ton père
The phrase 'your father' in French is translated as ton père.
The phrase refers to the male parent of the person being spoken to.
Which one should you use?
The form ton père is used when speaking to someone you address as 'tu', such as friends, family or children.
How does it change in a sentence?
The possessive adjective ton must agree with the gender of the noun père, which is masculine. The formal version votre père is used for both formal singular and plural address.
When do people say it?
While not a direct translation of 'your father', the term Papa is a common and affectionate way for children to address their own father directly.
Did you know?
- While 'père' is the standard word, using ton daron is a very common way to say 'your old man' in modern French street slang.
- In some traditional French contexts, a child might refer to their father as le père rather than mon père when speaking to family members.
- The word père shares a common distant ancestor with the English word 'father' and the Sanskrit word 'pitṛ', tracing back to the Proto-Indo-European root *ph₂tḗr.
Examples in context
- Et ton père ?How about your father?Tatoeba #898470 by U2FS, translation #898471 by U2FS
- Il est ton père.He's your father.Tatoeba #1109966 by sacredceltic, translation #1109900 by Scott
- Tom est ton père.Tom is your father.Tatoeba #7415207 by lbdx, translation #2273647 by CK
- Monsieur Dupont, comment se porte votre père?Mr. Dupont, how is your father doing?
- Comment va ton père?How is your father?
- Papa, tu viens me chercher à l'école aujourd'hui?Dad, are you picking me up from school today?
- 176 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hugo and Chloé are talking about their family members.
- HugoTon père est très gentil.Your father is very kind.
- ChloéMerci, c'est vrai.Thank you, it's true.
- HugoEst-ce que ton père travaille ici ?Does your father work here?
- ChloéNon, il travaille à Lyon.No, he works in Lyon.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries père, ton, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
