demi-frère
/də.mi.fʁɛʁ/masculine
The French phrase for "half brother" is demi-frère.
demi-frère is a masculine noun used to refer to a male half-sibling.
Meaning: male half-sibling (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The term is a compound of demi (half) and frère (brother).
How does it change in a sentence?
While demi-frère is the masculine form, the feminine form for a half-sister is demi-sœur.
How do you pronounce it?
/də.mi.fʁɛʁ/. The word has 3 syllables.
Did you know?
- In certain traditional French families, a half-brother from a father's second marriage might be referred to as a frère utérin if they share a mother, or frère consanguin if they share a father.
- The adjective demi is unique because it is invariable when placed before a noun to form a compound. Unlike most French adjectives, you would never write demis-frères even if you were discussing multiple half-brothers.
- French uses the same prefix demi for half-siblings as it does for a 'half-bottle' of wine, known as a demi-bouteille.
Examples in context
- Il est mon demi-frère.He's my half-brother.This sentence is useful for identifying a person as your demi-frère.Tatoeba #1858258 by sacredceltic, translation #1855206 by Spamster
- Mon demi-frère est plus âgé que moi.My half brother is older than me.
- J'ai un demi-frère qui habite à Lyon.I have a half brother who lives in Lyon.
- Mon demi-frère est très sympathique.My half brother is very friendly.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Lucas are talking about their family at a cafe.
- EmmaEst-ce que tu as des frères ?Do you have any brothers?
- LucasOui, j'ai un demi-frère.Yes, I have a half brother.
- EmmaTu t'entends bien avec ton demi-frère ?Do you get along well with your half brother?
- LucasOui, nous sommes très proches.Yes, we are very close.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “half brother” translations and entries demi-frère, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
