French Words Used in English: 50 Loanwords Explained
🇫🇷 French · 50 cards · B1 · by Théo Marchand
You already know more French than you think, but half of it has drifted. On an American menu an entrée is the main course; in a Lyon bistro it's the starter. A chef is a cook in English, your boss in French. A boutique is any corner shop, nothing designer about it.
These 50 borrowings go back into French: the real meaning, the gender, the register, and an example sentence the way people actually say it. Where France and Québec part ways - cul-de-sac, apéro - I say so in the note. Expect to gain vocabulary and unlearn a few confident mistakes at the same time.
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How to use this deck
Flip through the cards, then switch to Quiz. Tap the play button on any row to hear it. The full table below is there to read, print or copy into your own flashcard app.
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All 50 cards
| # | French | English | Example | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | un café Masculine. In French it's both the drink (usually an espresso) and the place; English only kept the place. | coffee; café, coffee shop | On se prend un café avant la réunion ? Shall we grab a coffee before the meeting? | |
| 2 | un menu Masculine. The printed list of dishes is la carte, not le menu - un menu is normally a fixed-price set meal. | set meal, fixed-price meal; menu | Je vais prendre le menu du midi. I'll have the lunch set meal. | |
| 3 | un restaurant Masculine. Final -t is silent and the final -an- is a nasal vowel. | restaurant | Ce restaurant est complet le samedi soir. This restaurant is fully booked on Saturday nights. | |
| 4 | un croissant Masculine. Also means "crescent" (the shape, the moon). Final -t silent. | croissant; crescent | Deux croissants et un pain au chocolat, s'il vous plaît. Two croissants and a pain au chocolat, please. | |
| 5 | une baguette Feminine. Also a magic wand, a drumstick, a conductor's baton - the word just means "little stick". | baguette (bread); stick, wand | Tu peux passer chercher une baguette ? Can you pick up a baguette on your way? | |
| 6 | une omelette Feminine. American English spells it "omelet"; the French spelling keeps -ette. | omelette | Elle nous fait une omelette aux champignons. She's making us a mushroom omelette. | |
| 7 | un chef Masculine. On its own, chef means boss or head of something. In a kitchen, le chef is the head cook; an ordinary cook is un cuisinier. | boss, head, leader; chef | Mon chef est en congé toute la semaine. My boss is off all week. | |
| 8 | chic Adjective, same form in the feminine (une tenue chic). Of behaviour it can mean "decent, kind": c'est chic de ta part = that's nice of you. | stylish, smart, classy | Elle était très chic pour la soirée. She looked really smart for the party. | |
| 9 | bon voyage Said to someone leaving. For a car journey French speakers usually say bonne route. | have a good trip | Bon voyage, envoie-moi un message en arrivant ! Have a good trip, text me when you get there! | |
| 10 | bon appétit Said as everyone starts eating. Skipping it at a French table feels genuinely rude; English has no real equivalent. | enjoy your meal | Bon appétit ! - Merci, à toi aussi. Enjoy your meal! - Thanks, you too. | |
| 11 | voilà In English it's a flourish; in French it's one of the most ordinary words there is. Et voilà = and that's that. | there it is, here you go; that's it | Voilà ton café, attention c'est chaud. Here's your coffee, careful, it's hot. | |
| 12 | un souvenir Masculine. The primary meaning is "memory" - the tourist object is a secondary sense. Related verb: se souvenir de. | memory; souvenir, keepsake | J'ai un très bon souvenir de ce voyage. I have really fond memories of that trip. | |
| 13 | un rendez-vous Masculine, invariable. Any appointment - doctor, bank, plumber. The romantic sense is just one possibility, unlike in English. | appointment, meeting | J'ai rendez-vous chez le dentiste à quatorze heures. I have a dentist's appointment at 2 p.m. | |
| 14 | un déjà-vu Masculine. Usually inside une impression / un sentiment de déjà-vu. C'est du déjà-vu also means "we've seen that before, it's unoriginal". | déjà vu; something already seen before | J'ai eu une impression de déjà-vu en entrant. I had a feeling of déjà vu when I walked in. | |
| 15 | une boutique Feminine. Any small shop - baker, florist, phone repair. It carries none of the upscale flavour of English "boutique". | shop, store | La boutique ferme entre midi et deux. The shop closes from noon to two. | |
| 16 | bizarre Adjective, same form in the feminine. Far more neutral than English "bizarre" - it's the everyday word for "weird". | strange, weird, odd | C'est bizarre, il n'a pas répondu. That's odd, he didn't answer. | |
| 17 | un genre Masculine. Also grammatical gender, and in casual speech a filler like English "like": genre, il est parti sans rien dire. | kind, type; genre | Ce genre de film ne m'intéresse pas du tout. That kind of film doesn't interest me at all. | |
