French Phrases Used By English Speakers

Many words in the English vocabulary are of French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman Conquest, before the language settled into what became Modern English. English words of French origin, such as ''art'', ''competition'', ''force'', ''machine'', and ''table'' are pronounced according to English rules of phonology, rather than French, and are commonly used by English speakers without any consciousness of their French origin.

This article, on the other hand, covers French words and phrases that have entered the English lexicon without ever losing their character as Gallicisms: they remain unmistakably "French" to an English speaker. They are most common in written English, where they retain French diacritics and are usually printed in italics. In spoken English, at least some attempt is generally made to pronounce them as they would sound in French; an entirely English pronunciation is regarded as a solecism.

Some of them were never "good French", in the sense of being grammatical, idiomatic French usage. Some others were once normal French but have become very old-fashioned, or have acquired different meanings and connotations in the original language, to the extent that they would not be understood (either at all, or in the intended sense) by a native French speaker.

Used in English and French

A

; à la: short for (ellipsis of) ''à la manière de''; in the manner of/in the style of
; à la carte: lit. "on the card, i.e. menu"; In restaurants it refers to ordering individual dishes "à la carte" rather than a fixed-price meal "menu". In America "à la Carte Menu" can be found, an oxymoron and a pleonasm.
; à propos: regarding/concerning (the correct French syntax is ''à propos de'')
; aide-de-camp: lit. "camp helper"; A military officer who serves as an adjutant to a higher-ranking officer, prince or other high political dignitary.
; aide-mémoire: lit. "memory aid"; an object or memorandum to assist in remembrance, or a diplomatic paper proposing the major points of discussion
; amour propre: "Self-love", Self-respect.
; amuse-bouche or amuse-gueule: lit. "mouth-amuser"; a single, bite-sized hors d'œuvre. In France, the exact expression used is ''amuse-gueule'', ''gueule'' being slang for mouth (''gueule'' is the mouth of a carnivorous animal; when used to describe the mouth of a human, it is vulgarakin to "gob" although the expression in itself is not vulgar). The expression refers to a small mouthful of food, served at the discretion of the chef before a meal as an hors d'oeuvre or between main courses.
; ancien régime: a sociopolitical or other system that no longer exists, an allusion to pre-revolutionary France (used with capital letters in French with this meaning: Ancien Régime)
; aperçu: a member of the gendarmerie; colloquially, a policeman
; gendarmerie: a military body charged with police duties
; genre: a type or class, such as "the thriller genre".
; gîte : furnished vacation cottage typically in rural France.
; glissade: slide down a slope.
; Grand Prix:lit. "Great Prize"; a type of motor racing. English plural is ''Grands Prix.''
; Grand Guignol: a horror show, named after a French theater famous for its frightening plays and bloody special effects. (''Guignol'' can be used in French to describe a ridiculous person, in the same way that ''clown'' might be used in English.)
; grenadier: a specialized soldier, first established for the throwing of grenades and later as elite troops.

H

; habitué: one who regularly frequents a place.
; haute couture: lit. "high sewing": Paris-based custom-fitted clothing; trend-setting fashion
; haute école: lit. "high school": advanced components of Classical dressage (horseback riding); when capitalized (Haute Ecole), refers to France's most prestigious higher education institutions (e.g., Polytechnique, ENA, Les Mines)
; hauteur: lit. "height": arrogance.
; haut monde: lit. the "high world": fashionable society.
; Honi soit qui mal y pense: "Shamed be he who thinks ill of it"; or sometimes translated as "Evil be to him who evil thinks"; the motto of the English Order of the Garter (modern French writes ''honni'' instead of Old French ''honi'' and would phrase "qui en pense du mal" instead of "qui mal y pense"). The sentence ''Honni soit qui mal y pense'' (often with double n) can still be used in French as a frozen expression to mean "Let nobody think ill of this" by allusion to the Garter's motto. A more colloquial quasi-synonymous expression in French would be ''en tout bien tout honneur''.
; hors de combat: lit. "out of the fight": prevented from fighting or participating in some event, usually by injury.
; hors concours: lit. "out of competition": not to be judged with others because of the superiority of the work to the others.
; hors d'œuvre: lit. "outside the ainwork": appetizer.

I

; idée fixe: lit. "fixed idea": obsession; in music, a leitmotiv.
; impasse: a situation offering no escape, as a difficulty without solution, an argument where no agreement is possible, etc.; a deadlock.
; ingénu(e): an innocent young man/woman, used particularly in reference to a theatrical stock character who is entirely virginal and wholesome. ''L'Ingénu'' is a famous novella written by Voltaire.

