French Expressions

So this week I’ve been wanting to talk about some French expressions that are frequently used in English. I’m not sure how familiar you are with them, so that’s why I will include a translation of what they literally mean in French as well as a definition of what they mean in English– that is how they’re used (you’ll see, there’s a difference at times).

à la carte “on the menu”
French restaurants usually offer a menu with choices for each of the several courses at a fixed price. If you want something else (a side order), you order from the carte.

à la mode “in fashion, style”
In English, this means “with ice cream” – apparently someone decided that having ice cream on pie was the fashionable way to eat it.

à propos (de) “on the subject of”
In French, à propos must be followed by the preposition de. In English, there are four ways to use apropos (we leave out the accent and the space):
1. Adjective – appropriate, to the point: “That’s true, but it’s not apropos.”
2. Adverb – at an appropriate time, opportunely: “Fortunately, he arrived apropos.”
3. Adverb/Interjection – by the way, incidentally: “Apropos, what happened yesterday?”
4. Preposition (may or may not be followed by of) – with regard to, speaking of: “Apropos our meeting, I’ll be late”; “He told a funny story apropos of the new president.”

au jus “in the juice”
Served with the meat’s natural juices.

bon appétit “good appetite”
The closest English equivalent is “Enjoy your meal.”

c’est la vie “that’s life”
Same meaning and usage in both languages

cuisine “kitchen, food style”
In English, cuisine refers only to a particular type of food/cooking, such as French cuisine, Southern cuisine, etc.

cul-de-sac “bottom (butt) of the bag”
Dead-end street (I like that one because you’re actually saying a bad word — a**– without knowing it : )

déjà vu “already seen”
This is a grammatical structure in French, as in Je l’ai déjà vu=> I’ve already seen it. It can also disparage a style or technique that has already been done, as in Son style est déjà vu=> His style is not original.
In English, déjà vu refers to the scientific phenomenon of feeling like you have already seen or done something when you’re sure that you haven’t: a feeling of déjà vu = une impression de déjà vu.

du jour “of the day”
“Soup du jour” is nothing more than an elegant-sounding version of “soup of the day.”

encore “again”
A simple adverb in French, “encore” in English refers to an additional performance, usually requested with audience applause.

esprit de corps “group spirit”
Similar to team spirit or morale

faux pas “false step, trip”
Something that should not be done, a foolish mistake. 

fiancé, fiancée “engaged person, betrothed”
Note that fiancé refers to a man and fiancée to a woman.

gauche “left, awkward”
Tactless, lacking social grace

hors d’œuvre “outside of work”
An appetizer. Œuvre here refers to the main work (course), so hors d’œuvre simply means something besides the main course.

je ne sais quoi “I don’t know what”
Used to indicate a “certain something,” as in “I really like Ann. She has a certain je ne sais quoi that I find very appealing.”

joie de vivre “joy of living”
The quality in people who live life to the fullest

laissez-faire “let it be”
A policy of non-interference. Note the expression in French is laisser-faire.
matinée “morning”
In English, indicates the day’s first showing of a movie or play. Can also refer to a midday romp with one’s lover.

Oh là là “oh dear”
Usually misspelled and mispronounced “ooh la la” in English.

petite “small, short”
It may sound chic, but petite is simply the feminine French adjective meaning “short” or “small.”

pièce de résistance “piece of stamina”
In French, this originally referred to the main course – the test of your stomach’s stamina. In both languages, it now refers to an outstanding accomplishment or the final part of something – a project, a meal, etc.

potpourri “rotten pot”
A scented mixture of dried flowers and spices; a miscellaneous group or collection

raison d’être “reason for being”
Purpose, justification for existing

rendez-vous “go to”
In French, this refers to a date or an appointment (literally, it is the verb se rendre [to go] in the imperative); in English we can use it as a noun or a verb (let’s rendez-vous at 8pm).

savoir-faire “knowing how to do”
Synonymous with tact or social grace.

souvenir “memory, keepsake”
A memento

vis-à-vis (de) “face to face”
In French, when vis-à-vis precedes a noun and means facing, next to, or towards, it must be followed by the preposition de. In English it means “compared to” or “in relation with”: vis-à-vis this decision=> vis-à-vis de cette décision.

Voilà! “There it is!”
Nearly every time I see this in English, it is misspelled as “voilá” or “violà.”

I want to point out that I was not the one who did all this work! Somebody had already done it for me, and you can find many more French expressions right here. It just fit so perfectly with my blog that it would have been too bad not to use it…

Hope you’ve enjoyed reading about the influence of French on English during those 8 weeks. Have a fantastic summer everyone, and thanks for stopping by!