Basic Phrases for Talking About Your Family｜French Self-Introduction Expressions

In conversations with new acquaintances or friends, you will often have the chance to talk about your family structure or your relationship with family members.

As part of a self-introduction, being able to mention how many siblings you have, or to describe your parents’ jobs and hobbies, helps build closer connections.

In this lesson, I will explain the basic expressions for talking about family in French, useful phrases for asking about family members, and how to introduce details such as professions and ages.

Dialogue

A

Tu as des frères ou des sœurs ?
(Do you have any brothers or sisters?)

B

Oui, j’ai deux frères et une sœur. Et toi ?
(Yes, I have two brothers and one sister. And you?)

A

Moi, je suis fils unique.
(I’m an only child.)

B

Tes parents habitent à Paris ?
(Do your parents live in Paris?)

A

Non, ils habitent à Lyon.
(No, they live in Lyon.)

B

Tu leur rends souvent visite ?
(Do you visit them often?)

A

Oui, j’y vais une fois par mois.
(Yes, I go there once a month.)

Grammar and Expression Points

1. Using avoir + noun to express “to have”

In French, the verb avoir (to have) is used to ask or talk about family members. “Tu as ～ ?” corresponds to English “Do you have ～?”

In “Tu as des frères ou des sœurs ?,” des is the plural indefinite article, meaning “some” (unspecified number).

When answering, use “number + noun”:

2. Using être + adjective: fils unique / fille unique

“Fils unique” (only son) and “fille unique” (only daughter) are expressions meaning “only child.”

It is incorrect to say “Je suis un fils unique.” — no article should be used.

3. “Habiter à + place” for “to live in …”

The verb habiter (to live) is followed by a location. For city names, use the preposition à:

For country names, the preposition changes depending on gender and number:

4. Visiting Someone: rendre visite à + person

The expression “rendre visite à + person” means “to visit someone.”

The indirect object pronoun (leur) is placed before the verb (rends). Frequency adverbs such as souvent (often) are usually placed after the verb.

Summary

泉（Izumi）

Author

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