maman
/ma.mɑ̃/feminine
ma is the French word for 'my' used with feminine nouns.
ma is a possessive adjective used to indicate that a feminine singular noun belongs to the speaker.
Meaning: colloquial form of mother (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
While ma is the standard possessive adjective for feminine singular nouns, it changes to mon if the following feminine noun begins with a vowel to ensure smooth pronunciation. For plural nouns, both masculine and feminine forms use mes.
How do you pronounce it?
/ma.mɑ̃/
Did you know?
- The word maman is a linguistic 'nursery' word, meaning it originated from the simplified sounds a baby can easily make rather than a formal root.
- It is common in France for adult children to continue calling their mother maman well into adulthood, whereas English speakers often switch to 'mom' or 'mother'.
- The word maman can be used as a gentle term of endearment by a husband toward his wife when speaking to their children.
Examples in context
- Maman, je suis le maître du monde !Made if, Ma! Top of the world!This sentence is useful for seeing maman used in an exclamation.Tatoeba #10651031 by Igider, translation #10651032 by Igider
- Ma mère est venue me rendre visite hier.My mother came to visit me yesterday.
- Mon amie est gentille.My (female) friend is kind.
Example conversation
Manon and Hugo are in the kitchen.
- ManonHugo, où est maman ?Hugo, where is mom?
- HugoElle est au jardin.She is in the garden.
- ManonJe dois lui parler.I need to talk to her.
- HugoVa la voir dehors.Go see her outside.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “ma” translations and entries maman, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries maman, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
