List of French phrases

__NOTOC__ This page lists English translations of French phrases used in English texts and presumed to be understood by the English reader.

A

à propos: regarding (this particular subject)

j'accuse !: "I accuse!" - title of an open letter by Emile Zola exposing the Dreyfus affair

aide-de-camp: "camp assistant"; assistant to a senior military officer

aide-mémoire: "memory aid"; an object or memorandum to assist in remembrance, or a diplomatic paper proposing the major points of discussion

allez !: "go !, as in go team"

ancien régime: the previous administration/government/reign. Note that in English usage it is often used to mean in particular pre-Revolution France, or the past in general, but this is not the French usage, which has the particular meaning as given

appellation contrôlée: supervised use of a name. For the conventional use of the term, see Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée

après nous, le déluge: "after us, the flood"; that is, things will be disastrous after we have gone (or died). Attributed to Madame de Pompadour, mistress of Louis XV of France

avec plaisir: you're welcome (lit. "with pleasure")

B

beau geste: literally "noble gesture"; gracious gesture; also, a gesture noble in form but meaningless in substance

beaucoup: plenty, lots of, much; merci beaucoup: thanks a lot

bel esprit (pl. beaux esprits): literally "fine mind"; a cultivated, highly intelligent person

belles-lettres: literally "fine letters"; literature regarded for its aesthetic value rather than its didactic or informative content; also, light, stylish writings, usually on literary or intellectual subjects

bon appétit: literally "good appetite"; enjoy your meal

bon mot: well-chosen word(s), particularly a witty remark

bon vivant: one who enjoys the good life, an epicurean

bon voyage: "have a nice trip" (as in, 'I wish you a pleasant trip')

bonne chance: "good luck" (as in, 'I wish you good luck')

bric-à-brac: small ornamental objects, less valuable than antiques

C

ça ne fait rien: "it doesn't matter"

cause célèbre: literally "famous case", but used to refer to any long-running social, legal and political situation involving public campaigning on one or both sides

c'est bon: "that's good"

c'est la vie: "that's life"

c'est magnifique, mais ce n'est pas la guerre: "it is magnificent, but it is not war" - quotation from Marshal Pierre Bosquet commenting on the charge of the Light Brigade

chacun a son goût / chacun à son goût / chacun ses goûts / à chacun son goût are used

"to each his (their) own"

Champs Elysées: literally "Elysian Fields"; actually the name of a major street radiating from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris

Châteaux en Espagne: literally "castles in Spain"; used to mean imaginary projects, often with little hope of realisation (means the same as "castles in the air" or "pie in the sky")

cherchez la femme: "look for the woman", in the sense that, when a man behaves out of character or in an otherwise apparently inexplicable manner, the reason may be found in his trying to cover up an illicit affair with a woman, or to impress or gain favour with a woman. First used by Alexandre Dumas (père) in the third chapter of his novel Les Mohicans de Paris (1854).

Chevalier d'Industrie: one who lives by his wits, specially by swindling

comme ci, comme ça: "like this, like that"; or some people might say "so and so"

contretemps: "argument"

coup de foudre: a sudden unexpected event, such as: a thunderbolt; a "bolt from the blue"; love at first sight

coup de grâce: a killing blow (literally "blow of mercy")

coup d'état: a sudden blow to a state (normally a sudden, often violent, regime change)

crème de la crème: best of the best (or "cream of the crop")

cri du coeur: an impassioned outcry, as of entreaty or protest

cul-de-sac: literally "bottom-of-the-bag" or "arse-of-the-bag"; refers to a dead-end street (or no through road)

D

déjà entendu: a recent addition to English language meaning "already heard"

déjà lu: literally "already read"; meaning already reading a piece of music or text

déjà vu: "already seen"; seeing something you have seen again, probably in similar settings

le droit du seigneur: literally "the right of the lord"; the 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)

de rigueur: necessary according to etiquette, protocol or fashion

E

élan vital: literally "ardor vital"; the vital force hypothesized by Henri Bergson as a source of efficient causation and evolution in nature; also called "life-force"

éminence grise: literally "grey eminence"; refers to a publicity-shy person with little formal power but great influence over those in authority

encore: more, still, yet; encore une fois: once more, again

en principe, 'oui': literally "in principle, 'yes'". Actually a bureaucratic and circumlocutional way of saying 'no'

esprit d'escalier: from "wit" and "stairs"; thinking of witty remark too late; hindsight or afterwit

l'état, c'est moi !: "I am the state!" - attributed to the archetypal absolute monarch, Louis XIV of France

F

fait accompli: the thing is done, it is too late to plan for it

faux: false, ersatz, fake.

femme fatale: literally "fatal/deadly woman"; an attractive woman who seduces and takes advantage of men in order to achieve personal goals after which she discards of or abandons the victim. Used to describe an attractive woman with whom a relationship is likely to result, or has already resulted, in pain and sorrow

fin de saison: literally "end of season"; marks the end of an extended (annual) period during which business increases significantly, most commonly used for the end of summer tourism

fin de siècle: "end of the century"; relating to the culture pertaining at the end of the 19th century

flâneur: an aimless idler

foie gras: fatty liver; usually the liver of overfed geese, hence: pâté de foie gras, pâté made from goose liver

G

Gardez l'eau: meaning watch out for the water, the phrase was shouted when people used to throw faeces, urine, etc. from their chamber pots out of their windows.

