joyeux Noël
/ʒwa.jø nɔ.ɛl/
joyeux Noël is the French way to say Merry Christmas.
The phrase joyeux Noël is used to offer good wishes during the Christmas season. In French Canadian, it is the most common way to express this sentiment.
Meaning: good wishes at Christmas time (phrase)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the adjective joyeux (joyful) and the noun Noël (Christmas).
Is it said differently in some regions?
In French Canadian, when addressing a group of people informally, you can use joyeux Noël à vous autres.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective joyeux is in the masculine singular form to agree with the masculine noun Noël.
How do you pronounce it?
/ʒwa.jø nɔ.ɛl/
Did you know?
- While joyeux Noël is the standard greeting, the word noël can also refer specifically to a type of traditional French Christmas carol.
- In some traditional French regions, the greeting joyeux Noël is accompanied by the custom of la bûche, where a large log is burned in the hearth.
- The spelling of Noël includes a tréma over the 'e', which tells the speaker to pronounce the 'o' and 'e' as two separate sounds rather than a single blended vowel.
Examples in context
- Joyeux Noël à tous !Merry Christmas, everybody!This sentence demonstrates how to wish a Merry Christmas to a group of people using joyeux Noël.Tatoeba #7663921 by Katastrauff, translation #6556054 by BHO
- Joyeux Noël, Tatoeba !Merry Christmas, Tatoeba!This sentence shows a direct address 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 respond to a Christmas wish using joyeux Noël.Tatoeba #9489672 by Micsmithel, translation #5736627 by CM
- Joyeux Noël à vous et votre famille.Merry Christmas to you and your family.
- Je vous souhaite un Joyeux Noël rempli de bonheur.I wish you a Merry Christmas filled with happiness.
- Joyeux Noël à toi aussi, mon ami.Merry Christmas to you too, my friend.
- Joyeux Noël à vous autres, mes chers collègues.Merry Christmas to you all, my dear colleagues.
- 41 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Hugo meet in a street decorated for the holidays.
- EmmaJoyeux Noël, Hugo !Merry Christmas, Hugo!
- HugoMerci, joyeux Noël à toi aussi, Emma.Thank you, merry Christmas to you too, Emma.
- EmmaTu as passé de bonnes fêtes ?Did you have a good holiday season?
- HugoOui, c'était très calme.Yes, it was very quiet.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “merry christmas” translations and entries joyeux Noël, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
