Learning how to talk about your family is one of the first useful steps when you’re learning French. Whether you’re introducing your parents, talking about your grandparents, describing your siblings, or simply telling someone how big your family is, knowing the right French family words can make everyday conversations much easier.

The good news? You don’t need to memorize a huge vocabulary list all at once.

In this guide, you’ll learn 20+ family members in French, along with their English meanings, useful example sentences, pronunciation help, and a few simple tricks to remember them.

By the end, you’ll be able to talk about your parents, children, grandparents, siblings, extended family, and in-laws with much more confidence.

Let’s start with the family members you’ll use most often.

French Family Members: The Essential Vocabulary

Here are some of the most common family words in French.

That’s already more than 20 useful family words—but let’s see how you can actually use them in conversation.

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1. Father in French — Père

The French word for father is père.

For example:

Mon père s’appelle Paul.
My father is called Paul.

Notice the little accent on è in père. Accents are important in French, so don’t simply leave them out when you’re writing French.

If you’re talking about your father, you’ll commonly use mon père, meaning “my father.”

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2. Mother in French — Mère

Mère means mother in French.

Example:

Ma mère est très gentille.
My mother is very kind.

Together, père and mère are two words you’ll probably encounter very early in your French learning journey.

You can also learn them as a pair:

père = father
mère = mother

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3. Parents in French — Parents

Here’s an easy one.

Parents means parents in French too.

Example:

Mes parents habitent à Paris.
My parents live in Paris.

Be careful with pronunciation, though. French spelling and English pronunciation aren’t always the same, so don’t assume that an English-looking French word sounds exactly like English.

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4. Son in French — Fils

The French word for son is fils.

Example:

Mon fils aime le football.
My son likes football.

One interesting thing about fils is that the final s is normally silent when the word is pronounced on its own.

So this is one of those French words where spelling and pronunciation don’t line up in the way an English learner might expect.

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5. Daughter in French — Fille

Fille means daughter.

Example:

Ma fille va à l’école.
My daughter goes to school.

The word fille can also mean girl, depending on context.

For example:

C’est ma fille.
She is my daughter.

But:

La fille est dans le jardin.
The girl is in the garden.

Context tells you which meaning is intended.

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6. Brother in French — Frère

Frère means brother.

Example:

J’ai un frère.
I have a brother.

If you have more than one brother, you can say:

J’ai deux frères.
I have two brothers.

The accent in frère is important, just as it is in père and mère.

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7. Sister in French — Sœur

The French word for sister is sœur.

Example:

Ma sœur est étudiante.
My sister is a student.

The letters œ may look unfamiliar if you’re new to French. Don’t worry—you’ll see this combination in a few French words, so it’s worth becoming comfortable with it.

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Grandparents and Grandchildren in French

Now let’s move one generation up and down the family tree.

8. Grandfather — Grand-père

Grand-père means grandfather.

It literally combines grand + père.

Example:

Mon grand-père aime raconter des histoires.
My grandfather likes telling stories.

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9. Grandmother — Grand-mère

Grand-mère means grandmother.

Example:

Ma grand-mère cuisine très bien.
My grandmother cooks very well.

Together:

grand-père = grandfather
grand-mère = grandmother

And the plural is:

grands-parents = grandparents

Example:

Mes grands-parents vivent à la campagne.
My grandparents live in the countryside.

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10. Grandson — Petit-fils

A grandson is a petit-fils in French.

Example:

Mon petit-fils adore les animaux.
My grandson loves animals.

Notice that petit-fils isn’t translated literally as “small son” in this context. It is the standard French word for grandson.

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11. Granddaughter — Petite-fille

A granddaughter is a petite-fille.

Example:

Ma petite-fille a cinq ans.
My granddaughter is five years old.

So you’ve now learned an easy family pattern:

grand-père → grandfather
grand-mère → grandmother
petit-fils → grandson
petite-fille → granddaughter

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Extended Family in French

Your family vocabulary doesn’t have to stop with parents and siblings. Let’s add the relatives you’ll hear when talking about your wider family.

12. Uncle — Oncle

Oncle means uncle.

Example:

Mon oncle habite à Lyon.
My uncle lives in Lyon.

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13. Aunt — Tante

Tante means aunt.

Example:

Ma tante travaille à Paris.
My aunt works in Paris.

These two are simple to remember:

oncle = uncle
tante = aunt

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14. Cousin — Cousin

A male cousin is cousin in French.

