List of French phrases used by English speakers

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Categories: French phrases

Here are some examples of French words and phrases used by English speakers.

There are many words of French origin in English, such as competition, art, table, publicity, police, role, routine, machine, and force, but this article covers only words and phrases that sound unmistakably "French" to an English-speaking person. That said, the phrases are given as used in English, and may seem more French to English speakers than they do to French speakers. The general rule is that if the word or phrase looks better in italics, it has retained its French identity, but if it doesn't need italics, it has probably passed over into English.

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Words and phrases

Note that these phrases are pronounced using the French rules, and not the English ones. Thus, the stress most often falls on the final syllable, the final letter is silent (unless it is r, à, or é), consequent words are pronounced without a pause between them, unaccented e is usually pronounced as [ ə ], and final n is nasalized as /~/. (see International Phonetic Alphabet for English for a guide to phonetic symbols).

  • À bientôt!—See you soon! (relatively uncommon in English)
  • Adieu!—Good bye!
  • à la—in the manner of
  • à la carte—each available separately
  • à la mode—fashionable (UK) or with ice cream (US)
  • agent provocateur, pl. agents provocateurs—a police spy who causes a crime to secure a conviction; can also mean a secret agent spreading unrest in French
  • après—after
  • Après moi, le déluge—the (frequently untranslated) remark attributed to Louis XV, also used generally in allusion to the impending end of an era (“After me, the deluge”)
  • après-ski—after-ski activities or apparel
  • arriviste—a social climber
  • artiste—a skilled performer, a person with artistic pretensions
  • au contraire—to the contrary
  • au courant—up-to-date, abreast of current affairs
  • au fait—up to par
  • Au revoir!—See you soon!, lit. Until the next sight
  • avant garde— applied to cutting-edge or radically innovative movements in art and literature, lit. before the guard (vanguard).
  • beaucoup—a lot of (slang, e.g., beaucoup bucks )
  • beau ideal—an idealized type
  • Beaux-Arts—a style of achitecture
  • belle époque—an era of cultural refinement
  • belles lettres—literary works valued for their aesthetic qualities
  • bête noire, pl. bêtes noires—someone or something which is detested or avoided, lit. black beast
  • billet doux—a love letter
  • bistro—a small restaurant
  • blasé—jaded
  • Bon appétit!—Enjoy your meal!, lit. Have a good meal!
  • Bonjour!—Hello!, lit. Good day!
  • bon mot—a witticism
  • Bonne chance!—Good luck!
  • bon vivant—an epicure
  • Bon voyage!—Have a good trip!
  • boudoir—bedroom
  • bourgeois—belonging to the middle class
  • bourgeoisie—the middle class
  • brasserie—a small restaurant
  • bricolage—construction from bits and pieces on hand
  • cachet—a distinctive quality
  • carte blanche—unlimited authority, lit. blank card
  • C'est la vie!—That's life!
  • C'est magnifique!—That's great! (relatively uncommon in English)
  • chaise longue—a long chair for reclining
  • chanteuse—a female singer
  • chapeau—a hat
  • chargé d'affaires—a temporary or low-level diplomat
  • chignon—a hairstyle worn in a roll at the nape of the neck
  • cinéma vérité—realism in documentary filmmaking
  • cotte d'armes—coat of arms
  • Comment allez-vous?—How are you? polite
  • Comment vas-tu?-How are you? familiar (close friends, family etc.)
  • concierge—a hotel desk manager
  • connoisseur an expert in wines, fine arts or other matters of culture. A person of refined taste. (spelt "connaisseur" in modern French.)
  • coup d'état, pl. coups d'état—a sudden change in government by force, lit. takeover of state
  • coup de grâce—death-blow, lit. blow of mercy
  • coup de main—a surprise attack
  • couture—fashion
  • couturier—a fashion designer
  • crème de la crème—best of the best, lit. cream of the cream
  • cul-de-sac, a dead-end street.
  • D'accord.—Agreed., OK. (relatively uncommon in English)
  • déclassé—of inferior social status
  • décolletage—a low-cut neckline, cleavage
  • découpage—decoration with cut paper
  • déjà vu—The impression or illusion of having seen or experienced something before.
  • dénouement—the end result
  • de rigueur—required, necessary, especially with reference to fashion.
  • derrière—rear, buttocks, lit. behind
  • détente—easing of diplomatic tension
  • diablerie—witchcraft, deviltry
  • double entendre
  • douceur de vivre—sweetness of life (relatively uncommon in English)
  • doyenne—the senior female member of a group
  • eau de toilette—perfume
  • éclat—conspicuous achievment
  • élan—a distinctive flair
  • embonpoint—fat (euphemistically)
  • éminence grise—a powerful advisor or decision-maker who operates secretly or otherwise unofficially, lit. gray eminence
  • enfant terrible—a disruptively unconventional person
  • en masse—all together
  • ennui—boredom
  • en passant—in passing
  • en suite—as a set
  • entente—diplomatic agreement or cooperation
  • entre nous—confidentially (between us)
  • escargots—snails as food, a delicacy; lit. snail, animal
  • esprit de corps—a feeling of solidarity among members of a group, morale; lit. spirit of body
  • expose—a published exposure of a fraud or scandal
  • fait accompli—something that has happened and is unlikely to be reversed
  • faux amis—used to refer to words in two different languages that have the same etymology, but different meanings; lit. false friends such as the French verb "rester" which means to stayto stay rather than to rest
  • femme fatale—an alluring, mysterious woman
  • fiancé—a man engaged to be married
  • fiancée—a woman engaged to be married
  • film noir—a genre of dark-themed movies
  • fin de siècle—comparable to (but not exactly the same as) turn-of-the-century but with a connotation of decadence
  • fleur-de-lis—a stylized-flower heraldic device
  • frisson—a thrill
  • garçon—lit. boy or male servant, but often used by English speakers to summon the attention of a male waiter
