français
/fʁɑ̃.sɛ/
The English word 'french' translates to français in French.
The word français is an adjective used to describe things of or relating to the French language.
Meaning: of or relating to the French language (adj)
Which one should you use?
Unlike in English, where 'French' is always capitalized, the French word for the language and its adjective is written in lowercase: français.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When used as an adjective meaning 'french', the masculine form is français and the feminine form is française.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /fʁɑ̃.sɛ/. It has 2 syllables.
Did you know?
- The French government has a formal body called l'Académie française that acts as a gatekeeper to protect the language from foreign influences and 'Anglicisms'.
- The word français comes from the word for 'Frank', the Germanic tribe that conquered Gaul. Interestingly, the original meaning of 'Frank' was 'free'.
- France once legally banned the use of regional languages in schools to ensure everyone spoke français, which almost wiped out languages like Breton and Occitan.
Examples in context
- Oh, t'es Français !Oh, you're French!Tatoeba #8319131 by Julien_PDC, translation #8319126 by Amastan
- Il lit le français.He reads French.Tatoeba #8737259 by Julien_PDC, translation #8479469 by CH
- Qui parle français ?Who speaks French?Tatoeba #2354750 by Amastan, translation #2254884 by CK
- Je suis étudiant en français.I am a student of French.
- La langue française est belle.The French language is beautiful.
- J'adore le français, c'est trop cool!I love French, it's so cool!
- La langue française est enseignée dans cette école.The French language is taught in this school.
- Il a étudié le français à l'université.He studied French at university.
- Elle a une belle prononciation en français.She has a beautiful French pronunciation.
- On va regarder un film français ce soir?Are we going to watch a French movie tonight?
- J'ai besoin d'une bonne recette de cuisine française.I need a good recipe for French cuisine.
- Viens vite, j'ai une surprise pour toi en français!Come quickly, I have a surprise for you in French!
- 2800 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Nathan and Manon are looking at a book in a bookstore.
- NathanC'est un livre français ?Is it a French book?
- ManonNon, c'est un livre espagnol.No, it is a Spanish book.
- NathanTu connais un bon roman français ?Do you know a good French novel?
- ManonOui, j'en ai un très bon.Yes, I have a very good one.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “french” translations and entries français, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries français, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
