né en
The French phrase for "born in" is né en.
The choice of the following preposition depends on whether you are referring to a year, a country or a city.
How does it change in a sentence?
The forms must agree in gender and number with the person being discussed. A man uses né, while a woman uses née. For a group of men or a mixed group, use nés and for a group of women, use nées. The preposition following the word also changes based on the location. Use en for years and feminine countries. Use à when referring to a specific city. If the country is masculine, use au instead of en and if the country name is plural, use aux.
Did you know?
- French has a specific word, néant, derived from the same root as né, which means 'nothingness' or 'void', effectively describing the state before one is born.
- In French genealogy or formal documents, you might see née used to introduce a woman's maiden name, similar to how English uses 'born'.
- The French word né shares a deep ancient root with the English word 'kind', as both derive from the Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'to beget' or 'to give birth'.
Examples in context
- Je suis né en 1972.I was born in 1972.This sentence shows how to use né en with a year.Tatoeba #688909 by sysko, translation #689018 by bferrant
- Je suis né en 1979.I was born in 1979.Tatoeba #691112 by U2FS, translation #252438 by CK
- Je suis né en 1960.I was born in 1960.Tatoeba #940265 by U2FS, translation #252429 by CK
- Je suis née à Paris.I was born in Paris.
- J'ai vu le jour à Marseille.I was born in Marseille.
- Je suis née dans un petit village.I was born in a small village.
- Je suis né(e) en Belgique.I was born in Belgium.
- 44 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hugo and Léa are talking about their family histories.
- HugoMon grand-père est né en Italie.My grandfather was born in Italy.
- LéaC'est super ! Et toi ?That's great! And you?
- HugoJe suis né en France, à Lyon.I was born in France, in Lyon.
- LéaMoi, je suis née au Canada.Me, I was born in Canada.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries en, né, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
