Jean
/ʒɑ̃/masculine
The English name John is translated into French as Jean.
Jean is a masculine given name. Related terms like micheton or miché refer to a prostitute's client.
Meaning: male given name (name)
Which one should you use?
You may encounter the diminutive Jeanot in certain regions of France or the regional variation Janot in southern France.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the southern regions of France, the variation Janot may be used instead of Jean.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
Jean is masculine.
How do you pronounce it?
/ʒɑ̃/
Did you know?
- The French word for denim fabric, jean, is a borrowing from English. This creates a homograph where the name Jean and the material jean are spelled identically but pronounced differently.
- In French, the name Jean is often combined into compound names, such as Jean-Luc or Jean-Pierre. These are treated as a single first name rather than a first and middle name.
- In a religious context, Saint Jean refers to both John the Baptist and John the Apostle, and French tradition often distinguishes them by their specific feast days.
Examples in context
- As-tu vu Jean ?Have you seen John?Tatoeba #10476329 by Julien_PDC, translation #10481474 by sundown
- Bonjour Monsieur Jean, comment ça va aujourd'hui?Hello Mr. John, how are you today?
- Jean est mon frère.Jean is my brother.
- J'ai rendez-vous avec Jean.I have an appointment with Jean.
- 158 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chloé and Nathan are talking at a party.
- ChloéEst-ce que Jean est déjà là ?Is Jean already here?
- NathanNon, il est encore en route.No, he is still on his way.
- ChloéJe voulais lui donner ce livre.I wanted to give him this book.
- NathanJean sera là dans dix minutes.Jean will be here in ten minutes.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “john” translations and entries Jean, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries Jean, jean, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
