
Whether you’re an English speaker learning French or a French Speaker learning English, here’s a list of expressions you already know!
Why do English speakers use so many phrases taken directly from French?
English speakers use French phrases like "déjà vu" due to historical influences and cultural prestige. After the Norman Conquest in 1066, French became the language of the English court and aristocracy, integrating many French words and phrases into English. French culture has long been associated with sophistication and intellectualism, making its phrases desirable for their elegance and precision. Additionally, some French phrases convey specific concepts more succinctly than English can.
1. RSVP (Répondez s'il vous plaît) (rey-pon-dey seel voo pleh)
- Translation: Please respond
2. Déjà vu (dey-zhah voo)
Translation: Already seen
3. Faux pas (foh pah)
Translation: Miss step (social blunder)
4. C'est la vie (seh lah vee)
Translation: That's life
5. Bon appétit (bon ah-pey-tee)
Translation: Enjoy your meal
6. Cul-de-sac (kool duh sak)
Translation: Bottom of the bag (dead-end street)
7. Touché (too-shey)
Translation: Touched (used to acknowledge a hit in fencing, or a good point in an argument)
8. À la carte (ah lah kart)
Translation: According to the menu (ordering individual dishes)
9. Chic (sheek)
Translation: Stylish, fashionable
10. Fiancé/Fiancée (fee-ahn-say)
Translation: Betrothed (engaged person)
11. Rendezvous (rahn-dey-voo)
Translation: Meeting, appointment
12. Tête-à-tête (tet ah tet)
Translation: Head to head (private conversation)
13. Avant-garde (ah-vahnt gahrd)
Translation: Front guard (innovative, especially in the arts)
14. Nom de plume (nom duh ploom)
Translation: Pen name
15. Joie de vivre (zhwah duh vee-vruh)
Translation: Joy of living
16. Carte blanche (kart blahnsh)
Translation: Blank card (complete freedom)
17. Façade (fah-sahd)
Translation: Front, face (often used metaphorically for a deceptive outward appearance)
18. Savoir-faire (sav-wahr fehr)
Translation: Know-how (social adeptness)
19. À la mode (ah lah mohd)
Translation: In fashion (also used for a dessert with ice cream in the U.S.)
20. En route (ahn root)
Translation: On the way
21. Double entendre (doo-bl ahn-tahn-druh)
Translation: Double meaning
22. Fait accompli (feh ah-kom-plee)
Translation: Accomplished fact
23. En suite (ahn sweet)
Translation: In sequence (used to describe a bedroom with an attached bathroom)
24. Entrepreneur (ahn-truh-pruh-nur)
Translation: Undertaker (one who undertakes projects, typically business-related)
25. Blasé (blah-zey)
Translation: Indifferent due to overexposure
26. Nouveau riche (noo-voh reesh)
Translation: New rich (people who have recently acquired wealth)
27. Esprit de corps (es-pree duh kor)
Translation: Group spirit
28. Coup d'état (koo dey-tah)
Translation: Stroke of state (sudden overthrow of a government)
29. Coup de grâce (koo duh grahs)
Translation: Stroke of grace (a death blow to end suffering)
30. Tour de force (toor duh fors)
Translation: Feat of strength (an impressive achievement)
31. Ménage à trois (mey-nazh ah trwah)
Translation: Household of three (a romantic arrangement involving three people)
32. Laissez-faire (les-ey fehr)
Translation: Let do (an economic system of minimal government intervention)
33. Mauvais quart d'heure (moh-veh kar dur)
Translation: A bad quarter-hour (a short period of embarrassment or difficulty)
34. Trompe-l'œil (trom ploey)
Translation: Trick of the eye (an art technique that creates an optical illusion)
35. Coup de main (koo duh man)
Translation: A helping hand (a sudden action or intervention)
36. Bête noire (bet nwar)
Translation: Black beast (something particularly disliked)
37. Sang-froid (sahn fwah)
Translation: Cold blood (composure, self-control)
38. Nouveau riche (noo-voh reesh)
Translation: New rich (people who have recently acquired wealth)
39. Cliché: An overused expression or idea. (Klee-shay)
Translation: An overused expression or idea
40. Je ne sais quoi: An overused expression or idea. (zhe ne say kwah)
Translation: I do not know what (a quality that cannot be described or named easily)
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