How to Address Your Grandmother in French

The familiar noun  mà ©mà ¨re, derived from the concept de mà ¨re (of mother) and pronounced may mehr,  has a bit of a split personality: It can be used in a very positive sense, and it can be used in quite a negative sense.   Positive Usage This seems to be the most common usage of the term mà ©mà ¨re in French.  To families with an aging or aged grandmother, it is a term of endearment for a loved one who deserves this long-awaited honorific. It is the name children give to their grandmother.  It is, in short, a term of love and respect. When used in direct address, there is no article, as in Je taime  mà ©mà ¨re! (I love you, grandma!)  And thats the way it is, for the most part, in French, French Canadian, and Cajun. In that positive context, it can mean, in English: granny, grandmother, grandma, old dear. Because the concept of a respected grandmother is so ingrained in French culture, it has many French synonyms:  mà ©mà © (the often used short form of  mà ©mà ¨re), grand-mà ¨re, grand-maman,  mamie (often used as mamie et papi (grandma and grandpa), bonne-maman, aà ¯eule (grandmother, forebear, ancestor).   Negative Usage Less frequently,  mà ©mà ¨re is derogatory when it  refers to someone who is not related to you.  It becomes quite offensive when you are not referring to someone specific. Mà ©mà ¨re can  refer negatively to an old stay-at-home woman or to a corpulent, lazy woman (insulting). It is very often associated with  vieille  in the pejorative  sense, as in vieille mà ©mà ¨re or  vieille mamie.   The negative meaning of  mà ©mà ¨re  can also be an old woman who is a gossip; the verb is mà ©mà ¨rer, which means to gossip or to be chatty. A French synonym  for the very pejorative sense of  mà ©mà ¨re could be une vieille dondon (an old fat person).  In Canada, a very negative synonym would be une personne bavarde et indiscrà ¨te; une commà ¨re (a nasty gossip who attacks the reputation of others);  commà ©rer is the verb to gossip). Examples and Expressions (Familiar) Faut pas pousser mà ©mà ¨re / mà ©mà © / grand-mà ¨re dans les orties. You shouldnt go too far. / You shouldnt be mean to people.On taime  mà ©mà ¨re. We love you, grandma.  Tu ne viens pas tasseoir avec ta  mà ©mà ¨re ?   Wont you sit a while with your granny?Au pire des cas, toi, mà ©mà ¨re et Pierre pouvez venir rester avec nous.   If worst comes to worst, you, grandma and Pierre can come stay with us.  Lautre jour, jai vu Anne avec des boucles doreilles de  mà ©mà ¨re. The other day, I saw Anne wearing grandmas earrings.(Pejorative) Viens, mà ©mà ¨re  ! Come on, (old) lady!(Pejorative) Je suis en retard à   cause que jai eu à   suivre un vieux mà ©mà ¨re sur lautoroute !   Im late because I had to follow an old woman on the highway!(Pejorative)  Cette  mà ©mà ¨re lui a tout racontà © ! This old lady told him everything!(Pejorative)  Chaque jour, ces vielles  dames vont au restaurant pour  mà ©mà ¨rer. Every day these old women go to the restaurant to gossip.