So you think you can’t speak French and it’s going to be really hard to learn? It is estimated that around 70% of the words used in the English language are the same or very similar to the French equivalent words. The problem is more in the pronunciation but here are just a very few of the most commonly used words on both sides which we hope you’ll find useful:
| A | |
|---|---|
| à gogo | In abundance |
| à la […] | In the manner of/in the style of […] |
| à la carte | Literally – on the menu; in restaurants it refers to ordering individual dishes rather than a fixed-price meal |
| à la mode | Idiomatic: in the style; in the United States, the phrase is used to describe a dessert with an accompanying scoop of ice cream (example: apple pie à la mode).However, in French, it is a culinary term usually meaning cooked with ale and some carrots and onions (example: boeuf à la mode) |
| Adieu | Farewell; literally means “to God,” it carries more weight than “au revoir” (“goodbye,” literally “Until re-seeing”); it is definitive, implying you will never see the other person again; depending on the context, misuse of this term can be considered as an insult, as one may wish for the other person’s death or say that you do not wish to see the other person ever again while alive |
| Adroit | Dexterous, skilful, clever, in French: habile, as a “right-handed” person would be using his “right” hand, as opposed to his left one with which he would be “gauche” meaning “clumsy” |
| Aide-mémoire | “Memory aid”; an object or memorandum to assist in remembrance, or a diplomatic paper proposing the major points of discussion |
| Aperitif | A before-meal drink (in colloquial French, it is shortened as “apéro”). In French, it means either the drink or food (amuse-gueules) taken before a meal |
| Armoire | Type of cabinet; wardrobe |
| Art nouveau | A style of decoration and architecture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It takes a capital in French (Art nouveau) |
| Attaché | A person attached to an embassy; in French it is also the past participle of the verb attacher (= to fasten, to tighten, to be linked) |
| Au contraire | On the contrary |
| Au fait | Being conversant in or with, or instructed in or with |
| Au pair | A young foreigner who does domestic chores in exchange for room and board. |
| Avant-garde | Applied to cutting-edge or radically innovative movements in art, music and literature; figuratively “on the edge,” literally, a military term, meaning “vanguard” (which is a corruption of avant-garde) or “advance guard,” in other words, “first to attack” (antonym of arrière-garde) |
| B | |
| Ballet | A classical type of dance |
| Beau geste | Literally “beautiful gesture”, a gracious gesture, noble in form but often futile or meaningless in substance |
| Belle Époque | A period in European social history that began during the late 19th century and lasted until World War I |
| Blasé | Unimpressed with something because of overfamiliarity, jaded |
| Bon appétit | Literally “good appetite”; enjoy your meal |
| Bon vivant | One who enjoys the good life, an epicurean |
| Bon voyage | Literally “good journey”; have a good trip! |
| Bourgeois | Member of the bourgeoisie. The word used to refer to shopkeepers living in towns in the Middle Ages. Now the term is derogatory, and it applies to a person whose beliefs, attitudes, and practices are conventionally middle-class |
| Bouquet | A handful of flowers |
| Bric-à-brac | Small ornamental objects, less valuable than antiques; a collection of old furniture, china, plates and curiosities |
| Brunette | Brown-haired girl. For brown-haired man, French uses brun and for a woman brune. “Brunette” is rarely used in French, unless in old literature, and its masculine form, “brunet” (for a boy), is almost unheard of |
| Bureau | Office. Also means “desk” in French |
| C | |
| Cache | Collection of items of the same type stored in a hidden or inaccessible place (such as in an oubliette) |
| Café | Coffee shop (also used in French for “coffee”) |
| Carte blanche | Unlimited authority; literally “white card” (i.e. blank cheque) |
| Chaise longue | A long chair for reclining; (also rendered chaise lounge or chase lounge by folk etymology). |
| Charlatan | A person who is a fraud, a fake, a hoaxer, a deceiver, a con artist. |