  • gauche—tactless
  • gaucherie—boorishness
  • gendarme—a police officer (slang, irreverent)
  • grande dame—a venerable woman
  • Grand Prix—a type of motor racing, lit. "Grand Prize" or "Big Prize"
  • habitué—one who regularly frequents a place
  • haute couture—trend-setting fashion
  • haute cuisine—a manner of preparing food
  • hauteur—arrogance
  • honni soit qui mal y pense—Shame on him who thinks ill of it or sometimes translated as Evil be to him who evil thinks, the motto of the most noble Order of the Garter (modern French writes honni instead of old French honi)
  • idée fixe—a leitmotiv, an obsession
  • ingénue—an innocent young woman
  • J’accuse—the (generally untranslated) title of Émile Zola’s expose of the Dreyfus affair (I accuse), also used generally in allusion to a political or social indictment
  • Je-ne-sais-quoi—an indefinable, usually compelling quality (charisma); lit. I don't know what
  • joie de vivre—joy of living
  • l'affaire [proper name]—a cause célèbre, e.g., l’affaire Enron, in allusion to L’Affaire Dreyfus
  • laissez-faire-leave it alone, lit. "let do, let pass"
  • layette—a set of clothing and accessories for a new baby
  • l'esprit de l'escalier—thinking of the right comeback too late, lit. staircase wit. Originally a witticism of Diderot, the French encyclopedist, in his Paradoxe sur le Comédien.
  • L'état c'est moi—the (frequently untranslated) remark attributed to Louis XIV (I am the state), also used generally in allusion to an overweening ego
  • Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité—Liberty, Equality, Fraternity (motto of the French Republic)
  • longueur—a tedious passage in drama or literature
  • louche—of questionable taste, shady
  • ménage à trois—a sexual arrangement between three people, not typically used if all three are of the same sex; lit. household for three
  • Merci beaucoup!—Thank you very much!
  • milieu—environment, setting
  • mirepoix—a cooking mixture of two parts onions and one part each of celery and carrots[1]
  • mise en place—a food assembly station in a commercial kitchen
  • moi—me; often used in English as an ironic reply to an accusation, for example "Pretentious? Moi?"
  • mousse—a whipped dessert or a hairstyling foam
  • né (masculine) form of née
  • née (feminine)—born; past participle of naître, to be born. Often used to give someone or something's former or maiden name: Martha Washington, née Martha Dandridge.
  • n'est-ce pas?—Isn't it?, used after a statement, as in Right?
  • noblesse oblige—honorable behavior expected of high rank
  • non—No
  • nom de guerre—a pseudonym
  • nom de plume, pl. noms de plume—pen name
  • nouveau riche—newly rich
  • objet d'art—a piece of art
  • objet trouvé—a found object
  • oui—Yes
  • outré—bizarre, eccentric
  • par excellence—quintessential, lit. by excellence
  • pas de deux—a close relationship between two people, a duet in ballet
  • passé–out of fashion
  • peignoir—a woman’s dressing gown, a negligee
  • pièce de résistance—the one that resists, the best
  • pied-a-terre—a second home
  • plat de résistance—the main dish of a meal, lit. dish of resistance
  • plus ça change—the more things change, the more they stay the same (from plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose)
  • précis—a concise summary
  • prix fixe—a fixed-price meal
  • poseur—a person who pretends to be something he is not, a phony
  • prêt-à-porter—ready-to-wear clothing
  • prud-homme—an upstanding citizen, skilled workman
  • raconteur—a conversationalist
  • rapprochement—the establishment of cordial relations
  • roué—a hedonist
  • Quelle horreur!—A usually sarcastic phrase meaning What a horrible thing!, lit. What horror!
  • Qu'est-ce que c'est?—What is this?
  • raison d'être—justification for existence, reason for being
  • recherché—obscure, pretentious
  • rendezvous—a meeting, appointment, or date; usually written rendez-vous in French and sometimes in English
  • restaurateur—a restaurant owner
  • risqué—sexually suggestive
  • Laissez les bons temps rouler—Let the good times roll. Strongly associated with Cajun culture, and not commonly used by Francophones outside of Louisiana.
  • Le roi est mort. Vive le roi!—The king is dead. Long live the king!
  • roman à clef—a fictional account of a true story, lit. novel with a key
  • Sacré bleu!—General exclamation of horror and shock; used to avoid the oath “Sacré Dieu!”, lit. Sacred God!; This is a very dated expression, not used anymore in French; sometimes contracted and unaccented: “sacrebleu”.
  • sang-froid—great coolness and composure under strain
  • sans—without
  • savoir-faire—know-how
  • s'il vous plaît (SVP)—please, lit. if it pleases you, if you please
  • soi-disant—so-called
  • soupçon—a very small amount
  • soupe du jour—soup of the day
  • succès d’estime—an important but unpopular achievement
  • table d'hôte—a full-course meal offered at a fixed price
  • tableau vivant—in drama, a scene in which actors remain still as if in a picture
  • tête-à-tête —a private or tense meeting, lit. head-to-head
  • touché—acknowledgment of an effective counterpoint
  • tour de force—a masterly or brilliant stroke, creation, effect, or accomplishment, lit. feat of strength
  • très—very (slang, generally ironic)
  • vis-à-vis—in comparison with or in relation to, lit. face-to-face; also used to refer to the opposite corner of an intersection, i.e. catercorner (coll. kitty-corner).
  • Vive la différence—Long live the difference, generally referring to difference between male and female
  • Vive la France!—Long live France!, sometimes said with tongue-in-cheek sarcasm
  • Voilà! or Et voilà!—'There you go! or And there you have it!
  • volte-face—a complete reversal of opinion or position
  • voyeur—a peeping tom
  • Zut alors!—Darn it!, a general exclamation. Like "Sacré bleu", this is considered dated by modern French speakers. (Just plain zut is still in use, however - often repeated for effect, ie. zut, zut et zut!) (Whether "zut" is dated or not might depend on context: where "merde" (wfw. "shit") is not polite enough, "zut", "zut alors", "zut et rezut" etc. are still in current use.)
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Only found in English

