génial
/ʒe.njal/formal, slang
The English word awesome can be translated into French as génial.
Génial is used to mean excellent or exciting. It is important to note that while it translates to the colloquial sense of "awesome," it is distinct from the literal English meaning of awe-inspiring or terrifying, which would be expressed as époustouflant or imposant.
Meaning: excellent, exciting (adj)
Which one should you use?
While génial is used for a colloquial "awesome/great," a more formal way to express the sense of being awesome or impressive is to use impressionnant.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Génial is a versatile word that can function as both a formal and a slang term depending on the context. For a more formal tone, use impressionnant.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective génial must agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies. Use géniale for feminine singular, géniaux for masculine plural and géniales for feminine plural.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation of génial is /ʒe.njal/ and it has two syllables.
When do people say it?
The phrase C'est génial ! is a very common way for French speakers to express enthusiasm or to show agreement with a piece of news or a suggestion.
Did you know?
- In Quebec, you might hear c'est écoeurant to mean 'awesome' or 'incredible'. To a speaker from France, this word literally means 'disgusting' or 'sickening'.
- In very casual speech, génial is sometimes replaced by nickel, which refers to the shiny metal. It is used to say something is 'awesome' because it is perfect or spotless.
- The word génial is actually the adjective form of génie, which means 'genius'.
Examples in context
- Tu es si génial.You're so awesome.This example shows how to use génial to describe a person.Tatoeba #11611030 by Amastan, translation #10853839 by Amastan
- Ça a l'air génial.That sounds awesome.This example uses génial to describe how something sounds.Tatoeba #5299491 by pititnatole, translation #1897759 by CK
- Ça serait génial !It would be awesome!This example uses génial to describe a hypothetical situation.Tatoeba #7123637 by Micsmithel, translation #3382877 by Hybrid
- La vue depuis cette montagne est incroyable!The view from this mountain is incredible!
- 75 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Nathan and Emma are talking about a concert.
- NathanJ'ai des billets pour le concert !I have tickets for the concert!
- EmmaC'est génial, Nathan !That's awesome, Nathan!
- NathanOn part ensemble samedi.We are leaving together on Saturday.
- EmmaJe suis trop contente !I am so happy!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “awesome” translations and entries génial, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
