Dictionary / I visited my grandmother
How to Say "I visited my grandmother" in French
J'ai rendu visite à ma grand-mère
/ʒe ʁɑ̃dy vizit a ma ɡʁɑ̃mɛʁ/
Literally: I paid a visit to my grandmother
J'ai rendu
I paid
visite
a visit
à
to
ma grand-mère
my grandmother
Good to know
Aller voir (to go and see) is the relaxed spoken version and is what most people actually say: je suis allé voir ma grand-mère. Rendre visite à is the correct, slightly more careful form.
Correct
J'ai rendu visite à ma grand-mère
What people say wrong
J'ai visité ma grand-mère
I toured her, like a monument
The mistake to avoid. Visiter is for places. People get rendre visite à. The wrong one makes your grandmother sound like a château with opening hours.
In context
J'ai rendu visite à ma grand-mère dimanche.
I visited my grandmother on Sunday.
On va voir mes parents ce week-end.
We're visiting my parents this weekend.
Nous avons visité le château de Chambord.
We visited the château de Chambord.