sœur
/sœʁ/feminine
The French word for sister is sœur.
sœur is a feminine noun used to refer to a woman or girl who has the same parents as another person.
Meaning: woman or girl having the same parents (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
To form the plural, add an 's' to the end to get sœurs. When speaking about a sister in conversation, French requires you to use a possessive adjective such as ma (my) or ta (your) instead of a definite article. For example, rather than asking 'How is the sister?', you would say 'Comment va ta sœur?'
How do you pronounce it?
/sœʁ/
Did you know?
- The expression sœur de lait refers to a 'milk sister' who is a woman who nursed from the same wet nurse as another person.
- The phrase sœurs jumelles is used specifically for twin sisters, and the word jumelles also means 'binoculars' in French.
- The spelling of sœur uses the œ ligature, a single character where the 'o' and 'e' are joined, which is less common in modern French than it once was.
Examples in context
- Et ta sœur ?And your sister?This sentence is useful for asking about someone's sister using sœur.Tatoeba #529634 by sacredceltic, translation #7357039 by Eccles17
- Tom a une sœur.Tom has a sister.This sentence shows how to state that someone has a sister using sœur.Tatoeba #5822122 by Yemana, translation #4493747 by CK
- J'y vis ma sœur.I saw my sister there.This sentence demonstrates using sœur when describing a past action.Tatoeba #1719038 by sacredceltic, translation #322293 by CK
- Je vous présente ma sœur.I would like to introduce you to my sister.
- Voici ma cadette, Sophie. Elle a 25 ans.This is my younger sister, Sophie. She is 25 years old.
- J'ai dîné avec ma sœur aînée hier soir.I had dinner with my elder sister last night.
- On sort ce soir, frangine ?Are we going out tonight, sis?
- 881 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their family members.
- EmmaEmma, tu as une sœur ?Emma, do you have a sister?
- LucasOui, ma sœur s'appelle Julie.Yes, my sister's name is Julie.
- EmmaLucas, est-ce que ta sœur est là ?Lucas, is your sister here?
- LucasNon, elle n'est pas avec moi.No, she is not with me.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sister” translations and entries sœur, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
