économies
In French, savings is translated as économies.
The term refers to money that a person saves for future use. For specific contexts like retirement savings, you should use épargne retraite.
What does it mean word for word?
The word économies is derived from the verb économiser, which means to save or to economize.
Which one should you use?
While économies is the standard term for the money itself, épargne is a formal term specifically referring to the act of saving money. In financial contexts, you may also encounter the term capital to refer to savings.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Canadian French, the expression bas de laine is used to refer to savings.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use the singular économie to mean 'savings'. In French, the singular économie usually refers to the concept of economy or a single act of saving.
Did you know?
- The Canadian French term bas de laine literally means 'wool stockings'. It refers to the old custom of hiding coins inside socks to keep them safe from thieves.
- Using the singular économie instead of the plural économies changes the meaning from your personal bank balance to the general study of the national economy.
- In French, saying you are making économies often means you found a way to pay less for a specific purchase, rather than simply putting money aside in a bank account.
Examples in context
- Il vit de ses économies.He lives on his savings.This sentence is useful for showing how one can live on their économies.Tatoeba #1714983 by sacredceltic, translation #11828537 by sundown
- Je ne dispose pas d'économies.I have no savings.This sentence is useful for expressing that one does not have économies.Tatoeba #7839600 by sacredceltic, translation #5157782 by CK
- Tom perdit ses économies en pariant.Tom lost his savings gambling.This sentence is useful for describing the loss of économies through gambling.Tatoeba #5800067 by Toynop, translation #5790241 by Eccles17
- J'ai mis de côté de l'argent dans mes économiesI've set aside money in my savings
- Il est important de prévoir une épargne pour l'avenirIt's important to set aside savings for the future
- Je souhaite augmenter mon capital en épargnant chaque moisI want to increase my savings by putting money aside each month
- J'ai réussi à économiser un bon pécule ce mois-ciI managed to save a good amount of money this month
- J'ai quelques économies de côté pour les vacancesI have some savings on the side for vacations
- Il est toujours bon d'avoir une réserve d'argent en cas d'urgenceIt's always good to have a money reserve for emergencies
- J'ai mis beaucoup d'argent dans mon bas de laineI've put a lot of money in my savings
- 13 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Manon are discussing buying a new car.
- LucasJe vais utiliser mes économies pour la voiture.I am going to use my savings for the car.
- ManonC'est une très bonne idée, Lucas.That is a very good idea, Lucas.
- LucasEst-ce que tu as fait des économies aussi ?Did you save some money too?
- ManonOui, mais je préfère les garder pour voyager.Yes, but I prefer to keep them for traveling.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
