cousine
/ku.zin/
The French word for girl cousin is cousine.
The term refers to a female relative who is the daughter of one's aunt or uncle.
Which one should you use?
French distinguishes between genders for this relative: use cousin to refer to a male cousin and cousine to refer to a female cousin.
How does it change in a sentence?
When you want to say 'my cousin' in the feminine sense, you must use the feminine possessive adjective ma (as in ma cousine) rather than the masculine mon.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has two syllables and is pronounced /ku.zin/.
Did you know?
- In certain French-speaking African cultures, calling a woman ma cousine is a common way to show respect and warmth to a female stranger or acquaintance.
- If a group consists of ten cousines and only one cousin, the entire group is referred to using the masculine plural form cousins.
- Historically, the word cousine shared a root with the word 'cousin' in English, but in very old French, it could also be used to refer to a woman of noble or high status.
Examples in context
- Ma cousine habite à Lyon.My cousin lives in Lyon.
- Je cherche ma cousine dans la foule.I am looking for my cousin in the crowd.
- Elle est ma cousine préférée.She is my favorite cousin.
Example conversation
Hugo and Manon are looking at old family photos.
- ManonQui est cette fille sur la photo ?Who is this girl in the photo?
- HugoC'est ma cousine, elle est très drôle.It's my cousin, she is very funny.
- ManonElle a l'air très sympathique.She looks very nice.
- HugoOui, je l'adore.Yes, I love her.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry cousine, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
