Which one should you use?
A key distinction in French is between the adjective and the noun. When using the word as an adjective (e.g., to describe food or culture), it is not capitalized. However, when using it as a noun to refer to a person, such as un Indien, the first letter is capitalized. Related terms include amérindien or amérindienne, which specifically refer to the aboriginal people of the Americas.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Quebec, Indien(ne) may be used to refer to people from India, while Amérindien(ne) is the predominant term used to refer to Native Americans or Indigenous people.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The word changes based on gender and number. Use the masculine singular indien for a male or a masculine noun, and the feminine singular indienne for a female or a feminine noun. For plural forms, use the masculine plural indiens and the feminine plural indiennes.
How do you pronounce it?
/ɛ̃.djɛ̃/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid capitalizing the adjective when using it in French. While English speakers often capitalize "Indian," the French adjective indien should remain lowercase.
Did you know?
- In traditional French children's stories and play, the term faire l'Indien (playing the Indian) almost exclusively refers to imitating Native Americans rather than people from India.
- The French word indien is a cognate of the English 'Indian', both deriving from the Latin 'indicus' meaning 'from India'.
- Because French strictly distinguishes between adjectives and nouns through capitalization, writing un indien instead of un Indien changes the word from a nationality to a general description.
Examples in context
- Mon ami est Indien.My friend is Indian.This sentence shows how to use the masculine noun/adjective indien to identify a person's nationality.Tatoeba #909058 by sacredceltic, translation #791250 by CN
- Cette dame est indienne.This lady is Indian.This sentence demonstrates the use of the feminine form indienne for a woman.Tatoeba #1299336 by Julien_PDC, translation #58514 by CN
- J'aime la cuisine indienne.I like Indian food.This sentence illustrates how to use the feminine form indienne as an adjective to describe food.Tatoeba #13457472 by sacredceltic, translation #6033427 by CK
- Il est ressortissant indienHe is an Indian national.
- Elle est issue d'IndeShe is of Indian origin.
- Tu as rencontré cet Indien à la soirée hier soir ?Did you meet that Indian guy at the party last night?
- Elle est une ressortissante indienne très talentueuse.She is a very talented Indian national.
- Ils sont d'origine indienne et pratiquent la culture indienne avec ferveur.They are of Indian origin and practice Indian culture with fervor.
- 21 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Manon and Hugo are at a travel agency.
- ManonTu aimes le thé indien ?Do you like Indian tea?
- HugoOui, j'adore ça.Yes, I love it.
- ManonOn pourrait visiter l'Inde bientôt.We could visit India soon.
- HugoC'est une excellente idée.That is an excellent idea.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “indian” translations and entries indien, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries indien, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
