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French family words for an only child and a large family

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Describe family size in French with enfant unique, famille nombreuse and fratrie. Compare the number of siblings with the number of children.

In short

Say Je suis enfant unique to say you are an only child. Une famille nombreuse is a large family with many children. Une fratrie is a group of siblings, including the person speaking: Nous sommes quatre enfants means you have three siblings, rather than four.

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn

Four adult siblings sitting together on a garden bench.
Count the whole sibling group or just the speaker’s brothers and sisters. Illustration: Atelier

Talking about family size involves more than one possible count. You might count your brothers and sisters, count all the children including yourself, or describe the relatives at a gathering. Those totals can differ. Choose a phrase that makes clear who belongs in the number.

No siblings

un enfant uniqueman only childSam est enfant unique.
une enfant uniquefan only childInès est enfant unique.
un fils uniqueman only son / an only child when describing oneselfJe suis fils unique : je n’ai pas de frère ni de sœur.
une fille uniquefan only daughter / an only child when describing oneselfJe suis fille unique : je n’ai pas de frère ni de sœur.

Counting the children

une fratriefa sibling groupCette fratrie compte quatre enfants.
des frères et sœurspluralsiblingsJ’ai trois frères et sœurs.
trois enfantspluralthree childrenMes parents ont trois enfants.
une famille nombreusefa large family with many childrenIls ont cinq enfants : c’est une famille nombreuse.

Wider family and home

une grande famillefa big familyNous sommes nombreux à la fête : j’ai une grande famille.
la famille prochefclose familyMa famille proche vient dimanche.
la famille élargiefextended familyLa famille élargie comprend aussi mes oncles et mes cousins.
un foyerma household / a homeTrois personnes vivent dans ce foyer.

Count yourself in nous sommes quatre enfants

Imagine that you have one brother and two sisters. J’ai un frère et deux sœurs gives three siblings. Nous sommes quatre enfants adds you to that sibling group. The same family can therefore be described with three in one sentence and four in another. Neither sentence counts parents, grandparents or cousins.

Two ways to describe one sibling group
What the speaker saysSiblings besides the speakerChildren including the speaker
Je suis enfant unique.01
J’ai une sœur.12
J’ai un frère et une sœur.23
J’ai deux frères et une sœur.34

A big gathering is not the same as many children

Une famille nombreuse points to a family with many children. Une grande famille is broader and can describe a large extended family. A person can be an only child and still have many cousins, aunts and uncles. Likewise, the number of people living in a foyer is not necessarily the number of siblings: an adult child may live elsewhere.

Question 1No account needed
You have two sisters and one brother. How many children are in your sibling group, including you?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Four. Your three siblings plus you make four children in the fratrie.

Question 2No account needed
Which sentence states that you have no siblings?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Je suis enfant unique.. Enfant unique identifies an only child; the other sentences describe wider family facts.

Question 3No account needed
Can an only child have many cousins?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Yes, cousins are not siblings.. Being an only child concerns brothers and sisters, rather than the number of cousins.

For a first introduction, a precise count is often easiest: J’ai deux sœurs or Nous sommes trois enfants. Add famille nombreuse when it helps describe the family as a whole. These expressions describe size; they do not assign a personality or a way of life to the people involved.

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