Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| époux | /e.pu/ | masculine |
| épouse | /e.puz/ | feminine |
The terms époux and épouse refer to a person in a marriage or marital relationship. While they can be translated generally as 'spouse', they are specifically the formal terms used to denote a 'husband' and 'wife' respectively.
Which one should you use?
While both can mean 'spouse', époux is used when referring to a husband and épouse is used when referring to a wife.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The terms époux and épouse are formal. In everyday conversation, people rarely use these words, preferring mari for husband and femme for wife. In legal or administrative contexts, the term conjoint or conjointe is often used instead of époux to refer to a spouse or partner.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Quebec, mon chum is a colloquial way to say 'my boyfriend' and ma blonde is a colloquial way to say 'my girlfriend'.
How does it change in a sentence?
The masculine plural form of époux is also époux, which is used to mean 'spouses'.
How do you pronounce it?
/e.pu/
When do people say it?
In a loving relationship, partners may use the affectionate term chéri for 'darling'.
Did you know?
- The word époux is a linguistic descendant of the word for 'promised', coming from the Latin spōnsus.
- While femme is the common word for 'wife', it is also the general word for 'woman' in French.
- In French legal documents, you will often see conjoint used instead of époux to include partners who are not formally married.
Examples in context
- Mary est mon épouse.Mary is my spouse.This sentence uses épouse to identify someone as a spouse.Tatoeba #11792086 by Zahia_Ntmazirt, translation #9206591 by Nylez
- Veux-tu être mon épouse ?Would you like to be my spouse?This sentence uses épouse in a proposal context.Tatoeba #13414774 by lbdx, translation #8232302 by DonTae
- C'est une bonne épouse. Elle est fidèle.She's a good spouse. She's faithful.This sentence uses épouse to describe someone's character as a spouse.Tatoeba #8553134 by Aiji, translation #1126330 by AlanF_US
- Je vous présente mon époux, Jean.Allow me to introduce you to my husband, Jean.
- L'épouse de Monsieur Dupont est médecin.Mr. Dupont's wife is a doctor.
- Je vais dîner avec ma femme ce soir.I'm having dinner with my wife tonight.
- Mon mari est fan de football.My husband is a football fan.
- 9 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Gabriel and Léa are filling out a legal form together.
- GabrielJe dois indiquer le nom de mon époux ici.I have to put my spouse's name here.
- LéaOui, c'est la case pour le conjoint.Yes, that is the box for the partner.
- GabrielMon époux s'appelle Gabriel.My spouse's name is Gabriel.
- LéaC'est parfait, le formulaire est maintenant complet.That's perfect, the form is now complete.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “spouse” translations and entries époux, épouse, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries épouse, époux, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
