Mon Chéri Meaning – A Favorite French Nickname

Share this:

Mon chéri is such a popular French term of endearment that it has even made it into pop culture in the form of a famous brand of chocolate and there have been countless songs about mon chéri. In this post, we’ll tell you what mon chéri means and we’ll teach you all about the origin of this pet name and who you can use it with. Read on to find some examples of how to use mon chéri at the end.

Read next: 16 Romantic Ways to Say I Love You in French

Definition of Mon Chéri

mon cheri meaning

The meaning of mon chéri is “my love” or my “sweetheart”. It is a popular term of endearment. Mon chéri is the male form. You would use this when speaking with a boy or a man.

When speaking with a woman, you would use ma chérie . We use mes chéris if it’s a group of males (male plural) and mes chéries if it’s a group of females (female plural). Even in a group that’s predominantly female, if there is one male in the group we automatically use the grammatical male, in this case, mes chéris. 

My Dear in French

Used when speaking to

Mon chéri

Male

Ma chérie

Female

Mes chéris

Group of men, group of men and women

Mes chéries

Group of women

The origin of mon chéri

The word chéri comes from the French verb cherir “to cherish”, which in turn comes from the Latin carus. Mon the masculine pronounce for “my”. The expression mon chéri has been around for a few hundred years. English speakers seem to always have liked this particular term of endearment, and it has been found in English-language publications since the 19th century.

Who you can say mon chéri to

Mon chéri can be used with adults and children. It is mostly used with someone you have a loving, intimate connection with, such as your partner, very close friend, or your child. With friends, you can use the less intense mon chèr (male) or ma chère (female), both of which mean “my dear”.

Examples mon chéri

French

  1. Commençons la leçon mes chéris!
  2. Je t’aime ma chérie.
  3. Je vous présente mon chéri.

English

  1. Let’s get that lesson started, my dears!
  2. I love you my darling.
  3. I introduce you to my love (my boyfriend)

Conclusion

As you see, mon chéri is easy to use and can be said to a number of people on different occasions. Make sure you review the female and plural form of this term of endearment and don’t use it with anyone you’re not familiar with. As a rule of thumb, if you treat someone using vous (the formal you), rather than tu (the informal you) it wouldn’t be a good idea to use mon chéri with them.

Share this:

Similar Posts