en famille
- idiom
- /ɑ̃ fæˈmi/
- Informal
:
en familia
- She preferred to celebrate her birthday en famille, with only her closest relatives present.
Examples
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Un petit dîner en famille.
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Most writers have clutched at that letter, with its glimpse of Monet in clover and en famille, as an affecting and welcome respite from his epistolary stock in trade, four parts ego and three parts money.
Academic text (1994) -
On est en vacances en famille,
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"En famille.
Fiction book (1990) -
On est en famille.
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We dined simply en famille, so that Jared could rehearse Jamie in the few details left to be arranged before his departure.
Fiction book (1992) -
Pour une fois, on va manger en famille.
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After a long week, we relax at home, enjoying dinner en famille.
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During the holidays, we always enjoy our time en famille, playing games and sharing stories.
Synonyms
1
5.0
Only members of the same family own or run it, for example a family business
Antonyms
How Private
Surface Forms
Morphology
en + famille
The phrase literally combines French 'en' (in) + 'famille' (family), so its meaning 'in/with the family; in a private family setting' is directly derivable from the constituents. This composition corresponds to common cross-linguistic patterns (e.g. 'en familia', 'with family'), so a learner who knows the parts would readily understand it.
Etymology
The French phrase en famille comes from the words en ('in') and famille ('family'), so imagine a small meal at home with only family. That is why it is used to mean 'with close family' or 'in a private, informal setting'.