Take the fastest path to fluent French
In French, the preposition "chez" is used to express "at/to someone's place/etc" but not only.
How to use chez in French
"Chez" = at or to [someone]'s place/shop/house
Most of the time, chez means at or to [someone]'s place/shop/house.
It can be followed with:
- a name / person (Marc, ma mère...)
- a stress pronoun (moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles)
-> Note that you don't use a possessive like in English.
- a professional's name (le coiffeur, ma dentiste...) to refer to their business place.
-> Note that it's the name of the professional you use, not the business itself:
You say chez le boulanger but à la boulangerie.
"Chez" = at home or in [someone]'s life/personality
Chez can also be used in a more general sense to express at home or in [someone]'s life.
ATTENTION:
Case of "à la maison" vs "chez moi"
When used in this context, maison is closer to home than literally house: and just as in English, you would never say I'm going to my home, but I'm going home. Thus, in French, you will never use à ma maison / à ta maison..., but you will use instead the generic à la maison.
Here, you can also use chez moi (at/to my place) as well as à la maison (at home/home):
Here, you can also use chez moi (at/to my place) as well as à la maison (at home/home):
When talking about someone else's home, once again you cannot use à ta maison, à sa maison in French: therefore, the only solution is to use chez :
Want to make sure your French sounds confident? We’ll map your knowledge and give you free lessons to focus on your gaps and mistakes. Start your Brainmap today »
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