| Chauffeur | Driver |
| Chic | Stylish |
| Chignon | A hairstyle worn in a roll at the nape of the neck |
| Cliché | Literally negative; trite through overuse; a stereotype |
| Clique | A small exclusive group of friends |
| Comme ci, comme ça | “Like this, like that”; so-so, neither good nor bad. In French, use. couci-couça. |
| Communiqué | Literally communicated; an official communication |
| Concierge | Receptionist at a hotel or residence |
| Contretemps | An awkward clash; a delay |
| Cortège | A funeral procession; in French has a broader meaning and refers to all kinds of processions |
| Coup de grâce | The final blow that results in victory (literally “blow of mercy”), historically used in the context of the battlefield to refer to the killing of badly wounded enemy soldiers, now more often used in a figurative context. |
| Couture | Fashion (usually refers to high fashion) |
| Couturier | Fashion designer (usually refers to high fashion, rather than everyday clothes design) |
| Crèche | A nativity display; more commonly (in the United Kingdom), a place where children are left by their parents for short periods in the supervision of childminders; both meanings still exist in French |
| Crème de la crème | Best of the best, “cream of the cream,” used to describe highly skilled people or objects. A synonymous expression in French is “fin du fin” |
| Critique | Critical analysis or evaluation of a work, or the art of criticizing. |
| Cul-de-sac | Dead-end street; literally “arse [buttocks] of the bag”. Even though “cul” is vulgar in French, this expression cul de sac is not. |
| D | |
| Debacle | An event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously, often with humiliating consequences. |
| De rigueur | Required or expected, especially in fashion or etiquette |
| Décolleté | A woman’s garment with a low-cut neckline that exposes cleavage, or a situation in which a woman’s chest or cleavage is exposed; décolletage is dealt with below. |
| Décor | The layout and furnishing of a room |
| Decoupage | Decoration with cut paper |
| Depot | A deposit (as in geology or banking), a storehouse, or a transportation hub (bus depot) |
| Déjà vu | “Already seen”: an impression or illusion of having seen or experienced something before. |
| Derrière | Rear; buttocks; literally “behind” |
| Détente | Easing of diplomatic tension |
| Dieu et mon droit | Motto of the British Monarchy; appears on a scroll beneath the shield of the coat of arms of Great Britain |
| Divertissement | An amusing diversion; entertainment |
| Dossier | A file containing detailed information about a person; it has a much wider meaning in modern French, as any type of file, or even a computer directory |
| Doyen | The senior member of a group; the feminine is doyenne |
| Dressage | A form of competitive horse training, in French has the broader meaning of taming any kind of animal |
| Droit du seigneur | “Right of the lord”: the purported right of a lord in feudal times to take the virginity of one of his vassals’ brides on her wedding night (in precedence to her new husband) |
| E | |
| Eau de Cologne | A type of perfume, originating in Cologne, Germany; its Italian creator used a French name to commercialize it, Cologne at that time being under the control of France. |
| Eau de toilette | Literally “grooming water.” It usually refers to an aromatic product that is less expensive than a perfume because it has less of the aromatic compounds and is more for an everyday use. |
| Éclair | A cream and chocolate icing pastry |
| Élan | A distinctive flair or style |
| En garde | “[Be] on [your] guard,” used in fencing, and sometimes mistranscribed as “on guard” |
| En route | On the way |
| Enfant terrible | A disruptively unconventional person, a “terrible child” |
| Entente diplomatic | A agreement or cooperation. L’Entente cordiale (the Cordial Entente) refers to the good diplomatic relationship between France and United Kingdom before the first World War. |
| Entrepreneur | A person who undertakes and operates a new enterprise or venture and assumes some accountability for the inherent risks |
| F | |
| Façade | The front view of an edifice (from the Italian facciata, or face); a fake persona, as in “putting on a façade” (the ç is pronounced like an s) |
