appel vidéo
masculine
The French phrase for "video call" is appel vidéo.
appel vidéo is the standard term for a telephone call that includes video imagery. In both professional and casual settings, people frequently use the shortened form visio (derived from visioconférence) to refer to a video call.
Meaning: kind of telephone call accompanied by video imagery (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of appel (call) and vidéo (video).
Which one should you use?
While appel vidéo is the standard term, visioconférence is specifically used in formal contexts for video calls involving multiple participants. In professional environments, one might also say Faire une réunion en ligne to indicate a structured video conference.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun appel is masculine, so you would use the masculine article un appel vidéo.
Did you know?
- When scheduling an appel vidéo in a professional French setting, it is common to specify if it is a 'visio' or a 'confcall', as the latter specifically implies an audio-only conference call.
- The term appel is a linguistic relative of the English word 'appeal', as both come from the Latin 'appellare', meaning to call upon or address.
- Because appel is masculine, the adjective vidéo remains invariable, meaning it never takes an 'e' or an 's' regardless of how many calls are being made.
Examples in context
- Ça te dirait un appel en vidéo ce soir ?Would you like to have a video call tonight?
- Allons-nous voir en vidéo ?Shall we see each other on video?
- Je peux t'appeler en vidéo ?Can I call you on video?
- On pourrait se parler en visio ?Could we talk via video?
- Je dois passer un appel vidéo.I have to make a video call.
- L'appel vidéo a coupé soudainement.The video call suddenly cut off.
- On fait un appel vidéo demain ?Shall we do a video call tomorrow?
Example conversation
Nathan and Manon are planning a meeting.
- NathanTu es libre pour un appel vidéo ?Are you free for a video call?
- ManonOui, je suis disponible maintenant.Yes, I am available now.
- NathanJe t'envoie le lien tout de suite.I am sending you the link right away.
- ManonMerci, je me connecte à l'appel vidéo.Thanks, I am connecting to the video call.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “video call” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries appel, vidéo, CC BY-SA 4.0.
