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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 👶

la naissancebirth
l’enfancechildhood
l’adolescenceadolescence
l’âge adulteadulthood
la vieillesseold age
un bébéa baby
un(e) adolescent(e) / adoa teenager
une personne âgéean elderly person

Les grands moments 🎓

grandirto grow up
les étudesstudies
le premier emploifirst job
se marierto get married
avoir des enfantsto have children
déménagerto move house
la retraiteretirement
vieillirto grow old

Le temps qui passe ⏳

naîtreto be born
mourirto die
une générationa generation
les souvenirsmemories
le passéthe past
l’avenirthe future
📚 Free French lessons at learnfrench.co

🎬 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

Quand j’étais enfant, j’habitais à la campagne.When I was a child, I lived in the countryside.
Elle a grandi à Paris.She grew up in Paris.
Ils se sont mariés à trente ans.They got married at thirty.
Mon grand-père est à la retraite.My grandfather is retired.

🔊 Example sentences

Il a fait ses études à Lyon, puis il a déménagé.He studied in Lyon, then he moved.
Avec l’âge, on devient plus sage.With age, you become wiser.
Elle a eu son premier enfant à trente-deux ans.She had her first child at thirty-two.

✍️ 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)

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retirement

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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