J

; j'accuse: "I accuse"; used generally in reference to a political or social indictment (alluding to J'Accuse…!, Émile Zola's exposé of the Dreyfus affair, a political scandal that divided France from the 1890s to the early 1900s (decade) and involved the false conviction for treason in 1894 of Alfred Dreyfus, a young French artillery officer of Jewish background).
; j'adoube: In chess, an expression, said discreetly, that signals the intention to straighten the pieces without committing to move or capturing the first one touched as per the game's rules; lit. "I adjust", from ''adouber'', to dub (the action of knighting someone).
; 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: lit. "I-don't-know-what": an indescribable or indefinable 'something' that distinguishes the object in question from others that are superficially similar.
; jeu d'esprit: lit. "play of spirit": a witty, often light-hearted, comment or composition
; jeunesse dorée: lit. "gilded youth"; name given to a body of young dandies, also called the Muscadins, who, after the fall of Robespierre, fought against the Jacobins. Today used for youthful offspring, particularly if bullying and vandalistic, of the affluent.
; joie de vivre: "joy of life/living".

L

; l'appel du vide: lit. "call of the void"; used to refer to intellectual suicidal thoughts, or the urge to engage in self-destructive (suicidal) behaviors during everyday life. Examples include thinking about swerving in to the opposite lane while driving, or feeling the urge to jump off a cliff edge while standing on it. These thoughts are not accompanied by emotional distress.
; laissez-faire:lit. "let do"; often used within the context of economic policy or political philosophy, meaning leaving alone, or non-interference. The phrase is the shortcut of ''Laissez faire, laissez passer'', a doctrine first supported by the Physiocrats in the 18th century. The motto was invented by Vincent de Gournay, and it became popular among supporters of free-trade and economic liberalism. It is also used to describe a parental style in developmental psychology, where the parent(s) does not apply rules or guiding. As per the parental style, it is now one of the major management styles. Used more generally in modern English to describe a particularly casual or "hands-off" attitude or approach to something,
; laissez-passer: a travel document, a passport
; laissez les bons temps rouler: Cajun expression for "let the good times roll": not used in proper French, and not generally understood by Francophones outside Louisiana, who would say ''profitez des bons moments'' (enjoy the good moments).
; lamé: a type of fabric woven or knit with metallic yarns.
; lanterne rouge: the last-place finisher in a cycling stage race; most commonly used in connection with the Tour de France.
; lèse majesté: an offense against a sovereign 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).
; liaison: a close relationship or connection; an affair. The French meaning is broader; ''liaison'' also means "bond"' such as in ''une liaison chimique'' (a chemical bond)
; lingerie: a type of female underwear.
; littérateur: an intellectual (can be pejorative in French, meaning someone who writes a lot but does not have a particular skill).
; louche: of questionable taste, but also someone or something that arouses somebody's suspicions.
; Louis Quatorze: "Louis XIV" (of France), the Sun King, usually a reference to décor or furniture design.
; Louis Quinze: "Louis XV" (of France), associated with the rococo style of furniture, architecture and interior decoration.

M

; macramé: coarse lace work made with knotted cords.
; madame : a woman brothel-keeper (Fowler's Modern English Usage, 3rd edition, p. 475). In French, a title of respect for an older or married woman (literally "my lady"); sometimes spelled "madam" in English (but never in French).
; mademoiselle: lit. "my noble young lady": young unmarried lady, miss.
; malaise:a general sense of depression or unease. Can also be used to denote complacency, or lethargy towards something.
; mange tout: a phrase describing snow peas and snap peas (lit. "eat-all", because these peas can be cooked and eaten with their pod).
; manqué: unfulfilled; failed.
; Mardi gras: Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday, the last day of eating meat before Lent.
; marque: a model or brand.
; matériel: supplies and equipment, particularly in a military context (French meaning is broader and corresponds more to "hardware")
; mauvais quart d'heure: lit. "bad quarter hour": a short unpleasant or uncomfortable moment.
; mdr: Alt., MDR. Abbreviation in SMS, akin to LOL; for ''mort de rire'' (''mort'', adj. or verb, past tense), or ''mourir de rire'' (''mourir'', verb, infinitive). Lit., as adjective or past tense, dead or died of laughing, so "died laughing" or "dying of laughter"; compare ''mort de faim'' for starve.
; mélange: a mixture.
; mêlée: a confused fight; a struggling crowd. In French also: a rugby scrum.
; ménage à trois: lit. "household for three": a sexual arrangement between three people.
; métier: a field of work or other activity; usually one in which one has special ability or training.
; milieu: social environment; setting (has also the meaning of "middle", and organized crime community in French).
; milieu intérieur: the extra-cellular fluid environment, and its physiological capacity to ensure protective stability for the tissues and organs of multicellular living organisms.
; mirepoix: a cooking mixture of two parts onions and one part each of celery and carrots.
; mise en place: an assembly of ingredients, usually set up in small bowls, used to facilitate cooking. This means all the raw ingredients are prepared and ready to go before cooking. Translated, "put in place."
; 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.
; mise en table: table setting.
; montage: editing.
; le mot juste: lit. "the just word"; the right word at the right time. French uses it often in the expression ''chercher le mot juste'' (to search for the right word).
; motif: a recurrent thematic element.
; moue: a type of facial expression; pursing together of the lips to indicate dissatisfaction, a pout. See snout reflex.
; mousse: a whipped dessert or a hairstyling foam; in French, however, it refers to any type of foam or moss.

