Talk about your family members, describe people's appearance and personality, and master the essentials of adjective agreement â one of the core grammar concepts in French.
Estimated Time: 45â55 minutes
| French (masculine) | French (feminine) | English |
|---|---|---|
| le père | la mère | father / mother |
| le papa | la maman | dad / mom |
| le fils | la fille | son / daughter |
| le frère | la sĹur | brother / sister |
| le grand-père | la grand-mère | grandfather / grandmother |
| l'oncle | la tante | uncle / aunt |
| le cousin | la cousine | cousin (m/f) |
| le neveu | la nièce | nephew / niece |
| le petit-fils | la petite-fille | grandson / granddaughter |
| le mari / l'ĂŠpoux | la femme / l'ĂŠpouse | husband / wife |
| le copain / le petit ami | la copine / la petite amie | boyfriend / girlfriend |
| le beau-père | la belle-mère | father-in-law / stepfather ¡ mother-in-law / stepmother |
| le beau-frère | la belle-sĹur | brother-in-law / sister-in-law |
Boyfriend/girlfriend: petit ami / petite amie or copain / copine (casual). Copain/copine can also just mean "friend" â context matters. Partner: compagnon / compagne or conjoint(e).
Boyfriend/girlfriend: chum / blonde â this is uniquely QuĂŠbĂŠcois! "Mon chum" = my boyfriend, "ma blonde" = my girlfriend (regardless of hair color). Copain/copine is understood but sounds more European.
Belle-mère means both "mother-in-law" AND "stepmother." Same for beau-père (father-in-law / stepfather). Context makes it clear, but if you need to be specific, you can say ma mère par alliance (my mother by marriage) vs la nouvelle femme de mon père (my father's new wife).
Key structures for describing your family:
J'ai deux frères et une sĹur. (I have two brothers and one sister.)
Je suis fils/fille unique. (I'm an only child.)
Ma mère s'appelle Marie. (My mother's name is Marie.)
Mon frère a 25 ans. (My brother is 25 years old.)
Mes parents habitent Ă Lyon. (My parents live in Lyon.)
Je suis mariĂŠ(e) / cĂŠlibataire / divorcĂŠ(e). (I'm married / single / divorced.)
| Masculine Singular | Feminine Singular | Plural (m & f) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| my | mon | ma | mes |
| your (tu) | ton | ta | tes |
| his/her/its | son | sa | ses |
| our | notre | notre | nos |
| your (vous) | votre | votre | vos |
| their | leur | leur | leurs |
Unlike English, French possessives agree with the thing possessed, not the person who possesses it. A man talking about his mother says "sa mère" (feminine, because mère is feminine). A woman talking about her father says "son père" (masculine, because père is masculine). Also: before a feminine noun starting with a vowel, use mon/ton/son instead of ma/ta/sa: mon amie (not ma amie).
| French | English |
|---|---|
| les cheveux blonds | blond hair |
| les cheveux bruns | brown hair |
| les cheveux noirs | black hair |
| les cheveux roux | red hair |
| les cheveux gris / blancs | gray / white hair |
| les cheveux courts / longs | short / long hair |
| les cheveux bouclĂŠs / frisĂŠs | curly hair |
| les cheveux raides / lisses | straight hair |
| chauve | bald |
Structure: Il/Elle a les cheveux + color + type.
Elle a les cheveux longs et bruns. (She has long brown hair.)
Il a les cheveux courts et bouclĂŠs. (He has short curly hair.)
| French | English |
|---|---|
| les yeux bleus | blue eyes |
| les yeux verts | green eyes |
| les yeux marron | brown eyes |
| les yeux noisette | hazel eyes |
| les yeux noirs | dark/black eyes |
| les yeux gris | gray eyes |
Most colors agree with the noun (bleu/bleue/bleus/bleues), but marron (brown â for eyes) and orange are invariable â they never change form. Les yeux marron (not marrons).
| French (m / f) | English |
|---|---|
| grand / grande | tall |
| petit / petite | short |
| mince | slim / thin |
| costaud / costaude | stocky / sturdy |
| fort / forte | strong / big (body) |
| beau / belle | handsome / beautiful |
| joli / jolie | pretty |
| jeune | young |
| âgÊ / âgÊe | elderly |
| Il/Elle porte des lunettes | He/She wears glasses |
| Il a une barbe / une moustache | He has a beard / mustache |
| French (m / f) | English | French (m / f) | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| gentil / gentille | kind / nice | mĂŠchant / mĂŠchante | mean |
| sympa(thique) | friendly / likable | antipathique | unfriendly |
| drĂ´le | funny | sĂŠrieux / sĂŠrieuse | serious |
| intelligent / intelligente | smart | bĂŞte | stupid (casual) |
| courageux / courageuse | brave | timide | shy |
| travailleur / travailleuse | hardworking | paresseux / paresseuse | lazy |
| gĂŠnĂŠreux / gĂŠnĂŠreuse | generous | avare / radin(e) | stingy |
| calme | calm | nerveux / nerveuse | nervous |
| optimiste | optimistic | pessimiste | pessimistic |
| patient / patiente | patient | impatient / impatiente | impatient |
In French, adjectives must agree in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) with the noun they describe.
| Default Pattern | Masculine Singular | Feminine Singular | Masculine Plural | Feminine Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Add -e for feminine | petit | petite | petits | petites |
| -eux â -euse | heureux | heureuse | heureux | heureuses |
| -er â -ère | premier | première | premiers | premières |
| -f â -ve | sportif | sportive | sportifs | sportives |
| -el â -elle | cruel | cruelle | cruels | cruelles |
| Invariable (ends in -e) | sympa | sympa | sympas | sympas |
These three common adjectives have special forms:
beau (beautiful): beau â bel (before vowel) â belle (f) â beaux (m pl) â belles (f pl)
nouveau (new): nouveau â nouvel â nouvelle â nouveaux â nouvelles
vieux (old): vieux â vieil â vieille â vieux â vieilles
The special "bel/nouvel/vieil" form is used before masculine nouns starting with a vowel: un bel homme, un vieil ami.
Most French adjectives go after the noun (unlike English):
un chat noir â a black cat (not "un noir chat")
une femme intelligente â an intelligent woman
un film intĂŠressant â an interesting movie
But some very common adjectives go before the noun (remember BANGS):
Beauty: beau, joli
Age: jeune, vieux, nouveau
Number: premier, deuxième, dernier
Goodness: bon, mauvais, gentil
Size: grand, petit, gros, long
un petit chat (a small cat) ¡ une belle maison (a beautiful house) ¡ un bon repas (a good meal)
1. How do you say "my mother" in French?
2. In QuĂŠbĂŠcois French, how do you say "my girlfriend"?
3. Where does the adjective go in "a tall man"?
4. What is the feminine form of "sportif"?
⌠French family vocabulary distinguishes masculine/feminine for every relation.
⌠In QuĂŠbec, "chum" = boyfriend and "blonde" = girlfriend â unique to Canadian French.
⌠Possessive adjectives (mon/ma/mes) agree with the thing possessed, not the owner.
⌠Adjectives agree in gender and number: add -e for feminine, -s for plural.
⌠Most adjectives go AFTER the noun â except BANGS (Beauty, Age, Number, Goodness, Size).
⌠Beau, nouveau, vieux have special forms before vowels: bel, nouvel, vieil.