| fait accompli | Literally – accomplished fact; something that has already happened and is thus unlikely to be reversed, a done deal |
| Faux pas | “False step”: violation of accepted, although unwritten, social rules |
| Femme fatale | “Deadly woman”: an attractive woman who seduces and takes advantage of men for her personal goals, after which she discards or abandons them; extends to describe an attractive woman with whom a relationship is likely to result, or has already resulted, in pain and sorrow |
| Fiancé | Betrothed; a man/woman engaged to be married. |
| Film noir | A genre of dark-themed movies from the 1940s and 1950s that focus on stories of crime and immorality |
| Flambé | A cooking procedure in which alcohol (ethanol) is added to a hot pan to create a burst of flames, meaning “flamed” in French; also used colloquially in reference to something on fire or burned. |
| Fleur-de-lis | A stylized-flower heraldic device; the golden fleur-de-lis on an azure background were the arms of the French Kingdom (often spelled with the old French style as “fleur-de-lys”) |
| Force majeure | An overpowering and unforeseeable event, especially when talking about weather (often appears in insurance contracts) |
| G | |
| Gaffe | Blunder |
| Gauche | Tactless, does not mean “left-handed” (which translates in French as “gaucher”), but does mean “left” |
| Genre | A type or class, such as “the thriller genre” |
| Grand Prix | A type of motor racing, literally “Great Prize” |
| Grenadier | A specialized soldier, first established for the throwing of grenades and later as elite troops |
| H | |
| haute couture | “High sewing”: Paris-based custom-fitted clothing; trend-setting fashion |
| haute cuisine | Upmarket gastronomy; literally “high cooking.” |
| Hauteur | Arrogance; literally height |
| hors d’œuvre | “Outside the [main] work”: appetizer |
| I | |
| Impasse | Deadlock |
| Insouciant/e | Nonchalant man/woman |
| Ingénu/e | An innocent young man/woman, used particularly in reference to a theatrical stock character who is entirely virginal and wholesome; L’Ingénu is a famous novella written by Voltaire. |
| J | |
| Jeu d’esprit | “Play of spirit”; a witty, often light-hearted, comment or composition |
| Joie de vivre | “Joy of life/living” |
| L | |
| Laissez-faire | “Let do”; often used within the context of economic policy or political philosophy, meaning leaving alone, or non-interference |
| Lamé | A type of fabric woven or knit with metallic yarns |
| Lèse majesté | An offense against a sovereign power; or, an attack against someone’s dignity or against a custom or institution held sacred |
| Liaison | A close relationship or connection; an affair. The French meaning is broader; “liaison” also means bond such as in “une liaison chimique” (a chemical bond) |
| Louche | Of questionable taste; |
| M | |
| Macramé | Coarse lace work made with knotted cords |
| Mademoiselle | Young unmarried lady, miss; literally “my noble young lady” |
| Malaise | A general sense of depression or unease |
| Mardi gras | Fat Tuesday, the last day of eating meat before Lent |
| Mélange | A mixture |
| Mêlée | A confused fight; a struggling crowd |
| ménage à trois | “Household for three”: a sexual arrangement between three people |
| Milieu | Social environment; setting (has also the meaning of “middle” in French) |
| Montage | Editing |
| Motif | A recurrent thematic element |
| Mousse | A whipped dessert or a hairstyling foam; in French, means any type of foam |
| N | |
| Né, née | “Born”: a man’s/woman’s birth name (maiden name for a woman), e.g., “Elizabeth Burton, née Taylor” |
| Noblesse oblige | “Nobility obliges”; those granted a higher station in life have a duty to extend (possibly token) favours/courtesies to those in lower stations |
| Nom de plume | Author’s pseudonym, literally “pen name; ” Originally an English phrase, now also used in France |
| Nouveau riche | Newly rich, used in English to refer particularly to those living a garish lifestyle with their newfound wealth |
| Nouvelle cuisine | New cuisine |
| O | |
| Objet d’art | A work of art, commonly a painting or sculpture; also a utilitarian object displayed for its aesthetic qualities |
| Omelette | Omelette |
| P | |
| Panache | Verve; flamboyance |
