père/pɛʁ/
noun / prop.n. · A1 · Frequency 147
nounmasculine
Meanings
father (parent)
Refers to a biological or legal father.
father (clergyman)
Refers to a priest in the Catholic Church or other Christian denominations.
Sr. (senior) (postnominal title used to indicate a father that shares the same name as the son)
Used to distinguish a father from a son with the same name.
Examples
Mon père prépare le dîner pour toute la famille.
My father is preparing dinner for the whole family.
Le père a célébré la messe dimanche matin.
The priest celebrated Mass on Sunday morning.
Jean Martin père a signé le contrat avant son fils.
Jean Martin Sr. signed the contract before his son.
Collocations
- père biologiquebiological father
- un père jésuitea Jesuit priest
Common mistakes
le père
un père
In French, when referring to a father in general, the indefinite article 'un' should be used instead of the definite article 'le'.
un père
le père
When referring to a specific priest, the definite article 'le' should be used instead of the indefinite article 'un'.
Related words
synonympapapapa, a child's father; also as form of address: dad, daddy
prop.n.masculine
Meanings
Father, male parent
Used to refer to a biological or social male parent, common in everyday language.
Father, person of the Holy Trinity
Specifically refers to God the Father in the Christian Holy Trinity, formal religious usage.
Father
Used as a title for priests in Catholicism or Christianity, common in formal religious contexts.
Examples
Père a laissé les clés sur la table avant de sortir.
Father left the keys on the table before going out.
Père, peux-tu venir voir mon dessin ?
Father, can you come and look at my drawing?
Dans cette prière, le Père est invoqué comme source de toute vie.
In this prayer, the Father is invoked as the source of all life.
Collocations
- père biologiquebiological father
- père catholiqueCatholic priest
- le Père éternelthe Eternal Father
Common mistakes
le Père
Père
The proper noun 'Père' as a title does not take an article.
un Père
le Père
When referring to God the Father in Christianity, the definite article 'le' should be used.
Related words
synonympapadad, father
synonympatriarchepatriarch
- antonymmèremother
nounmasculine
Meanings
father (parent)
Refers to a biological or legal father.
father (clergyman)
Refers to a priest in the Catholic Church or other Christian denominations.
Sr. (senior) (postnominal title used to indicate a father that shares the same name as the son)
Used to distinguish a father from a son with the same name.
Examples
Les pères de mes amis se réunissent chaque dimanche au parc.
My friends fathers meet in the park every Sunday.
Les pères de cette paroisse accueillent les visiteurs avec beaucoup de gentillesse.
The priests of this parish welcome visitors very kindly.
Dans les archives, les pères Martin sont distingués des fils Martin par leur date de naissance.
In the archives, the senior Martins are distinguished from the younger Martins by their dates of birth.