  • auteur—A film director, specifically one who controls most aspects of a film, or other controller of an artistic situation. The English connotation derives from French film theory. It was popularized in the journal Cahiers du cinéma: auteur theory maintains that directors like Hitchcock exert a level of creative control equivalent to the author of a literary work. In French, the word originally means author, but some expressions like "cinéma d'auteur" are also in use.
  • cause célèbre—An issue arousing widespread controversy or heated public debate, lit. celebrated cause
  • double entendre—double meaning, for which Francophones would use «double sens». The verb entendre, to hear (modern), originally meant to understand. (Note: French usage: "un mot à double sens": a word with more than one meaning; "une phrase à double entente": a sentence with a hidden meaning. "À double entente" is listed in the Petit Larousse 1994 with no mention of its being obsolete or regional.)
  • encore—A request to repeat a performance, as in “Encore !”, lit. again; also used to describe additional songs played at the end of a gig. Francophones would say «Une autre !» (Another one !) to request «un rappel» (an encore).
  • entrée or entree—The main dish or course of a meal (US); in French, entrée literally means entrance and refers to the appetizer (UK).
  • faux pas—An embarrassing social error, lit. false step; sometimes used in French to mean to slip. Francophones would normally use «gaffe».
  • femme—a stereotypically effeminate gay man or lesbian (slang)
  • Le mot juste—The right word, lit. the just word
  • petard—A metaphorical trap, as in “hoist by one's own petard”, or “caught in one's own trap”. In French, pétard means fire-cracker or small explosive device. In Medieval warfare, a petard was a primitive mine hoisted by a crane against a castle gate in a siege.
  • Répondez s'il vous plaît. (RSVP)—Please reply. Francophones use "prière de répondre". (Note: RSLP ["Réponde s'il lui plaît"] is used on old-fashioned invitations written in the 3rd person, usually in "Script" typography -- at least in Belgium.)
  • Résumé—In North American English, a document listing one's qualifications for employment. Francophones call this a curriculum vitae (CV for short), a Latin phrase meaning "course of life," as do speakers of Commonwealth English and some other European languages.
  • succès de scandale—Success through scandal; Francophones might use «succès par médisance».
  • voir dire—jury selection (Law French).
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French phrases in international air-sea rescue

International authorities have adopted a number of words and phrases from French for use by speakers of all languages in voice communications during air-sea rescues. Note that the "phonetic" versions are presented as shown and not in IPA.

  • SECURITAY (securité, “safety”) – the following is a safety message or warning, the lowest level of danger.
  • PAN PAN (panne, “breakdown”) – the following is a message concerning a danger to a person or ship, the next level of danger.
  • MAYDAY (m'aidez, “help me”) – the following is a message of extreme urgency, the highest level of danger. (MAYDAY is used on voice channels for the same uses as SOS on Morse channels.)
  • SEELONCE (silence, “silence”) – keep this channel clear for air-sea rescue communications.
  • SEELONCE FEE NEE (silence fini, “silence is over”) – this channel is now available again.
  • PRU DONCE (prudence, “prudence”) – silence partially lifted, channel may be used again for urgent non-distress communication.
  • MAY DEE CAL (médical, “medical”) – medical assistance needed.

It is a serious breach in most countries, and in international zones, to use any of these phrases without justification.

See Mayday for a more detailed explanation.

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See also

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External link

da:Franske ord og vendinger de:Savarin