Goals
What you'll be able to do- 📺 Follow a French family TV show
- 👪 Describe a family using strengths and quirks
- ⚖️ Master the comparative (plus / moins / aussi… que)
- 🏆 Master the superlative (le / la / les plus / moins…)
- ⚠️ Memorize the irregular forms: meilleur · mieux · pire
- 🎵 The nasal vowel en / an / am / em [ɑ̃]
Discover
Reading📺 "Une famille en or" ("A Family Worth Its Weight in Gold") is one of the most famous French game shows ever — two families compete to win the jackpot. It ran for over 25 years on prime-time TV (and it's the French version of the American Family Feud!). Imagine a special "Families of the world" episode: the Dupont family (Lyon) takes on the Wang family (Shanghai-Paris). The host Olivier Lambert opens the show:
📋 Meet the two families
👨👩👧👦 Blue team · The Dupont family (Lyon, France) 🇫🇷
- Bernard (54), grandfather · retired baker — "the most gourmand"
- Sylvie (49), mother · nurse — "the calmest"
- Théo (23), son · medical student — "the most serious"
- Léa (19), daughter · high-schooler — "the funniest"
👨👩👧👦 Red team · The Wang family (Shanghai → Paris) 🇨🇳🇫🇷
- Wang Jianhua / Jean (52), father · CEO — "the most hardworking"
- Liu Mei / Michèle (50), mother · architect — "the most creative"
- Wang Tao / Thomas (24), elder son · engineer — "the most athletic"
- Wang Lulu / Lulu (20), younger daughter · arts student — "the biggest dreamer"
🎤 On set
That's me, no hesitation! I love eating more than my kids do!
Bernard really is more of a foodie than the children! But Théo eats just as much as him these days.
That's me! I run faster than my dad and my sister. And I'm better at tennis than anyone else in the family!
But I'm the most creative one. I draw better than Thomas!
In our family I'm the funniest! I tell jokes just as well as my grandpa.
Oh no! Nobody tells jokes as well as me. Young people are less funny than us oldies!
My husband Bernard is the most stubborn in the family. He'll argue for hours!
True, but I'm less stubborn than my own father was!
In our family Jean is the most stressed. He works too much! But he's also the most generous.
And Lulu… she daydreams more than she works!
Dad! It's worse at home than on TV!
🎧 Listen to the show clip.
💡 Notes
- Une famille en or — the famous French game show, the local version of America's Family Feud. It aired on TF1, then France 2 (1990-2017). Hosts: Patrick Roy, then Bernard Montiel.
- "Le pactole" = the jackpot, big prize money (informal).
- S'affronter = to compete, face off (in a friendly competition).
- Se chamailler = to bicker, squabble (over small stuff, no big deal).
- Têtu(e) = stubborn (negative). Don't confuse with déterminé(e) = determined (positive).
- Gourmand(e) — tricky word! In French, this is mildly positive: someone who appreciates good food, has a sweet tooth, enjoys eating. NOT the negative English "greedy" — that would be glouton(ne). Calling a child gourmand(e) in French is affectionate.
Vocabulary
Words to remember📺 The TV show
| French | Type | English |
|---|---|---|
| une émission (de télé) | n.f. | (TV) show, programme |
| un jeu télé | n.m. | TV game show |
| un / une présentateur(trice) | n. | (TV) host, presenter |
| un plateau | n.m. | TV set, studio |
| une équipe | n.f. | team |
| s'affronter | refl. v. | to compete, face off |
| gagner / perdre | v. | to win / to lose |
| le pactole | n.m. fam. | the jackpot |
😊 Personality traits
👍 Positive traits
- gentil(le) kind, nice
- généreux(se) generous
- sympathique · sympa (fam.) friendly, likeable
- drôle · marrant(e) (fam.) funny
- calme calm, quiet
- patient(e) patient
- travailleur(euse) hardworking
- sérieux(se) serious; reliable
- créatif(ve) creative
- sportif(ve) athletic, sporty
- accueillant(e) welcoming
- gourmand(e) a foodie / fond of treats (positive in FR!)
