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Les Fêtes de Famille — French celebrations vocabulary | Vocabulary

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Weddings, birthdays and celebrations. This French weddings birthdays celebrations vocabulary list gives you 22 essential words — from un anniversaire (a birthday) to souffler les bougies (to blow out the candles) — each with audio and its English translation. Use it to build the French words you need to talk about weddings birthdays celebrations, then test yourself with the games below.

Les Fêtes de Famille

Weddings, birthdays and celebrations

Les événements 🎉

un anniversairea birthday
un mariagea wedding
un baptêmea christening
des fiançaillesan engagement
une fêtea party
un enterrementa funeral
une naissancea birth
un déménagementa house-warming move

Les gens & objets 🎁

les invitésthe guests
un cadeaua gift
une cartea card
un gâteaua cake
les bougiesthe candles
un toasta toast
les mariésthe newlyweds
un faire-partan announcement card

Les mots magiques 🥂

Joyeux anniversaire !Happy birthday!
Félicitations !Congratulations!
Santé ! / Tchin !Cheers!
Tous mes vœuxall my best wishes
fêter / célébrerto celebrate
souffler les bougiesto blow out the candles
📚 Free French lessons at learnfrench.co

🎬 The 20-second version

5 quick questions on « Les Fêtes de Famille » — guess before the reveal. Practise with the free games → Open this short as a page — transcript included →

📘 Celebrating with the French

  • The core verb is fêter (to celebrate): on fête l’anniversaire de Léa. Also célébrer (more formal).
  • Fixed greetings — learn as blocks: Joyeux anniversaire !, Félicitations ! (for success/weddings), Tous mes vœux.
  • The birthday ritual: souffler les bougies (blow out the candles) after « Joyeux anniversaire » (sung to the same tune!).
  • A toast: raise your glass and say « Santé ! » or « Tchin-tchin ! » — and look people in the eye!
  • Weddings send a faire-part (announcement card); guests bring un cadeau or contribute to la liste de mariage.

🔊 Useful phrases

On fête l’anniversaire de ma sœur.We’re celebrating my sister’s birthday.
Félicitations pour votre mariage !Congratulations on your wedding!
Souffle les bougies et fais un vœu !Blow out the candles and make a wish!
Santé, tout le monde !Cheers, everyone!

🔊 Example sentences

J’ai offert un cadeau aux mariés.I gave the newlyweds a gift.
Tous les invités ont chanté.All the guests sang.
On lève nos verres : à la vôtre !Let’s raise our glasses: to you!

✍️ Practice

Happy birthday! = Joyeux ___ ! (celebration)

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anniversaire

Congratulations! = ___ ! (for success)

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Félicitations

to blow out the candles = ___ les bougies (birthday ritual)

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souffler

🎮 Practise this with games

🎯 More practice — vocabulary recall — both directions

How do you say « a birthday »? (recall)

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un anniversaire

What does « un baptême » mean? (recall)

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a christening

How do you say « a party »? (recall)

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une fête

What does « une naissance » mean? (recall)

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a birth

How do you say « the guests »? (recall)

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les invités

What does « une carte » mean? (recall)

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a card

How do you say « the candles »? (recall)

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les bougies

What does « les mariés » mean? (recall)

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the newlyweds

French weddings birthdays celebrations vocabulary — FAQ

How do you say common weddings birthdays celebrations words in French?

For example: a birthday is « un anniversaire », a wedding is « un mariage », a christening is « un baptême ». The full list above has 22 French weddings birthdays celebrations words, each with audio so you can hear the pronunciation.

What are the most useful French weddings birthdays celebrations words to learn first?

Start with the basics: un anniversaire (a birthday), un mariage (a wedding), un baptême (a christening), des fiançailles (an engagement), une fête (a party), un enterrement (a funeral). Master these core French words before moving on to the rest of the list.

How can I memorise French weddings birthdays celebrations 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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