{"id":3084,"date":"2022-02-20T11:41:25","date_gmt":"2022-02-20T11:41:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/frenchscope.com\/?p=3084"},"modified":"2022-06-19T15:23:49","modified_gmt":"2022-06-19T15:23:49","slug":"untranslatable-french-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/frenchscope.com\/untranslatable-french-words\/","title":{"rendered":"12 Untranslatable French Words People Actually Use In Real Life"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>#kt-info-box_d37ecb-9e .kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap{padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin-bottom:40px;}#kt-info-box_d37ecb-9e .kadence-info-box-image-inner-intrisic-container{max-width:1200px;}#kt-info-box_d37ecb-9e .kadence-info-box-image-inner-intrisic-container .kadence-info-box-image-intrisic{padding-bottom:52.3333%;width:1200px;height:0px;max-width:100%;}#kt-info-box_d37ecb-9e .kadence-info-box-icon-container .kt-info-svg-icon, #kt-info-box_d37ecb-9e .kt-info-svg-icon-flip, #kt-info-box_d37ecb-9e .kt-blocks-info-box-number{font-size:50px;}#kt-info-box_d37ecb-9e .kt-blocks-info-box-media{color:#444444;background:transparent;border-color:var(--global-palette9, #ffffff);border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;}#kt-info-box_d37ecb-9e .kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap:hover .kt-blocks-info-box-media{color:#444444;background:transparent;border-color:#444444;}#kt-info-box_d37ecb-9e .kt-blocks-info-box-learnmore{background:transparent;border-width:0px 0px 0px 0px;padding-top:4px;padding-right:8px;padding-bottom:4px;padding-left:8px;margin:10px 0px 10px 0px;}#kt-info-box_d37ecb-9e .kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap{box-shadow:0px 0px 6px 1px var(--global-palette6, #718096);}#kt-info-box_d37ecb-9e .kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap:hover{box-shadow:0px 0px 6px 1px var(--global-palette6, #718096);}<\/style>\n<div id=\"kt-info-box_d37ecb-9e\" class=\"wp-block-kadence-infobox\"><a class=\"kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap info-box-link kt-blocks-info-box-media-align-left kt-info-halign-center\"><div class=\"kt-blocks-info-box-media-container\"><div class=\"kt-blocks-info-box-media kt-info-media-animate-none\"><div class=\"kadence-info-box-image-inner-intrisic-container\"><div class=\"kadence-info-box-image-intrisic kt-info-animate-none\"><div class=\"kadence-info-box-image-inner-intrisic\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/frenchscope.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/untranslatable-french-words.jpg\" alt=\"untranslatable-french-words\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" class=\"kt-info-box-image wp-image-3090\" srcset=\"https:\/\/frenchscope.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/untranslatable-french-words.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/frenchscope.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/untranslatable-french-words-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/frenchscope.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/untranslatable-french-words-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/frenchscope.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/untranslatable-french-words-150x79.jpg 150w, https:\/\/frenchscope.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/untranslatable-french-words-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"kt-infobox-textcontent\"><\/div><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Chances are, you already came across untranslatable French words throughout your <a href=\"https:\/\/frenchscope.com\/best-ways-to-learn-french\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">learning journey<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a French coach, I know it can be difficult to understand what they really mean without an official translation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So <strong>in this article, I&#8217;m going to explain to you 12 untranslatable French words people actually use in real life, so you can really flex your skills in your next conversations.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s dive in!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<style>#kt-layout-id_8d5e17-ef > .kt-row-column-wrap{align-content:start;}:where(#kt-layout-id_8d5e17-ef > .kt-row-column-wrap) > .wp-block-kadence-column{justify-content:start;}#kt-layout-id_8d5e17-ef > .kt-row-column-wrap{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-md, 2rem);row-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-md, 2rem);max-width:var( --global-content-width, 1200px );padding-left:var(--global-content-edge-padding);padding-right:var(--global-content-edge-padding);padding-top:var( --global-kb-row-default-top, 25px );padding-bottom:var( --global-kb-row-default-bottom, 25px );padding-top:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:25px;padding-right:25px;grid-template-columns:minmax(0, 1fr);}#kt-layout-id_8d5e17-ef > .kt-row-layout-overlay{opacity:0.30;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){#kt-layout-id_8d5e17-ef > .kt-row-column-wrap{grid-template-columns:minmax(0, 1fr);}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){#kt-layout-id_8d5e17-ef > .kt-row-column-wrap{grid-template-columns:minmax(0, 1fr);}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-rowlayout alignnone\"><div id=\"kt-layout-id_8d5e17-ef\" class=\"kt-row-layout-inner kt-layout-id_8d5e17-ef\"><div class=\"kt-row-column-wrap kt-has-1-columns kt-gutter-default kt-v-gutter-default kt-row-valign-top kt-row-layout-equal kt-tab-layout-inherit kt-m-colapse-left-to-right kt-mobile-layout-row kb-theme-content-width\"><style>.kadence-column_cd925b-ef > .kt-inside-inner-col{border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;}.kadence-column_cd925b-ef > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column_cd925b-ef > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column_cd925b-ef > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column_cd925b-ef > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column_cd925b-ef > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column_cd925b-ef > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column_cd925b-ef{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column_cd925b-ef > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kadence-column_cd925b-ef > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column inner-column-1 