French Family Words: Mother, Father, and Relatives
Updated July 2, 2026
The core French family words are la mère for mother and le père for father, with the affectionate maman and papa for mum and dad. Here are the essential family terms with their articles.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| la mère | motheraffectionate: maman (mum) |
| le père | fatheraffectionate: papa (dad) |
| le frère | brother |
| la sœur | sister |
| la grand-mère | grandmotheraffectionate: mamie |
| le grand-père | grandfatheraffectionate: papi |
| le fils | sonthe final s is pronounced |
| la fille | daughter, also girl |
| l'oncle | uncle |
| la tante | aunt |
| le cousin | cousin (male)la cousine for a female |
Want these to stick? Hear them in real context: LingoBinge surfaces words like these while you watch French shows on Netflix, and saves them for spaced review.
Hear them in: The Hook Up Plan, Notre-Dame.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the French word for mum and dad?
- The affectionate words are maman for mum and papa for dad, while the neutral words are la mère (mother) and le père (father).
More French vocabulary guides
Back to learning French.