c'est ma famille
c'est ma famille is the French way to say 'this is my family'.
Use this phrase to introduce or identify the people who make up your family. While c'est ma famille is a standard way to say 'this is my family', you can also use voici or voilà to mean 'here is' or 'this is/there is' when presenting people.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to 'it is my family'. c'est is a contraction of ce (this/it) and est (is), followed by ma famille (my family).
How does it change in a sentence?
In the phrase ma famille, the possessive adjective ma is used because famille is a feminine noun. The word ma specifically means 'my' in its feminine form.
Did you know?
- In the Latin root of famille, the word familia originally referred to the entire household, including servants and slaves, rather than just blood relatives.
- While c'est ma famille is grammatically perfect, a French person might more naturally say je vous présente ma famille (I present to you my family) when introducing them to a group.
- The word famille is often used in French to describe a 'family' of objects or similar items, such as a 'famille de produits' (a product range), not just people.
Examples in context
- C'est ma famille.This is my family.This sentence is useful for practicing the phrase c'est ma famille.Tatoeba #4479383 by mouche, translation #2648419 by CK
- Je vous présente ma famille.Allow me to introduce you to my family.
- Permettez-moi de vous présenter ma famille.Allow me to introduce my family to you.
- C'est ma famille, ils sont fantastiques !This is my family, they are fantastic!
- Regarde la photo, c'est ma famille.Look at the photo, this is my family.
Example conversation
Chloé shows Gabriel a picture on her phone.
- ChloéRegarde cette photo, c'est ma famille.Look at this photo, this is my family.
- GabrielIls ont l'air très sympathiques.They look very nice.
- ChloéOui, j'aime beaucoup passer du temps avec eux.Yes, I love spending time with them.
- GabrielC'est une très belle photo, Chloé.It is a very beautiful photo, Chloé.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries c'est, famille, ma, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
