joyeux Noël
/ʒwa.jø nɔ.ɛl/
joyeux Noël is the French way to say "Merry Christmas".
joyeux Noël is used to offer good wishes during the Christmas season. It is common to add an exclamation mark after the phrase to convey the warmth of the greeting.
Meaning: good wishes at Christmas time (phrase)
What does it mean word for word?
The word joyeux literally means "joyful".
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the Alsatian dialect of eastern France, you can say E güeti Wienàchte or E schéeni Wienàchte to mean "Merry Christmas".
How do you pronounce it?
/ʒwa.jø nɔ.ɛl/
Did you know?
- The word Noël is a linguistic double of the English word 'natal'. Both originate from the Latin nātālis, meaning 'birthday'.
- In French, the term le réveillon describes the specific feast held on Christmas Eve, which is often more central to the celebration than Christmas Day itself.
- In France, Noël is used as a proper name for people born around the holiday. It is primarily a male name.
Examples in context
- Joyeux Noël à tous !Merry Christmas, everybody!This sentence shows how to address a group of people with joyeux Noël.Tatoeba #7663921 by Katastrauff, translation #6556054 by BHO
- Joyeux Noël, Tatoeba !Merry Christmas, Tatoeba!This sentence demonstrates a direct greeting to a specific entity using joyeux Noël.Tatoeba #3663323 by fleur74, translation #6732233 by Eccles17
- Joyeux Noël à toi aussi.Merry Christmas to you, too.This sentence shows how to use joyeux Noël when returning the sentiment to someone else.Tatoeba #9489672 by Micsmithel, translation #5736627 by CM
- 41 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Lucas are exchanging greetings before their Christmas dinner.
- LéaJoyeux Noël, Lucas !Merry Christmas, Lucas!
- LucasMerci, joyeux Noël à toi aussi, Léa.Thank you, merry Christmas to you too, Léa.
- LéaPasse une excellente journée.Have an excellent day.
- LucasToi aussi, profite bien !You too, enjoy yourself!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “merry christmas” translations and entries joyeux Noël, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries Noël, joyeux, noël, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
