French Phrases: Basic French nouns referring to people

Basic nouns referring to people

The following are very generic words for people:

homme	ɔm	man
femme	fam	woman
garçon	gaʁsõ	boy, lad
fille	fij	girl
adulte	adylt	adult
enfant	ɑ̃fɑ̃	child
bébé	bebe	baby
tout petit	tupti	small child, toddler
adolescent	adolɛsɑ̃	teenager
personne1	pɛʁsɔn	person
personne1 âgée	pɛʁsɔn aʒe	elderly person

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Notes:
1. The word personne is always gramatically feminine even when it refers to a male: une personne âgée.

Family members and relationships

The following refer to different family members or people with a particular relationship to you in French:

ami	ami	friend (male)
amie	ami	friend (female)
père1	pɛʁ	father, dad
mère1	mɛʁ	mother, mum
fils	fis	son
fille	fij	daughter
frère	fʁɛʁ	brother
soeur	sœʁ	sister
mari	maʁi	husband
femme	fɛm	wife
partenaire	paʁtənɛʁ	partner
parent	paʁɑ̃	relative
parents	paʁɑ̃	parents
oncle	õkl	uncle
tante	tɑ̃t	aunt, auntie
grand-père	gʁɑ̃pɛʁ	grandfather
grand-papa	gʁɑ̃papa	grandpa, grandad
grand-mère	gʁɑ̃mɛʁ	grandmother
grand-maman	gʁɑ̃mamɑ̃	grandma
grands-parents	gʁɑ̃paʁɑ̃	grandparents
copain	kopæ̃	friend, mate (male); boyfriend
copine	kopin	friend, mate (female); girlfriend
copine normale (Informal)	kopin nɔʁmal	female friend (to distinguish from 'girlfriend')
cop (Informal)	kɔp	boyfriend
petit ami	pətitami	boyfriend
petite amie	pətitami	girlfriend
fiancé	fjɑ̃se	fiancé
fiancée	fjɑ̃se	fiancée
collègue	kɔlɛg	colleague

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Notes:
1. The words père and mère are a little less formal-sounding in French than father and mother in English, so that they can also be the equivalent of 'dad' and 'mum' in English.

Saying my... in French

To say my... in French, you use the word mon before the word for a male person, or ma before the word for a female person. In the plural, the word is mes. However, if a singular French word begins with a vowel, then mon is always used, and the final -n is pronounced. Here are some examples:

mon frère	mõ fʁɛʁ	my brother
ma soeur	ma sœʁ	my sister
mon père1	mõ pɛʁ	my father, my dad
ma mère1	ma mɛʁ	my mother, my mum
mes parents	me paʁɑ̃	my parents
mon cousin	mõ kuzæ̃	my (male) cousin
ma cousine	ma kuzin	my (female) cousin
un ami	æ̃ nami	a (male) friend
mon ami	mõ nami	my (male) friend
une amie	yn ami	a (female) friend
mon amie	mõ nami	my (female) friend
mes amis	me zami	my friends

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