👎 Quirks (with humour)
- têtu(e) stubborn
- paresseux(se) lazy
- impatient(e) impatient
- stressé(e) stressed-out
- désordonné(e) messy, untidy
- égoïste selfish
- colérique short-tempered
- timide shy
- bavard(e) chatty, talkative
- distrait(e) absent-minded
- rêveur(euse) dreamy, head in the clouds
- jaloux(se) jealous
Grammar
How French works① The comparative "more/less/as ___ than"
The comparative compares two people or things. Three degrees: more (+), less (–), as much (=). English does the same with "more/less/as ___ as" or "-er than" — French is more regular: plus / moins / aussi always work, no "-er" forms to learn.
A. Comparing with an adjective or adverb
B. Comparing a noun (quantity) — de appears!
C. Comparing a verb — placed after the verb, no de
⚠️ Irregulars to memorize — same as in English!
| Adjective / adverb | Comparative (+) | Example |
|---|---|---|
| bon / bonne (adj. = good) | meilleur(e) "better" | Lulu est meilleure en arts que Thomas. |
| bien (adv. = well) | mieux "better" | Lulu dessine mieux que Thomas. |
| mauvais (adj. = bad) | pire "worse" (or "plus mauvais") | C'est pire à la maison qu'à la télé ! |
- meilleur (adj.) for things that ARE better → une meilleure idée, un meilleur film
- mieux (adv.) for things DONE better → elle danse mieux, il parle mieux français
② The superlative "the most / the least"
The superlative picks out the highest or lowest degree of a quality in a group ("the best", "the most", "the least"). It's formed with le / la / les + plus / moins.
| Adjective (before noun) | Adjective (after noun) | |
|---|---|---|
| + | la plus jolie ville | la ville la plus jolie |
| – | le moins grand pays | le pays le moins grand |
📌 Bernard est le plus gourmand de la famille. "Bernard is the biggest foodie in the family."
📌 Lulu est la plus rêveuse.
📌 Sylvie est la plus calme de tous.
📌 Théo est le moins bavard.
🇬🇧 "the smartest in the class" → 🇫🇷 "le plus intelligent de la classe"
⚠️ With a verb or adverb → only le plus / le moins (never la or les):
- C'est elle qui parle le plus. "She's the one who talks the most."
- C'est lui qui court le plus vite.
⚠️ Irregular superlatives: le meilleur · la meilleure · les meilleurs / meilleures = "the best", le mieux = "the best" (adverb), le pire · la pire · les pires = "the worst".
📌 C'est le meilleur jeu télé ! "It's the best game show!"
📌 C'est elle qui dessine le mieux. "She's the one who draws the best."
📌 C'est la pire idée du monde ! "It's the worst idea in the world!"
③ Beaucoup, peu, autant with a noun Quantity adverbs + de
When you talk about quantity, you always need the preposition de — and no article:
| Quantity | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| beaucoup (a lot) | beaucoup de + noun | Il a beaucoup de patience. |
| peu (little) | peu de + noun | Elle a peu de temps. |
| autant (as much/many) | autant de + noun | Il y a autant de joie ici. |
| plus (more) | plus de + noun | Plus de 25 ans à la télé ! |
| moins (less/fewer) | moins de + noun | Moins de stress. |
⚠️ No article! Say beaucoup de patience, never beaucoup de la patience.
How to say it
Useful chunks👨👩👧👦 Describing personality
- Mon père est très drôle / patient / sportif.
- Ma mère est plutôt calme. "My mum is fairly calm."
- Mon frère est un peu têtu, mais très gentil.
- Ma sœur a beaucoup d'imagination.
⚖️ Comparing two people
- Mon frère est plus drôle que moi.
- Ma mère travaille autant que mon père.
- Mon grand-père cuisine mieux que ma grand-mère !
- Je suis moins patient que ma sœur.
🏆 Picking out "the most"
- C'est moi le plus gourmand de la famille.
- Ma sœur est la plus créative.
- Mon frère est le meilleur en sport.
- C'est lui qui parle le plus.
Practice
Try it outExercise 1 · Show comprehension
Re-read the Une famille en or dialogue and answer.
- What's the host's name? →
- How many people are on each team? →
- Who's the most athletic in the Wang family? →
- According to Sylvie, who's the most stubborn in the Dupont family? →
- What's Lulu's quirk, according to her father?
Exercise 2 · Plus, moins or aussi?
Fill in based on the sign. + = more · – = less · = equal
- (+) Bernard est gourmand Sylvie.
- (–) Léa est sérieuse Théo.