Gautier et Garguille: all the world and his wife (possibly derived from a 17th century French comic Hugues Guérin, who performed under the stage name Gautier-Garguille, though it is likely that he in turn may have taken this pseudonym from earlier 16th century recorded sayings: prendre Gautier pour Garguille: "to take Gautier for Garguille", that is to mistake one person for another; il n'y a ni Gautier, ni Garguille: "he is neither Gaultier nor Garguille", that is, 'he is no-one')

les goûts et les couleurs ne se discutent pas: "tastes and colours are not argued over"; one does not argue over differences in taste, to each his own

grand projet: literally "large project"; usually a government funded large scale civil engineering or technology project executed for prestige or general social benefit, and not immediately (if ever) profitable

H

haute couture: Paris-based custom-fitted clothing; literally "high sewing"

honi soit qui mal y pense: The motto of the British order of the garter, literally: "shamed be the person who thinks evil of it"

hors de combat: prevented from fighting, usually by injury; literally "out of combat"

hors-concours: "out of the running"; used to describe someone who is a non-competitor, especially in love

I

idée fixe: an obsession or fixed attitude. In the Asterix books by Goscinny & Uderzo, Asterix's dog is named Idéfix in French and Dogmatix in English. The 19th century French composer Hector Berlioz used the term to denote a musical idea (normally a short melodic phrase), representing something or someone extra-musical, that was subject to limited development during the course of the work; very similar to Richard Wagner's use of so-called leitmotifs

J

Jacques Bonhomme: a name given to a French peasant as tamely submissive to taxation. Also the pseudonym of the 14th century peasant leader Guillaume Caillet

je ne regrette rien: "I regret nothing" (from the title of a popular song sung by Édith Piaf: "Non, je ne regrette rien"). Also the phrase the UK's then Chancellor of the Exchequer Norman Lamont chose to use to describe his feelings over the events of September 16 1992 ('Black Wednesday')

je ne sais quoi: "I don't know what"; used to mean a certain, indefinable 'something' which distinguishes the object in question from others which are superficially similar

je ne sais pas: "I don't know"

Jeunesse Dorée (Jeunesse Doree): literally "gilded youth"; name given to a body of young dandies who, after the fall of Robespierre, strove to bring about a counter-revolution. Today used for any offspring living an affluent lifestyle

joie de vivre: "joy of life", "joy of living"

K

L

laissez-faire: "leave to do"; often used within the context of economic policy or political philosophy, meaning leaving alone, or non-interference

legerdemain: from Old French leger de main, "light of hand"; used to mean sleight of hand usually in the context of deception

lèse majesté: an offense against a soveriegn power; or, an attack against someone's dignity or against a custom or institution held sacred (from the Latin "crimen laesae maiestatis": the crime of injured majesty)

lieu: "instead", originally derived from Latin locus ("place"); in lieu of: "instead of", "in the place of". For example, "In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the deceased's charity of choice." This is illustrated for instance in the English word "lieutenant", which literally means "place-holder"

Louis Quinze: specifically "Louis XV" (of France); or, more generally, relating to the rococo style of furniture, architecture and interior decoration popular during his reign (which lasted almost 60 years from 1715 to 1774)

M

maître d': a shortening of maître d'hôtel, meaning "master of the hall"; used to refer to a head waiter

mauvais quart d'heure: literally a 'bad quarter of an hour'. A short unpleasant or uncomfortable moment

ménage à trois: "household of three"; a romantic and/or sexual relationship consisting of three individuals in a single household, an arrangement of three individuals engaging in simultaneous sexual activity with one another

mise-en-scène: the process of setting a stage with regard to placement of actors, scenery, properties, etc.; the stage setting or scenery of a play; surroundings, environment

le moment suprême: "the supreme moment"; the climax in a series of events (for example at the unveiling of an art exhibition)

moue: a pursing together of the lips to indicate disapproval

N

n'est-ce pas?: "isn't it?" - usually indicating that the previous phrase was a rhetorical question

noblesse oblige: "nobility obliges"; those granted a higher station in life are obliged to extend (possibly token) favours/courtesies to those in lower stations