| 18 | un cliché Masculine. In photography un cliché is a shot or a negative - the printing origin of the word. | cliché; snapshot, shot (photo) | C'est un cliché, mais ça reste vrai. It's a cliché, but it's still true. | |
| 19 | un fiancé Masculine; feminine une fiancée. Keep the accent in French; English often drops it. | fiancé, husband-to-be | Son fiancé vient dîner ce soir. Her fiancé is coming for dinner tonight. | |
| 20 | une entrée Feminine. In France and Québec an entrée is the appetizer; on a US English menu "entrée" means the main course. Also means entrance/entry. | starter, first course; entrance | En entrée, je prends la soupe du jour. For a starter I'll have the soup of the day. | |
| 21 | un hors-d'œuvre Masculine, traditionally invariable in the plural. Slightly dated in France, where amuse-bouches is more common now. Literally "outside the work". | appetizer, nibbles | Elle a préparé des hors-d'œuvre pour l'apéro. She made some appetizers for drinks. | |
| 22 | un apéritif Masculine. Almost always shortened to l'apéro in speech (informal), and it means both the drink and the social occasion. | pre-dinner drink; drinks get-together | On prend l'apéritif sur la terrasse ? Shall we have drinks out on the terrace? | |
| 23 | une vinaigrette Feminine, from vinaigre. It's the default salad dressing in France, not a special variety. | vinaigrette, salad dressing | Je fais la vinaigrette avec de la moutarde. I make the dressing with mustard. | |
| 24 | une purée Feminine. On its own it means mashed potatoes. Also a mild exclamation, purée !, a polite stand-in for putain. | mashed potatoes; purée | Les enfants adorent la purée maison. The kids love homemade mash. | |
| 25 | une crème brûlée Feminine; literally "burnt cream". Plural: des crèmes brûlées, both words agree. | crème brûlée | Une crème brûlée pour finir, ça ne se refuse pas. A crème brûlée to finish - can't say no to that. | |
| 26 | un éclair Masculine. The weather sense is the original one: un éclair = a lightning flash. | éclair (pastry); flash of lightning | Il a pris un éclair au chocolat. He got a chocolate éclair. | |
| 27 | sauté Past participle of sauter, "to jump" - the food jumps in the pan. Agrees like an adjective: des pommes de terre sautées. French uses faire sauter as the verb; English turned sauté itself into a verb. | sautéed, pan-fried | Du poulet sauté au citron, c'est rapide à faire. Sautéed chicken with lemon is quick to make. | |
| 28 | gourmand Adjective and noun; feminine gourmande. Affectionate, not an insult. A connoisseur with refined taste is un gourmet. | fond of food, greedy (about eating); indulgent (of a dish) | Il est gourmand, il reprend toujours du dessert. He loves his food - he always goes back for more dessert. | |
| 29 | un sommelier Masculine; feminine une sommelière. A recognised profession with its own diploma in France. | sommelier, wine waiter | Le sommelier nous a conseillé un vin de Loire. The sommelier recommended a Loire wine. | |
| 30 | à la carte Literally "from the list" - la carte being the full list of dishes, as opposed to le menu (the fixed-price meal). | à la carte, ordered dish by dish | Si le menu ne vous tente pas, commandez à la carte. If the set meal doesn't appeal, order à la carte. | |
| 31 | un concierge Same form for both genders (un/une concierge). In France it usually means a residential building's caretaker; the hotel sense English kept is narrower. | building caretaker; hotel concierge | Le concierge garde les colis au rez-de-chaussée. The caretaker keeps the parcels on the ground floor. | |
| 32 | un chauffeur Masculine; feminine une chauffeuse (standard in Québec, spreading in France). Any professional driver, not only a private one. From chauffer, "to heat" - the steam-engine days. | driver | Mon frère est chauffeur de bus depuis dix ans. My brother has been a bus driver for ten years. | |
| 33 | un bureau Masculine, plural bureaux. Desk or office/workplace. English "bureau" means an agency or a chest of drawers - neither is the usual French sense. | desk; office | Mes clés sont restées sur le bureau. My keys are still on the desk. | |
| 34 | un dossier Masculine. Completely ordinary: a paper file, a computer folder, an application. English "dossier" sounds like espionage; French doesn't. | file, folder; case | Envoie-moi le dossier complet avant vendredi. Send me the complete file before Friday. | |
| 35 | un cul-de-sac Masculine, plural des culs-de-sac; literally "bottom of the bag", so it's slightly earthy. Signs in France say impasse; cul-de-sac is the everyday word in Québec. | dead end, cul-de-sac | On habite dans un cul-de-sac très calme. We live on a very quiet dead-end street. | |
| 36 | une façade Feminine. The figurative sense works too: ce n'est qu'une façade = it's all just a front. | façade, front of a building | La façade de l'immeuble vient d'être repeinte. The front of the building has just been repainted. | |
| 37 | une silhouette Feminine. Also used for someone's body shape: affiner sa silhouette. | silhouette, outline; figure | On devinait sa silhouette derrière le rideau. You could make out his outline behind the curtain. | |
