Let's Practice...
Not every family is the same. Do you have uncles or aunts and cousins? What about a stepfather or stepsister? There are words for all these folks in French. In the slide show below, listen to the French term and then click the Show Me button to see the English translation.
In French, to talk about family members who are related to you through marriage you use beau ou belle, the words for good looking or pretty. That means the same term, for example belle-mère, is used for both mother-in-law and stepmother. Its meaning depends on the context.
The French word for daughter is also the same as the word for girl: fille.
In the next activity, match each description of a family member with the correct answer. You will see a sentence like this:
For example:
Le père de mon père est…
Which family word correctly completes the sentence? Who is the father of your father
Mon grand-père. The father of your father is your grandfather!
If you could figure out those answers, you are ready to listen to a few people talk about their family in French.
Question
Who is la fille de ta belle-mère? the daughter of your stepmother?
Ta belle-soeur. Your stepsister.
