gentil
/ʒɑ̃.ti/
In French, the phrase to say someone is sweet is gentil.
Which one should you use?
If you mean someone is sweet in terms of being cute or adorable, use mignon instead of gentil. If you wish to emphasize how sweet someone is by saying they are "too cute," you can use the informal phrase trop mignon(ne).
How does it change in a sentence?
Use gentil for a masculine singular subject, gentille for a feminine singular subject, gentils for a masculine plural subject and gentilles for a feminine plural subject.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has two syllables and is pronounced /ʒɑ̃.ti/.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not use sucré to describe a person's personality. While sucré means sweet, it is used only to describe the literal taste of food or drink.
Did you know?
- To say someone is 'sweet' in a way that implies they are 'precious' or 'darling', French speakers often use chou, which literally means 'cabbage'.
- The word gentil shares its roots with the Latin word for 'clan' or 'family', meaning its original sense was related to being of noble or high-born lineage.
- In modern French, calling a person gentil can sometimes carry a subtle, patronizing undertone, implying they are 'nice' but perhaps a bit naive or simple.
Examples in context
- Elle est vraiment douceShe is truly sweet
- Il est tellement gentilHe is so sweet
- Elle a une personnalité aimableShe has a sweet personality
- Il est toujours si affectueuxHe is always so sweet
- Elle est adorable, vraimentShe is really sweet, truly
- Tu es vraiment mignonneYou are really sweet
- Elle est très sympaShe is very sweet
- Elle est vraiment mon petit chouShe is really my little sweetie
- Il est tellement adorable, à croquerHe is so sweet, good enough to eat
- Il est très gentil.He is very sweet.
- Elle est très gentille.She is very sweet.
- Il est vraiment gentil.He is really sweet.
- Tu es très gentille.You are very sweet.
- Elle est toujours gentille avec tout le monde.She is always sweet to everyone.
Example conversation
Lucas and Emma are talking about a new coworker.
- LucasTon nouveau collègue est très gentil.Your new colleague is very sweet.
- EmmaOui, il est vraiment gentil avec moi.Yes, he is really sweet to me.
- LucasC'est agréable d'avoir quelqu'un de gentil dans l'équipe.It's nice to have someone sweet on the team.
- EmmaC'est vrai, il apporte beaucoup de positivité.It's true, he brings a lot of positivity.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry gentil, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries gentil, CC BY-SA 4.0.
