FRENCH WORDS YOU ALREADY KNOW
Ever catch yourself singing along to the Lady Marmalade song? Voulez-vous couchez avec moi, ce soir! Come on, we’ve all done it!
Well literally translates to do you want to go to bed with me tonight… So maybe you can strike that one from the memory (or maybe not—I don’t judge!!!), but we actually use many USEFUL french words every day in conversation. You just don’t realize it!
In fact, 29% of the words in English come from French words. So basically you’re already like one third French, and I’m gonna prove it to you! Here are some of those french words that we use all the time…
au contraire— on the contrary
blasé— when you don’t care or jaded
bon voyage— have a good trip!
bon appétit— enjoy your meal!
bouquet— originally meant clump of trees, now we use it to say bouquet of flowers
chic— elegantly stylish and fashionable
cliché— something predictable or a stereotype
cuisine— type of food
décor— comes from the french verb décorer (to decorate), used to describe the decorations in ones house
deja vu— having the inexplicable feeling that you’ve already seen or experienced something (translates literally to “already seen”)
derrière— we might use this word to describe someone’s behind or backside, in french this word literally means behind
en route— in the past you’ve probably spelled this phrase “on route” but the phrase is actually “en route” and its french to mean “on the way”
encore— we might scream this at the end of a concert to say we want more! The french use the word encore for even more than that as again, another, yet, still, or even
faux-pas— literally it translates to “false step” but we use it when you do something stupid or ignorant
faux— means “false” like faux fur for example
fiancé/fiancée— it’s that fancy word to describe your husband-or-wife-to-be in both languages
hors d’oeuvre— those yummy appetizers you eat before your meal… same word in French
laissez-faire— when you live life with a “live and let live,” hands off kind of attitude
mardi gras— the holiday where you might’ve done some shameful act for a string of beads, translates literally to Fat Tuesday
ménage à trois— translates literally to “household for three” … ;)
raison d’être— reason for being, justification or purpose of existence
RSVP— that little card you have to return to the party host to let them know if you’re coming or not stands for: répondez s’il vous plait (respond if you please)
sauté— sauter means to jump in french, so when you’re sautéing vegetables you’re making them jump in the pan
soirée— also known as an evening party or evening get together
souvenir— is the french verb to remember which is fitting because we take home souvenirs from vacations to remember them
voilà— last but not least, voilà! There was your list of words!
To be a functional beginner in a language, all you need to know 250 words… and let me tell you, you are on your way in French! Just learn some basic verb-age and you can get along just fine in no time!