Les Étapes de la Vie — French life stages vocabulary | Vocabulary
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From birth to old age — talking about life. This French from birth old age talking life vocabulary list gives you 22 essential words — from la naissance (birth) to l’avenir (the future) — each with audio and its English translation. Use it to build the French words you need to talk about from birth old age talking life, then test yourself with the games below.
Les Étapes de la Vie
From birth to old age — talking about life
Les âges de la vie 👶
Les grands moments 🎓
Le temps qui passe ⏳
🎬 The 20-second version
5 quick questions on « Les Étapes de la Vie » — guess before the reveal. Practise with the free games → Open this short as a page — transcript included →
📘 Talking about a life (DELF-friendly)
- A frequent speaking / DELF theme — narrate a life or your own path. Use the passé composé + imparfait for the story.
- The arc: naître → grandir → faire ses études → travailler → se marier → avoir des enfants → prendre sa retraite → vieillir.
- Prendre sa retraite = to retire; être à la retraite = to be retired. A big French topic (the pension debates!).
- Ages: un bébé, un enfant, un ado(lescent), un adulte, une personne âgée. « Le troisième âge » = old age (polite).
- Reflect with quand j’étais petit(e)… (when I was little) + imperfect — the classic storytelling opener.
🔊 Useful phrases
🔊 Example sentences
✍️ Practice
childhood = l’___ (first stage)
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enfance
to retire = prendre sa ___ (end of career)
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retraite
to grow up = ___ (childhood verb)
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grandir
🎮 Practise this with games
🎯 More practice — vocabulary recall — both directions
How do you say « birth »? (recall)
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la naissance
What does « l’adolescence » mean? (recall)
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adolescence
How do you say « old age »? (recall)
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la vieillesse
What does « un adolescent / ado » mean? (recall)
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a teenager
How do you say « to grow up »? (recall)
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grandir
What does « le premier emploi » mean? (recall)
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first job
How do you say « to have children »? (recall)
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avoir des enfants
What does « la retraite » mean? (recall)
Show answer
retirement
Go further: The past tenses — telling life stories.
French from birth old age talking life vocabulary — FAQ
How do you say common from birth old age talking life words in French?
For example: birth is « la naissance », childhood is « l’enfance », adolescence is « l’adolescence ». The full list above has 22 French from birth old age talking life words, each with audio so you can hear the pronunciation.
What are the most useful French from birth old age talking life words to learn first?
Start with the basics: la naissance (birth), l’enfance (childhood), l’adolescence (adolescence), l’âge adulte (adulthood), la vieillesse (old age), un bébé (a baby). Master these core French words before moving on to the rest of the list.
How can I memorise French from birth old age talking life vocabulary?
Learn the words in small themed groups, say each one out loud with the audio, and use it in a short sentence about your own life. Spaced repetition is what makes new vocabulary stick — see our guide to learning French vocabulary that sticks.
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