17 - How to Talk About Your Family in French (Part I)

 
 

Know how to say "mother," "father," "siblings," etc. in French? In this lesson, you'll learn French words to talk about your immediate family. 👨‍🦳🧑‍🦳

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Links & Cheat Sheet

Transcript

Intro: Welcome to the French Made Easy podcast, where I give you all the basics you need to speak French clearly and confidently. I'm your host, Mathilde, and I'm a French teacher, mumpreneur, and bread and cheese lover. Join me as I dive into all things French for beginners, and deliver to you bite-sized and easy-to-follow lessons every Tuesday. Let's get started, "on commence"!

Bonjour à tous! Welcome back to another episode of the French Made Easy podcast! This is episode number 17, numéro dix-sept. Today, we'll learn some new French words to describe "la famille" ("family.") 

Families can be pretty big. Still, I don't want to overwhelm you, so in this lesson, part 1, we'll focus on your immediate family. And in next week's lesson, part 2, we'll talk about your extended family. 

As always, go and download your cheat sheet if you haven't done so yet, so you can follow along, it's free. After the lesson, go and download your exercises, so you can practice what you've learned. It's also free. 

Vous êtes prêts? Are you ready? C'est parti.

First, remember that every noun in French is either feminine or masculine and also singular or plural. That's why I'm going to give you the definite article for each word. So if I say "la" you know it's a feminine noun. If I say "le" you know it's a masculine noun. "Les": plural. If you aren't too sure what this masculine/feminine thing is about, check out episode 11

Ok, now répétez après moi. Repeat after me.

  • La famille is family.

  • Les parents: parents.

  • La mère is mother.

  • But it can also be: la maman (mummy.)

  • Le père is father.

  • But it can also be: le papa (daddy.)

  • Les enfants: children.

  • La fille is daughter. Note that "la fille" can also mean "girl."

  • Le fils is son. ⚠️ Careful here, there's an 'l' that is silent.

  • Le frère is brother.

  • La sœur is sister.

  • Les frères et sœurs: siblings.

  • Le mari is husband.

  • La femme is wife. Note that "la femme" can also mean " woman."

  • La grand-mère is grand-mother. 👵

  • Or la mamie (grandma).

  • Le grand-père is grand-father. 👴

  • Or le papy (grandpa).

Great. Super. How did you go?

As I said before, there will be another lesson with more family members next week, so watch out for the next episode.

But for now, let's repeat them all. Make sure you repeat after me.

  • La famille (family)

  • Les parents (parents)

  • La mère (mother)

  • Or la maman (mummy)

  • Le père (father) 

  • Or le papa (daddy)

  • Les enfants (children)

  • La fille (daughter)

  • Le fils (son)

  • Le frère (brother)

  • La sœur (sister)

  • Les frères et sœurs (siblings)

  • Le mari (husband)

  • La femme (wife)

  • La grand-mère (grandmother)

  • La mamie (grandma)

  • Le grand-père (grandfather)

  • Le papy (grandpa)

Alright, well-done guys. Bien joué.

✍️ Now it's your turn. Can you give me one phrase with one of the words you've just learned? For example: "j'ai un fils." "I have a son." Write down your answer in the comments over at mathildekien.com.

Ok, that brings us to the end of our lesson! Thank you so much for listening. Don't forget to download your lesson's exercises by clicking the link in the episode's notes. Make sure you hit subscribe, so you don't miss out on any new episodes. And if you are enjoying this podcast, I'd really appreciate a quick rating and review.

  • Oops: Forgot to mention les grands-parents (grandparents)