belle-mère
/bɛl.mɛʁ/feminine
The English word 'stepmother' is belle-mère in French. Wiktionary also lists marâtre.
Meaning: wife of one's biological father, not one's biological mother (noun)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| belle-mère | /bɛl.mɛʁ/ | feminine |
| marâtre | /ma.ʁatʁ/ /ma.ʁɑtʁ/ |
pejorative |
belle-mère refers to the wife of one's biological father who is not one's biological mother. Note that this same term is also used to mean 'mother-in-law'.
What does it mean word for word?
The term belle-mère is composed of belle (beautiful) and mère (mother).
Which one should you use?
belle-mère is the standard, neutral term used for both a stepmother and a mother-in-law. In contrast, marâtre is a highly pejorative term specifically used to imply that a stepmother is cruel or wicked.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of belle-mère is belles-mères, where both the adjective and the noun take an 's'. The masculine counterpart to belle-mère is beau-père, which means 'stepfather'.
How do you pronounce it?
belle-mère is pronounced /bɛl.mɛʁ/ and consists of 2 syllables.
Did you know?
- Unlike in English, where 'step-' is a prefix added to various relatives, French uses the adjective beau or belle (beautiful) to categorize almost all in-law and step-relationships.
- The term marâtre has become so strongly associated with evil that in modern French, it can be used as a general insult for any cruel woman, regardless of whether she is actually a stepmother.
- Because belle-mère and beau-père are used for both in-laws and stepparents, French speakers often use the phrases mère du conjoint or femme du père to avoid ambiguity.
Examples in context
- Marie a une marâtre.Mary has a stepmother.This sentence shows how to use the pejorative form marâtre.Tatoeba #5236473 by sicerabibax, translation #6330760 by carlosalberto
- Tu vas téléphoner à ta belle-mère.You're going to call your stepmother.This sentence uses the neutral form belle-mère.Tatoeba #4214473 by Amastan, translation #6708568 by AlanF_US
- C'est une très mauvaise belle-mère.She's a terrible stepmother.Tatoeba #11611499 by Amastan, translation #8319280 by Amastan
- J'ai rencontré ma belle-mère pour la première fois aujourd'hui.I met my stepmother for the first time today.
- La marâtre cruelle de Cendrillon.Cinderella's cruel stepmother.
- 12 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Manon and Nathan are talking about Manon's family.
- ManonMa belle-mère habite à Lyon.My stepmother lives in Lyon.
- NathanEst-ce qu'elle est sympa ?Is she nice?
- ManonOui, elle est très gentille avec moi.Yes, she is very kind to me.
- NathanC'est une bonne chose.That is a good thing.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “stepmother” translations and entries belle-mère, marâtre, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
