sœur
/sœʁ/feminine
The English word sister is translated into French as sœur.
The word sœur refers to a woman or girl having the same parents. When you are referring to your own sister, you should use the possessive adjective ma (my) instead of the definite article la (the), so you would say ma sœur.
Meaning: woman or girl having the same parents (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of sœur is sœurs.
How do you pronounce it?
/sœʁ/
Did you know?
- When talking about the 'sister city' program, French uses the term ville jumelée, meaning 'twinned city', rather than using the word sœur.
- The phrase ma sœur can be used as a term of endearment or solidarity between close female friends, regardless of biological relation.
- The spelling of sœur uses the ligature œ, where the 'o' and 'e' are joined into one character.
Examples in context
- Et ta sœur ?And your sister?Tatoeba #529634 by sacredceltic, translation #7357039 by Eccles17
- Tom a une sœur.Tom has a sister.Tatoeba #5822122 by Yemana, translation #4493747 by CK
- J'y vis ma sœur.I saw my sister there.Tatoeba #1719038 by sacredceltic, translation #322293 by CK
- Je suis tellement reconnaissant d'avoir une sœur aussi aimante.I am truly grateful to have such a loving sister.
- Ma sœur cadette est très douée en danse.My younger sister is very talented in dancing.
- J'ai tellement de chance d'avoir une sœurette aussi drôle.I'm so lucky to have such a funny little sister.
- 881 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Nathan and Léa are talking about their families at a cafe.
- NathanLéa, tu as une sœur ?Léa, do you have a sister?
- LéaOui, j'ai une sœur cadette.Yes, I have a younger sister.
- NathanElle habite avec toi ?Does she live with you?
- LéaNon, ma sœur habite à Lyon.No, my sister lives in Lyon.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sister” translations and entries sœur, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