- (=) Théo est drôle son grand-père.
- (+) Thomas court vite son père.
- (=) Lulu travaille Thomas.
- (+) Bernard mange pain les enfants.
- (–) Léa a patience sa mère.
Exercise 3 · Meilleur or mieux?
Pick the right one.
- Lulu dessine que Thomas.
- C'est le jeu télé !
- Sylvie cuisine que Bernard.
- Mon frère est en mathématiques que moi.
- C'est elle qui parle français le .
- Cette idée est que la précédente.
Exercise 4 · Superlatives — Wang vs Dupont
Pick out "the most ___" based on the text.
- Bernard est chez les Dupont.
- Sylvie est .
- Théo est .
- Léa est .
- Jean est .
- Michèle est .
- Thomas est .
- Lulu est .
Exercise 5 · Beaucoup, peu, autant + de
Fill in with beaucoup / peu / autant + de.
- Bernard a énergie pour son âge.
- Lulu a patience le matin.
- Théo et Sylvie ont calme.
- Le jeu a duré 25 ans à la télé.
- Il y a stress chez les Dupont que chez les Wang.
Exercise 6 · Listening comprehension
Listen to the dialogue again and fill in.
- How old is Bernard? →
- What does Michèle do for a living? →
- According to Lulu, who draws the best? →
- According to Bernard, who's less funny?
- What's the show called? →
Communicate
Real-world tasks📺 "Une famille en or" — class edition
In groups of 4, role-play your own episode of Une famille en or. Each team (= invented family) must:
- Pick 4 "members" with first names and a personality trait each.
- Crown each one "le plus / la plus + adjective".
- Compare two members ("X est plus / moins / aussi… que Y").
- Pick a host who asks the questions.
👪 What about your family?
Introduce your family to a partner using at least 5 comparatives. Who's the funniest? The calmest? The most athletic? Who cooks best? Who talks the most?
Model: Dans ma famille, mon père est le plus calme, mais ma mère est plus drôle que lui. Mon frère cuisine mieux que moi…
🇫🇷 French families vs your country's
What are the differences between a typical French family and a typical family from your country?
Discuss in pairs using comparatives. Possible angles:
- length of meals
- the role of grandparents
- parental authority
- family celebrations and holidays
- raising children
⚠️ Avoid clichés — talk about your own family or families you actually know.
Pronunciation
The nasal [ɑ̃]The nasal vowel [ɑ̃] · en · an · am · em A signature French sound
The nasal vowel [ɑ̃] turns up everywhere in this lesson: enfant, en or, français, pendant, avantage… Learn to spot it:
| Spelling | Example | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| en / em | enfant, ensemble, semblable | [ɑ̃] |
| an / am | famille, anglais, dans, pendant | [ɑ̃] |
| aon | paon, faon | [ɑ̃] |
⚠️ WATCH OUT: these spellings are NOT nasal when followed by n + vowel:
- année [a-ne] (no nasal)
- animal [a-ni-mal]
- ennui [ɑ̃-nɥi] — the exception that proves the rule!
👂 Listen and repeat:
- Une famille en or — [yn-fa-mij-ɑ̃-nɔʁ]
- Pendant le repas — [pɑ̃-dɑ̃-lə-ʁə-pa]
- Mes enfants sont gourmands — [me-zɑ̃-fɑ̃-sɔ̃-guʁ-mɑ̃]
- L'ambiance est sensationnelle ! [lɑ̃-bjɑ̃s-ɛ-sɑ̃-sa-sjɔ-nɛl]
- L'ancien présentateur — [lɑ̃-sjɛ̃-pʁe-zɑ̃-ta-tœʁ]
💬 Anglophone tip: [ɑ̃] doesn't exist in English. Closest reference: think of how you'd say "ahhh" at the doctor's, but with the soft palate lowered so air comes out through the nose too. The mouth stays wide open.
⚠️ Common errors:
- Pronouncing famille as "fa-MIL-lee". Wrong! → [fa-mij]. The double-l after i = [j] (a "y" sound).
- Treating am in ambiance as a separate "a" + "m". Wrong — it's ONE nasal vowel [ɑ̃]. The m is silent; it just signals nasalization.
- Saying [ɑ̃] like English "ang" — close, but you must NOT pronounce the final consonant. Air through nose only.