Vocabulary

Family & People

Vocabulary for talking about the people in your life — family members, friends, and how to describe them. Click 🔊 to hear any word pronounced. The Note column shows gender and usage.

Family members

French	IPA	English	Note
le père	[pɛʁ]	father	masculine
la mère	[mɛʁ]	mother	feminine
le frère	[fʁɛʁ]	brother	masculine
la sœur	[sœʁ]	sister	feminine
le fils	[fis]	son	masculine: the s is silent
la fille	[fij]	daughter / girl	feminine
le grand-père	[ɡʁɑ̃.pɛʁ]	grandfather	masculine
la grand-mère	[ɡʁɑ̃.mɛʁ]	grandmother	feminine
l'oncle	[ɔ̃kl]	uncle	masculine
la tante	[tɑ̃t]	aunt	feminine
le cousin	[kuzɛ̃]	cousin (m)	masculine
la cousine	[kuzin]	cousin (f)	feminine
les parents	[paʁɑ̃]	parents	always plural
les enfants	[ɑ̃fɑ̃]	children	masc. plural when mixed
le mari	[maʁi]	husband	masculine
la femme	[fam]	wife / woman	feminine
les grands-parents	[ɡʁɑ̃.paʁɑ̃]	grandparents	always plural

Describing people

Adjectives change ending for feminine gender. IPA shows masculine / feminine forms.

French	IPA	English
grand(e)	[ɡʁɑ̃] / [ɡʁɑ̃d]	tall / big
petit(e)	[pəti] / [pətit]	short / small
jeune	[ʒœn]	young
vieux / vieille	[vjø] / [vjɛj]	old
sympa	[sɛ̃pa]	nice / friendly
gentil(le)	[ʒɑ̃ti] / [ʒɑ̃tij]	kind
drôle	[dʁol]	funny
intelligent(e)	[ɛ̃tɛliʒɑ̃] / [ɛ̃tɛliʒɑ̃t]	smart
bavard(e)	[bavaʁ] / [bavaʁd]	talkative
timide	[timid]	shy
sportif / sportive	[spɔʁtif] / [spɔʁtiv]	sporty
sérieux / sérieuse	[seʁjø] / [seʁjøz]	serious
calme	[kalm]	calm / quiet
curieux / curieuse	[kyʁjø] / [kyʁjøz]	curious

Useful phrases

	French	English
	J'ai … frères et … sœurs.	I have … brothers and … sisters.
	Ma famille est grande / petite.	My family is big / small.
	Il / Elle ressemble à…	He / She looks like…
	Je m'entends bien avec…	I get along well with…
	Mon / Ma … s'appelle…	My … is called…
	Nous sommes … dans la famille.	There are … of us in the family.
	Il / Elle est fils / fille unique.	He / She is an only child.
	Mes parents sont séparés / divorcés.	My parents are separated / divorced.