Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| informations | /ɛ̃.fɔʁ.ma.sjɔ̃/ | feminine, plural |
| infos | /ɛ̃.fo/ | feminine, plural |
| téléjournal | /te.le.ʒuʁ.nal/ | masculine |
| journal télévisé | /ʒuʁ.nal te.le.vi.ze/ | masculine |
The term refers to reports of current events. When speaking about watching or listening to current events in a daily context, les infos is the most natural way to refer to 'the news'.
Which one should you use?
While les infos refers to the news content in general, le journal télévisé refers specifically to the scheduled television news broadcast. Additionally, téléjournal can be used to denote a television news program.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
infos is a common abbreviation used in casual conversation and media headlines, providing a more compact way to express the idea.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Canada, you might hear les news in informal contexts.
How does it change in a sentence?
informations is a feminine plural noun, so any accompanying adjectives must agree in gender and number.
How do you pronounce it?
/ɛ̃.fɔʁ.ma.sjɔ̃/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use the singular 'information' to mean 'news', but in French, the concept of news is almost always expressed in the plural form informations.
Did you know?
- In France, the 8 PM news broadcast is so culturally significant that it is often referred to simply as le 20 heures, naming the program by its start time.
- While informations means 'news' in a journalistic sense, the singular information can refer to a specific piece of data or a formal administrative procedure for gathering evidence in a legal case.
- The term journal télévisé is frequently shortened to le JT in spoken French and text messages.
Examples in context
- Je regarde les infos.I'm watching the news.This sentence shows how to use infos to talk about watching the news.Tatoeba #11571713 by Aiji, translation #2547085 by CK
- J'ai regardé les infos.I watched the news.This sentence shows how to use infos to talk about having watched the news.Tatoeba #11733842 by Aiji, translation #5859335 by CK
- Je l'ai appris aux infos.I found out about it on the news.This sentence shows how to use infos to describe finding out information from the news.Tatoeba #13377922 by lbdx, translation #2473181 by Anon
- Les actualités du jour sont très intéressantes.The news of the day is very interesting.
- J'ai entendu des informations sur cette affaire.I heard some news about this matter.
- Tu as des nouvelles de Marie ?Do you have any news from Marie?
- As-tu écouté les infos à la radio aujourd'hui ?Did you listen to the news on the radio today?
- 35 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hugo and Emma are talking in the kitchen.
- HugoTu as vu les dernières informations ?Did you see the latest news?
- EmmaNon, je n'ai pas encore regardé.No, I haven't watched yet.
- HugoIl y a des informations importantes sur le climat.There is important news about the climate.
- EmmaC'est inquiétant, je vais regarder ça.That's worrying, I'll go watch it.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “news” translations and entries informations, infos, téléjournal, journal télévisé, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
