mère
/mɛʁ/feminine
The French word for mother is mère.
mère refers to a female human who gives birth to or parents a child. Related to this is the verb materner, which means to treat someone as a mother would be expected to.
Meaning: female (human) who gives birth to or parents a child (noun)
Which one should you use?
While mère is the more formal and biologically-oriented term, maman is used affectionately by children or within families, similar to saying 'mom' or 'mommy' in English.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
maman is the common informal and affectionate way to say 'mom' or 'mum'. You can also use the phrase ma maman as a term of endearment meaning 'my mommy'.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
Because mère is a feminine noun, you must use the feminine possessive adjective ma (as in ma mère) rather than the masculine mon.
How do you pronounce it?
/mɛʁ/
Did you know?
- In some French contexts, mère can be used to describe the original or primary source of something, such as a carte mère which is a 'motherboard' in a computer.
- In French, you can use the word maternelle to describe something related to a mother, but it is most commonly used to refer to 'nursery school' or 'kindergarten' levels.
- In French, the phrase mère courage is a famous literary archetype, originating from Bertolt Brecht's play, used to describe a person who survives through extreme hardship.
Examples in context
- C'est ta mère ?Is that your mother?This sentence is useful for asking if someone is a mother using mère.Tatoeba #7372259 by tras, translation #1869241 by CM
- Écoute ta mère !Listen to your mother!This sentence is useful for telling someone to listen to their mother using mère.Tatoeba #1778561 by sacredceltic, translation #1765792 by sundown
- Où est ta mère ?Where's your mother?This sentence is useful for asking the location of a mother using mère.Tatoeba #3628063 by fleur74, translation #2254688 by CK
- Je voudrais remercier ma mère pour son soutien constant.I would like to thank my mother for her constant support.
- Maman, peux-tu m'aider avec mes devoirs s'il te plaît?Mom, can you help me with my homework, please?
- 1366 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their families at a cafe.
- LucasEst-ce que ta mère est venue ?Did your mother come?
- EmmaOui, ma mère est déjà là.Yes, my mother is already here.
- LucasElle est très élégante aujourd'hui.She is very elegant today.
- EmmaMerci, elle est très contente de te voir.Thank you, she is very happy to see you.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “mother” translations and entries mère, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