N

; naïveté
: Lack of sophistication, experience, judgement, or worldliness; artlessness; gullibility; credulity.
; né, née
: lit. "born": a man's/woman's birth name (maiden name for a woman), e.g., "Martha Washington, ''née'' Dandridge."
; n'est-ce pas?: "isn't it rue"
: asked rhetorically after a statement, as in "Right?".
; noblesse oblige: "nobility obliges"
: those granted a higher station in life have a duty to extend (possibly token) favours/courtesies to those in lower stations.
; nom de guerre
: pseudonym to disguise the identity of a leader of a militant group, literally "war name", used in France for "pseudonym".
; nom de plume: a "back-translation" from the English "pen name": author's pseudonym.
: Although now used in French as well, the term was coined in English by analogy with ''nom de guerre''.
; nonpareil: Unequalled, unrivalled; unparalleled; unique
: the modern French equivalent of this expression is ''sans pareil'' (literally "without equal").
; nouveau (pl. nouveaux; fem. nouvelle; fem. pl. nouvelles): new.
; nouveau riche: lit. "newly rich"
: used to refer particularly to those living a garish lifestyle with their newfound wealth; see also arriviste and parvenu.
; nouvelle vague: lit. "new wave."
: Used for stating a new way or a new trend of something. Originally marked a new style of French filmmaking in the late 1950s and early 1960s, reacting against films seen as too literary.

O

; objet d'art: a work of art, commonly a painting or sculpture; also a utilitarian object displayed for its aesthetic qualities
; œuvre: "work", in the sense of an artist's work; by extension, an artist's entire body of work.
; opéra bouffe: comedy, satire, parody or farce.
; outré: exceeding the lines of propriety; eccentric in behavior or appearance in an inappropriate way

