cadet/ ainee

sue c.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

cadet/ ainee

I have heard cadet used to mean youngest of a group of siblings., as aine ( no accents on keyboard) is used to mean the eldest or first born. why can cadet not be used for youngest daughter . In your writing challenge you did not offer cadet as a possibility although for a previous sentence you used ainee for the oldest .
Asked 7 years ago
AurélieKwiziq team memberCorrect answer
Bonjour Sue !

There are three terms to rank siblings in French :)

- Aîné(e) will be the eldest, first-born in all cases
- Cadet(te) will indeed always be younger than the eldest, so could also mean the youngest out of 2 children.
It can also, as you pointed out, be used to say the youngest of a whole family, in a general sense.
BUT
- Benjamin(e) is used for the youngest, the last born of 3 siblings specifically, and in the case of a 3-kid family, the ranking will go as follows:
l'aîné(e), le cadet (la cadette) et le benjamin (la benjamine) !

I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
Ron T.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Bonjour Sue, Alors, il y a la réponse de la Dictionnaire Collins-Robert: adjective (plus jeune) younger ⇒ ma sœur cadette my younger sister (= le plus jeune) youngest ⇒ son fils cadet his youngest son masculine noun, feminine noun le cadet (= le plus jeune) the youngest child, the youngest ⇒ C'est le cadet de la famille. He's the youngest of the family. (plus jeune) il est mon cadet he's younger than me il est mon cadet de deux ans he's 2 years younger than me J'espère que cela vous aidera. Bonne chance.

cadet/ ainee

I have heard cadet used to mean youngest of a group of siblings., as aine ( no accents on keyboard) is used to mean the eldest or first born. why can cadet not be used for youngest daughter . In your writing challenge you did not offer cadet as a possibility although for a previous sentence you used ainee for the oldest .

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