| 38 | un atelier Masculine. A craftsman's workshop, an artist's studio, or a hands-on class: un atelier de cuisine. | workshop, studio | Il travaille dans un petit atelier de menuiserie. He works in a small carpentry workshop. | |
| 39 | la haute couture Feminine; literally "high sewing". In France the label is legally protected - only approved houses may use it. Everyday clothing is la mode. | haute couture, high fashion | Cette maison de haute couture défile en juillet. That haute couture house shows in July. | |
| 40 | l'avant-garde Feminine noun (une avant-garde); originally the military vanguard. Used as an adjective French says d'avant-garde, not just avant-garde. | avant-garde, vanguard | C'était du théâtre d'avant-garde, assez déroutant. It was avant-garde theatre, pretty disorienting. | |
| 41 | le début Masculine. English "debut" (first public appearance) is les débuts in the plural: faire ses débuts au cinéma. | beginning, start | Au début, je ne comprenais rien du tout. At the beginning I didn't understand a thing. | |
| 42 | la matinée Feminine. Normally the stretch of the morning; French does keep the theatre sense in the phrase en matinée, a daytime performance. | morning (the whole morning) | J'ai passé la matinée à ranger l'appartement. I spent the morning tidying the flat. | |
| 43 | le sabotage Masculine. Verb: saboter. It comes from sabot, a wooden clog. | sabotage | L'enquête évoque un acte de sabotage. The investigation points to an act of sabotage. | |
| 44 | le camouflage Masculine. The verb camoufler is used well beyond the army: camoufler une tache, une erreur. | camouflage | Les soldats portaient des tenues de camouflage. The soldiers were wearing camouflage gear. | |
| 45 | un faux pas Masculine, invariable; literally "false step", and it can still mean a literal stumble. Slightly more formal in French than in English. | blunder, social misstep; a stumble | J'ai fait un faux pas en parlant de son ex. I put my foot in it by mentioning her ex. | |
| 46 | le savoir-faire Masculine, invariable. French leans on practical skill; the social polish English sometimes means is le savoir-vivre (good manners). | know-how, expertise, craftsmanship | Cette équipe a un vrai savoir-faire artisanal. That team has real craft expertise. | |
| 47 | carte blanche Feminine; literally "white card", a blank signed page. Set phrases: avoir / donner carte blanche, with no article. | carte blanche, free rein | Le patron m'a donné carte blanche sur le projet. The boss gave me free rein on the project. | |
| 48 | un tête-à-tête Masculine, invariable. Mostly used in en tête-à-tête, "just the two of us" - romantic or not. | private conversation, one-on-one | Ils ont dîné en tête-à-tête, sans les enfants. They had dinner just the two of them, without the kids. | |
| 49 | la joie de vivre Feminine. Perfectly current in French, though it sounds a little lyrical; you'll hear it about people, not places. | joy of living, zest for life | Elle a une joie de vivre communicative. Her zest for life is infectious. | |
| 50 | un je-ne-sais-quoi Masculine, hyphenated when used as a noun. Literally "I don't know what", almost always with petit. | a certain something, indefinable quality | Cette chanson a un petit je-ne-sais-quoi. That song has a certain something about it. |
Théo Marchand
Native French · Speaks English, Spanish
Born in Lyon, living in Montréal. I write the phrases the way people actually say them on both sides of the Atlantic and mark the difference when it matters.
Published
Questions about this deck
- Do these French words mean the same thing in English?
- Often not. Une entrée is the starter, not the main course; un chef is your boss; une boutique is any little shop; un bureau is a desk; un souvenir is a memory; gourmand means fond of eating rather than refined. That's why each card gives the French meaning first and flags the English drift in the note.
- Why does "entrée" mean the main course on American menus?
- In classic French service the entrée was the course that led into the meal. In the United States the word became attached to the central dish of a simplified menu in the 19th and 20th centuries and stuck. In France and in Québec, entrée still means the appetizer, so ordering it in French gets you a starter.
- Is "cul-de-sac" rude in French?
- It is mildly earthy - cul means backside - but it is not a swear word. In France, street signs and estate agents say impasse or voie sans issue, while cul-de-sac is the normal spoken word in Québec, including in real-estate listings.
- How do I pronounce these words in French rather than in English?
- Three habits fix most of it: don't stress the first syllable (French groups words together and lightly stresses the last syllable), keep final consonants silent in croissant, début and faux pas, and pronounce -et/-ette and -é clearly as "eh"/"ay" instead of reducing them. And keep the nasal vowels nasal in restaurant, rendez-vous and avant-garde.
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