| Papier-mâché | Literally chewed paper; a craft medium using paper and paste |
| Par excellence | “By excellence”: quintessential |
| Pastiche | A derivative work; an imitation |
| Patois | A dialect; jargon |
| Pince-nez | Literally “pinch nose,” a type of spectacles without temple arms. |
| Piste | Refers to skiing |
| Poseur | “Poser”: a person who pretends to be something he is not; an affected or insincere person: a wannabe |
| Prêt-à-porter | “Ready to wear” (clothing off the shelf |
| Protégé/e | A man/woman who receives support from an influential mentor |
| R | |
| Raison d’être | “Reason for being”: justification or purpose of existence |
| Rapport | To be in someone’s “good graces”; French for: relationship |
| Rapprochement | The establishment of cordial relations, often used in diplomacy |
| Reconnaissance | Scouting |
| Renaissance | Rebirth, a cultural movement in the 14-17th centuries |
| Reservoir | An artificial lake |
| Restaurateur | Restaurant owner |
| Retard | Translates as late, but is used as a derogative term for someone who is a slow thinker |
| Riposte | A quick retort in speech or action, or in fencing, a quick thrust after parrying a lunge |
| Role | A part or function of a person in a situation or an actor in a play |
| Roman à clef | “Novel with a key”: an account of actual persons, places or events in fictional guise |
| Roué | An openly debauched, lecherous older man |
| Roux | Cooked mixture of flour and fat used as a base in soups and gravies |
| S | |
| Sabotage | Subversive destruction, from the practice of workers fearful of industrialization destroying machines by tossing their sabots (“wooden shoes”) into machinery |
| Saboteur | Person who commits sabotage |
| Sacrebleu! | “Holy Blue!” general exclamation of horror and shock; a stereotypical minced oath; very dated in France and rarely heard |
| Sang-froid | “Cold blood”: coolness and composure under strain; stiff upper lip |
| Sauté | Literally jumped; quickly fry in a small amount of oil |
| Savant | “Knowing”: a wise or learned person; in English, one exceptionally gifted in a narrow skill |
| Savoir-faire | Literally “know how to do”; to respond appropriately to any situation |
| Silhouette | Image of a person, an object or scene consisting of the outline and a featureless interior, with the silhouetted object usually being black |
| Sobriquet | Assumed name, a nickname (often used in a pejorative way in French) |
| soi-disant | So-called; self-described; literally “oneself saying” |
| soigné | Fashionable; polished |
| soirée | Evening party |
| sommelier | Wine steward |
| soupçon | Very small amount (In French, can also mean suspicion) |
| T | |
| Tableau | Chalkboard; the meaning is broader in French: all types of board (chalkboard, whiteboard, notice board…); also refers to a painting or a table (chart). |
| Tête-à-tête | “Head to head”; an intimate get-together or private conversation between two people |
| télévision | telly |
| Toilette | Process of dressing or grooming. Also refers in French, when plural (“les toilettes”), to the toilet room |
| Touché | Acknowledgment of an effective counterpoint; literally “touched” or “hit!” |
| trompe-l’œil | Photograph-like realism in painting; literally “trick the eye” |
| V | |
| venu/e | Invited man/woman for a show, once (“come”); unused in modern French, though it can still be used in a few expressions like bienvenu/e (literally well come: welcome) or le premier venu (anyone; literally, the first who came) |
| vin de pays | Literally “country wine”; wine of a lower designated quality than appellation contrôlée |
| vinaigrette | Salad dressing of oil and vinegar; diminutive of vinaigre (vinegar) |
| vis-à-vis | “Face to face [with]”: in comparison with or in relation to; opposed to. From “vis” (conjugated form of “voir,” to see). In French, it’s also a real estate vocabulary word meaning that your windows and your neighbours’ are within sighting distance (more precisely, that you can see inside of their home) |
| voilà! | Literally “see there”; in French it can mean simply “there it is”; in English it is generally restricted to a triumphant revelation |
| volte-face | A complete reversal of opinion or position, about face |
| voyeur | Literally someone who sees; a peeping tom |