Example:

Mon cousin est mon ami.
My cousin is my friend.

For a female cousin, use cousine.

Ma cousine habite près de chez moi.
My cousin lives near me.

This is a useful example of how French nouns can change according to gender.

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15. Nephew — Neveu

Neveu means nephew.

Example:

Mon neveu joue avec ses amis.
My nephew plays with his friends.

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16. Niece — Nièce

Nièce means niece.

Example:

Ma nièce aime dessiner.
My niece likes drawing.

The accent on è is part of the correct spelling.

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Husband and Wife in French

Let’s also learn the words used for spouses.

17. Husband — Mari

The French word for husband is mari.

Example:

Mon mari travaille à Paris.
My husband works in Paris.

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18. Wife — Femme

Femme can mean woman or wife, depending on context.

Example:

Ma femme est médecin.
My wife is a doctor.

This is an important word to remember because its meaning changes according to the sentence.

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More Useful French Family Words

You already have more than 20 family members, but there are a few additional words that can make your vocabulary much more useful.

19. Child — Enfant

Enfant means child.

It can refer to a boy or a girl.

Example:

J’ai un enfant.
I have a child.

Plural:

enfants = children

Example:

Ils ont trois enfants.
They have three children.

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20. Family — Famille

Of course, you’ll need the word famille, meaning family.

Example:

J’aime ma famille.
I love my family.

You can also say:

Ma famille est grande.
My family is big.

Or:

Ma famille est petite.
My family is small.

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How to Say “My Family” in French

Now that you know the vocabulary, let’s turn individual words into real sentences.

Here are some useful possessive expressions:

Notice something important?

French uses different words for my depending on the noun:

• mon with many masculine singular nouns

• ma with feminine singular nouns

• mes with plural nouns

This is why you’ll see mon père, ma mère, but mes parents.

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Talk About Your Family in French

Once you know the vocabulary, you can start building a small introduction.

For example:

Bonjour ! Je m’appelle Emma. J’ai un frère et une sœur. Mes parents habitent à Paris. Ma grand-mère vit avec nous. J’ai aussi deux cousins.

In English:

“Hello! My name is Emma. I have a brother and a sister. My parents live in Paris. My grandmother lives with us. I also have two cousins.”

That’s a simple paragraph, but it uses several family words naturally.

You don’t need complicated French to start talking about the people around you.

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A Simple Trick to Remember French Family Vocabulary

Instead of memorizing 20+ words as one enormous list, organize them into family groups.

Immediate family

père — father
mère — mother
frère — brother
sœur — sister
fils — son
fille — daughter

Older generation

grand-père — grandfather
grand-mère — grandmother

Younger generation

petit-fils — grandson
petite-fille — granddaughter

Extended family

oncle — uncle
tante — aunt
cousin — male cousin
cousine — female cousin
neveu — nephew
nièce — niece

This grouping makes the vocabulary much easier to review.

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French Family Vocabulary Cheat Sheet

Before you go, here’s a quick review of the most important words from this lesson:

père — father
mère — mother
parents — parents
frère — brother
sœur — sister
fils — son
fille — daughter
enfant — child
mari — husband
femme — wife
grand-père — grandfather
grand-mère — grandmother
grands-parents — grandparents
petit-fils — grandson
petite-fille — granddaughter
oncle — uncle
tante — aunt
cousin — male cousin
cousine — female cousin
neveu — nephew
nièce — niece
famille — family

That’s your 20+ French family members vocabulary list in one place.

Final Tip: Don’t Just Memorize—Use the Words

The fastest way to make these French family words stick is to connect them to real people and real sentences.

Look around your own family and try saying:

C’est mon père. — This is my father.
C’est ma mère. — This is my mother.
C’est mon frère. — This is my brother.
C’est ma sœur. — This is my sister.
Ce sont mes parents. — These are my parents.

Then challenge yourself to describe your whole family in five French sentences.

You can also save this guide for later and come back whenever you need a quick French family vocabulary refresher.

And if you’re building your everyday language vocabulary, don’t stop with family words. You may also want to learn how to talk about your health in Spanish. Read our guide: [How to Say “I Am Sick” in Spanish].

Learning one small group of useful words at a time is much easier than trying to memorize an entire language at once. Start with your family, practice these words in simple sentences, and gradually build from there.

Bonne chance avec votre français ! 🇫🇷