frère et sœur
masculine, plural
The English word 'sibling' can be translated into French as frère et sœur. Wiktionary also lists frœur and adelphe.
Meaning: person who shares same parents (noun)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| frère et sœur | masculine, plural | |
| frœur | /fʁœʁ/ | |
| adelphe | /a.dɛlf/ | feminine, masculine |
| germain | /ʒɛʁ.mɛ̃/ | masculine |
| sibling | masculine | |
| frères et sœurs | feminine, masculine, plural |
In everyday spoken and written French, the most natural way to express the concept of 'siblings' is to use the phrase frères et sœurs (brothers and sisters) rather than a single noun.
Which one should you use?
While English has the gender-neutral noun 'sibling', French speakers almost always default to the gender-inclusive plural frères et sœurs to refer to one's siblings.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The term adelphe is highly formal, technical or literary and is rarely used in casual conversation. In contrast, if you want to refer to a brother or sister informally, you can use frangin for brother and frangine for sister.
Did you know?
- The word germain can describe a full sibling, coming from the Latin germānus meaning 'from the same germ' or 'seed'.
- The adjective germain is used in French to indicate that siblings share the same parents, as in the phrase frère germain.
Examples in context
- Tom a un seul adelphe.Tom has one sibling.This sentence shows how to use adelphe to mean 'sibling'.Tatoeba #13866757 by Rovo, translation #13473180 by rul
- C'est le plus jeune de mes frères et sœurs.He's my youngest sibling.This sentence uses frères et sœurs to refer to 'siblings'.Tatoeba #8852502 by lbdx, translation #8358876 by shekitten
- J'adore sortir avec mon frangin.I love hanging out with my brother.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Gabriel and Emma are talking about their families.
- GabrielEst-ce que tu as un frère et sœur ?Do you have a sibling?
- EmmaOui, j'ai une sœur aînée.Yes, I have an older sister.
- GabrielMoi, je suis fils unique.Me, I am an only child.
- EmmaC'est différent pour Gabriel alors.That's different for Gabriel then.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sibling” translations and entries frœur, adelphe, germain, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries adelphe, et, frère, germain, sœur, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
