The French vocabulary for relationships covers terms for family members, romantic partners, friends, and other social connections. It reflects the importance of interpersonal bonds in French culture and includes words for both formal and informal relationships.
- Family members: mère, père, frère, sœur, oncle, tante, cousin, cousine
- Romantic partners: petit ami/petite amie, mari, femme, partenaire
- Friends and acquaintances: ami, amie, copain, copine, collègue
- Other connections: voisin (neighbor), belle-mère (mother-in-law/stepmother), beau-père (father-in-law/stepfather)
French relationship terms often have gendered forms, and the language distinguishes between different types of bonds, such as legal (mari/femme) and informal (copain/copine) partnerships.
mère, frère, and oncle are family members; ami is friend, voisin is neighbor.
'petit ami' and 'petite amie' mean 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend.'
The female cousin is 'cousine.'
'belle-mère' and 'beau-père' refer to in-laws; 'cousin' and 'voisin' do not.
The French word for neighbor is 'voisin.'