reads in her room. |
| l'enfant /ɑ̃fɑ̃/ L'enfant is masculine and feminine. | child | L'enfant dessine avec ses cousins. The child draws with their cousins. |
| le bébé /bebe/ | baby | Le bébé dort dans sa chambre. The baby sleeps in their room. |
| le frère /fʁɛʁ/ | brother | Mon frère étudie à Paris cette année. My brother is studying in Paris this year. |
| la sœur /sœʁ/ | sister | Ma sœur chante dans la voiture. My sister sings in the car. |
| les frères et sœurs /fʁɛʁz e sœʁ/ This expression refers to siblings as a group, not to one individual. | sibling | Mes frères et sœurs vivent dans différentes villes. My siblings live in different cities. |
| le jumeau /ʒymo/ Feminine: jumelle. | twin | Mon jumeau aime aussi beaucoup la musique. My twin also likes music very much. |
| la grand-mère /ɡʁɑ̃mɛʁ/ | grandmother | Ma grand-mère habite près de la mer. My grandmother lives near the sea. |
| le grand-père /ɡʁɑ̃pɛʁ/ | grandfather | Mon grand-père raconte souvent des histoires. My grandfather often tells stories. |
| le grand-parent /ɡʁɑ̃paʁɑ̃/ | grandparent | Mes grands-parents viennent samedi pour déjeuner. My grandparents are coming on Saturday for lunch. |
| le petit-fils /pətifis/ | grandson | Son petit-fils joue avec le chien. His grandson plays with the dog. |
| la petite-fille /pətitfij/ | granddaughter | Sa petite-fille apprend le piano. Her granddaughter is learning the piano. |
| la tante /tɑ̃t/ | aunt | Ma tante arrive demain matin en train. My aunt is arriving by train tomorrow morning. |
| l'oncle /ɔ̃kl/ | uncle | Mon oncle habite dans le sud. My uncle lives in the south. |
| le cousin /kuzɛ̃/ Feminine: cousine. | cousin | Mon cousin vient jouer chez nous samedi. My cousin is coming to play at our house on Saturday. |
| le neveu /nəvø/ | nephew | Mon neveu adore les animaux de la ferme. My nephew loves farm animals. |
| la nièce /njɛs/ | niece | Ma nièce commence l'école en septembre. My niece starts school in September. |
| le mari /maʁi/ | husband | Son mari prépare le café chaque matin. Her husband makes coffee every morning. |
| la femme /fam/ In this sense, femme means wife. | wife | Sa femme travaille dans une école. His wife works at a school. |
| le membre de la famille /mɑ̃bʁ də la famij/ This expression avoids ambiguity because parent can also mean a relative. | relative | Un membre de ma famille habite à Lyon. A relative of mine lives in Lyon. |
The list on this page has 25 words. The first ones are la famille (family), la mère (mother), le père (father). Each comes with IPA, audio, a translation and an example sentence.
Take the quiz on this page, then download the list for Anki or Quizlet and review a few words every day. In Lingo7 you can read books in French with a translation under every sentence and meet the same words in context.
Press the play button next to a word or an example sentence to hear it. The IPA under each word shows the sounds too: l'enfant is pronounced /ɑ̃fɑ̃/.