O

œuvre: "work", in the sense of an artist's work (as in, for instance, "I am studying Molière's great œuvre, Le Misanthrope"), and often, by extension, an artist's lifetime's achievements (for example "I am studying Molière's complete œuvre, including his great comedy of manners Le Misanthrope")

P

passe-partout: a document or key that allows the holder to travel without hindrance from the authorities and enter any location

peut-être: perhaps, possibly

pièce de résistance: "piece of endurance" or "piece of staying power"; item that excels in quality and/or value from the rest of a collection

pièce d'occasion: "occasional piece"; item written or composed for a special occasion

pied-à-terre: "foot-on-the-ground" or "foothold"; a small (traditionally ground-floor) apartment in a large town or city, usually a second home of a wealthy household

pis-aller: "to go worse"; an undesirable option selected because the other choices were even worse

poseur: a person who pretends to be what he or she is not: an affected or insincere person: a wannabee

pourboire: "for drink"; gratuity, tip; donner un pourboire: to tip.

pour encourager les autres: "to encourage the others"; said of an excessive punishment meted out as an example. The original is from Voltaire's Candide and referred to the execution of Admiral John Byng

prêt-à-porter: ready to wear clothing (off the shelf). Contrast with haute couture

Q

Quai d'Orsay: address of the French foreign ministry in Paris, used to refer to the ministry itself

Quatorze juillet: "14th July", Bastille Day. The nominal beginning of the French Revolution in 1789; used to refer to the revolution itself and its ideals

que sera, sera: "what will be, will be"; passive (even pragmatic) approach to life, there is no use in trying to see the future, to take events as they come. Originally a Spanish phrase, and in fact the same phrase has identical meanings in both languages.

qui vive: literally "live who?"; on the alert, vigilant (a sentry's challenge to determine a person's political sympathies); idiomatically "on the qui vive"

quoi de neuf?: "what's new?", "what's the news?"

R

raison d'être: the basic reason or purpose to exist

rendez-vous: appointment, meeting place

Rive Gauche: the left (southern) bank (of the River Seine in Paris). A particular mindset attributed to inhabitants of that area

roi fainéant: powerless king (literally "do-nothing king"); an expression first used about the kings of France from 670 to 752 (Thierry III to Childeric III), who had to do what their ministers told them. The term was later used about other royalty who had been made powerless, also in other countries, but lost its meaning when parliamentarism made all royals powerless

roman à clef: literally "novel with key"; a novel in which actual persons, places or events are depicted in fictional guise

RSVP: abbreviation of répondez, s'il vous plaît, which politely requests the recipient to reply to an invitation ("please respond")

S

Sacrebleu !: literally "Sacred blue!"; a stereotypical minced oath, which is an euphemism for Sacré Dieu ("Sacred God!")

sang-froid: literally "cold blood"; translates as keeping a cool head or a stiff upper lip, NOT cold-blooded (in the sense of being unfeeling or lacking sympathy)

sans culottes: literally "without knee-britches/trousers"; refers to lower-class Parisian republicans in the French Revolution, in modern use to those holding strong republican views

savoir-faire: capable, competent in an endeavour

sauve qui peut !: those that are able to should save themselves. Used as a pragmatic response to an accident

soi-disant: literally "oneself saying"; means self-proclaimed, self-styled

T

tant pis: too bad, what a shame

tête-à-tête: "head to head"; an intimate get-together or private conversation between two people

tour de force: "act of strength"; a brilliant feat

tout de suite: "at once", "immediately" (per Oxford English Dictionary). Sometimes shortened to tout suite

U

V

Vas-y !: this means something like "Go Ahead!" and is used to encourage someone (pronounced vah-zee)

Va-t'en !: imperative form, like above, literally meaning "Go there" but translating more closely as "Go away"/ "Go to hell". Used to impolitely tell someone that you don't require their presence.

vendu or vendus

sellouts, generally by apostates

vin de pays: literally "country wine"; wine of a lower designated quality than appellation controlée

vis-à-vis: "face-to-face"; opposed to, compared with, in relation to

Vive!: literally "live"; as in "Vive la France!" (long live France), "Vive le Canada!" (long live Canada), or "Vive le Québec libre" (long live free Quebec, a sovereigntist slogan famously used by French President Charles de Gaulle in 1967 in Montreal).

voilà !: this word is the most common and familar French word in the English language; it actually means "here is!", as in when presenting or making something

voulez-vous coucher avec moi?: literally "do you want to sleep with me?"; used more in the sense of 'please sleep with me'

W

X

Y

Z

le zinc: bar/café counter

Zut alors !: "Dash it!"

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A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

See also

External links