P

; pain au chocolat: lit. "bread with chocolate." Despite the name, it is not made of bread but puff pastry with chocolate inside. The term ''chocolatine'' is used in some Francophone areas (especially the South-West) and sometimes in English.
; pain aux raisins: raisin bread.
; panache: verve; flamboyance.
; papier-mâché: lit. "chewed paper"; a craft medium using paper and paste.
; par avion: by aircraft. In English, specifically by air mail, from the phrase found on air mail envelopes.
; par excellence: better than all the others, quintessential.
; parc fermé: lit. "closed park". A secure area at a Grand Prix circuit where the cars may be stored overnight.
; parkour: urban street sport involving climbing and leaping, using buildings, walls, curbs to ricochet off much as if one were on a skateboard, often in follow-the-leader style. Originally a phonetic form of the French word ''parcours'', which means "a run, a route" Also known as, or the predecessor to, "free running", developed by Sébastien Foucan.
; parole: 1) (in linguistics) speech, more specifically the individual, personal phenomenon of language; see langue and parole. 2) (in criminal justice) conditional early release from prison; see parole.
; parvenu: a social upstart.
; pas de deux: lit. "step for two"; in ballet, a dance or figure for two performers, a duet; also a close relationship between two people.
; pas de trois: lit. "step for three"; in ballet, a dance or figure for three performers.
; passe-partout: a document or key that allows the holder to travel without hindrance from the authorities or enter any location.
; pastiche: a derivative work; an imitation.
; patois: a dialect; jargon.
; père : lit. "father", used after a man's surname to distinguish a father from a son, as in Alexandre Dumas, père.
; peloton: in road cycling, the main group of riders in a race.
; petit pois: small peas, often sold in the frozen food aisle.
; petite bourgeoisie: often anglicised as "petty bourgeoisie", used to designate the middle class.
; la petite mort: lit. "the little death"; an expression for the weakening or loss of consciousness following an intense orgasm.
; Pied-Noir (plural Pieds-Noirs): lit. "black foot", a European Algerian in the pre-independence state.
; pied-à-terre (also pied à terre) : lit. "foot-on-the-ground"; a place to stay, generally small and applied to a secondary residence in a city.
; pince-nez: lit. "nose-pincher", a type of spectacles without temple arms.
; piste: lit. "trail" or "track"; often used referring to skiing at a ski area (on piste) versus skiing in the back country (off piste).
; plage : beach, especially a fashionable seaside resort.
; plat du jour: lit. "dish of the day"; a dish served in a restaurant on a particular day but separate from the regular menu.
; plongeur (fem. plongeuse): a male (or female) dishwasher in a professional kitchen.
; plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose (or ''plus ça change, plus c'est pareil'') (often abbreviated to just ''plus ça change''): the more things change, the more they stay the same. An aphorism coined by Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr.
; point d'appui:a location where troops assemble prior to a battle. While this figurative meaning also exists in French, the first and literal meaning of ''point d'appui'' is a fixed point from which a person or thing executes a movement (such as a footing in climbing or a pivot).
;porte-cochère:an architectural term referring to a kind of porch or portico-like structure.
;poseur:lit. "poser": a person who pretends to be something he is not; an affected or insincere person; a wannabe.
;pot-au-feu:stew, soup.
; pour encourager les autres:lit. "to encourage others"; said of an excessive punishment meted out as an example, to deter others. The original is from Voltaire's ''Candide'' and referred to the execution of Admiral John Byng.
; pourboire:lit. "for drink"; gratuity, tip; ''donner un pourboire'': to tip.
;prairie:lit. "meadow"; expansive natural meadows of long grass.
;prêt-à-porter:lit. "ready to wear"; clothing off the shelf, in contrast to '' haute couture''.
;prie-dieu:lit. "pray oGod"; a type of prayer desk.
;prix fixe:lit. "fixed price"; a menu on which multi-course meals with only a few choices are charged at a fixed price.
;protégé (fem. protégée):lit. "protected"; a man/woman who receives support from an influential mentor.
;provocateur:an agitator, a polemicist.
;purée:lit. a smooth, creamy substance made of liquidized or crushed fruit or vegetables.

Q

; Quai d'Orsay: address of the French foreign ministry in Paris, used to refer to the ministry itself.
; Quatorze juillet: "14th of July", usually called Bastille Day in English. The beginning of the French Revolution in 1789; used to refer to the Revolution itself and its ideals. It is the French National Day.
; quelle bonne idée!: ''What a good idea!''
; quel dommage!: ''What a sad thing!'' (can be used sarcastically).
; quelle horreur!: ''What a horrible thing!'' (can be used sarcastically).
; quelle surprise!: ''What a surprising thing! (mostly used sarcastically)''

R

; raconteur: a storyteller.
; raison d'être: "reason for being": justification or purpose of existence.
; rapprochement: the establishment of cordial relations, often used in diplomacy.
; reconnaissance: scouting, the military exploration outside an area that friendly forces occupy
; Renaissance: a historical period or cultural movement of rebirth
; refoulement: the expulsion of persons who have the right to be recognised as refugees.
; reportage: reporting; journalism.
; répondez s'il-vous-plaît. (RSVP): ''Please reply''. Though francophones may use more usually "prière de répondre" or "je vous prie de bien vouloir répondre", it is common enough.
; restaurateur: a restaurant owner.
; Rive Gauche: the left (southern) bank (of the River Seine in Paris). A particular mindset attributed to inhabitants of that area, which includes the Sorbonne
; roi fainéant: lit. "do-nothing king": an expression first used about the kings of France from 670 to 752 (Thierry III to Childeric III), who were puppets of their ministers. 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: lit. "novel with a key": an account of actual persons, places or events in fictional guise.
; roué: an openly debauched, lecherous older man.
; roux: a cooked mixture of flour and melted butter (or other fat) used as a base in soups and gravies.

S

; sacre bleu: lit. "sacred blue": a dated French minced oath originating from the blasphemous "sacre dieu!" ("Holy god!"). Meant as a cry of surprise or happiness.
: French orthography is ''sacrebleu'' in one word.
; sang-froid: lit. "cold blood": coolness and composure under strain; stiff upper lip