kadence-column_cd925b-ef\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\"><style>.kb-table-of-content-nav.kb-table-of-content-id_bacc5f-de:not(.this-class-is-for-specificity):not(.class-is-for-specificity){margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;}.kb-table-of-content-nav.kb-table-of-content-id_bacc5f-de .kb-table-of-content-wrap{padding-top:20px;padding-right:20px;padding-bottom:20px;padding-left:20px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;box-shadow:0px 0px 14px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);max-width:669px;}.kb-table-of-content-nav.kb-table-of-content-id_bacc5f-de .kb-table-of-contents-title-wrap{padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;}.kb-table-of-content-nav.kb-table-of-content-id_bacc5f-de .kb-table-of-contents-title-wrap{color:var(--global-palette2, #2B6CB0);}.kb-table-of-content-nav.kb-table-of-content-id_bacc5f-de .kb-table-of-contents-title{color:var(--global-palette2, #2B6CB0);font-size:18px;line-height:5px;letter-spacing:0px;font-weight:regular;font-style:normal;text-transform:none;}.kb-table-of-content-nav.kb-table-of-content-id_bacc5f-de .kb-table-of-content-wrap .kb-table-of-content-list{color:var(--global-palette2, #2B6CB0);font-size:18px;font-weight:regular;font-style:normal;text-transform:none;margin-top:20px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;}.kb-table-of-content-nav.kb-table-of-content-id_bacc5f-de .kb-table-of-content-list li{margin-bottom:1px;}.kb-table-of-content-nav.kb-table-of-content-id_bacc5f-de .kb-table-of-content-list li .kb-table-of-contents-list-sub{margin-top:1px;}<\/style><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"flaner\">Fl\u00e2ner<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The verb <em>fl\u00e2ner<\/em> describes the act of <strong>wandering around slowly with no destination in mind and no specific goal<\/strong>, except to enjoy the atmosphere of a city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Fl\u00e2ner<\/em><\/strong><strong> is part of the French culture, especially in Paris.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Example: <em>J&#8217;adore fl\u00e2ner dans les rues de Paris.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you like taking part in this aimless activity, then you&#8217;re<em> un fl\u00e2neur<\/em> (for a man) or <em>une fl\u00e2neuse <\/em>(for a woman).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"leche-vitrines\">L\u00e8che-vitrines<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you enjoy <em>fl\u00e2ner<\/em>, you&#8217;ll most likely also take part in <em>l\u00e8che-vitrines.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>This French word literally means &#8220;window-licking&#8221; (ugh!).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It refers to the act of window shopping, when<strong> you have no intention of buying anything and don&#8217;t even enter the shop. You just admire the items on display through the window.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"depaysement\">D\u00e9paysement<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This is <strong>one of the major untranslatable French words you&#8217;ll ever learn<\/strong>, and it <strong>has several meanings.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Firstly, <em>le d\u00e9paysement <\/em>is <strong>the feeling you get when you&#8217;re not in your home country.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But <strong>there&#8217;s two kind of <\/strong><strong><em>d\u00e9paysement<\/em><\/strong><strong>:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>One where <strong>you feel disorientated because you&#8217;re in a foreign and strange country,<\/strong> but it doesn&#8217;t necessarily have the negative tone of &#8220;homesickness&#8221; or &#8220;culture shock&#8221;. It can simply be the feeling of being in an unfamiliar environment.&nbsp;<\/li><li>One where <strong>you&#8217;re happy to be far from home.<\/strong> For example, when French people go on vacation in a foreing country, they look forward to this sense of <em>d\u00e9paysement<\/em>, where they&#8217;ll get to experience new places, people, food, etc.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Example: <em>Quand je suis all\u00e9 en Argentine, le d\u00e9paysement \u00e9tait total.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Secondly, <em>le d\u00e9paysement<\/em> can also refers to <strong>the feeling you get after discovering\/doing anything new<\/strong>, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>starting a new job<\/li><li>moving to a new city<\/li><li>deciding to learn a new language<\/li><li>meeting new kinds of people<\/li><li>trying new foods<\/li><li>changing your habits or mindset<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Again, <strong>whether it&#8217;s a positive or negative feeling depends on the person experiencing it. <\/strong>Maybe you love your new job and it&#8217;s positively different from your old job or maybe you feel like a fish out of water and you don&#8217;t like your new job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The feeling of <\/strong><strong><em>d\u00e9paysement<\/em><\/strong><strong> is relative to each individual.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to say you&#8217;re experiencing <em>le d\u00e9paysement<\/em>, use the adjective <em>d\u00e9pays\u00e9<\/em> (for a man) or <em>d\u00e9pays\u00e9e<\/em> (for a woman).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Example: <em>Je suis d\u00e9pays\u00e9(e) depuis que j&#8217;ai d\u00e9m\u00e9nag\u00e9 \u00e0 Marseille.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"empechement\">Emp\u00eachement<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Un emp\u00eachement<\/em> comes from the verb <em>emp\u00eacher<\/em> (to prevent).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>It means that something unexpected came up.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>J&#8217;ai un emp\u00eachement<\/em> (present tense) or <em>J&#8217;ai eu un emp\u00eachement<\/em> (past tense) is <strong>a perfect way to explain why you&#8217;re late or why you have to cancel already-made plans, without giving any specific reason.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s a very handy word to know in French!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"retrouvailles\">Retrouvailles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>You haven&#8217;t seen a loved one in a long time? <\/strong>It can be a friend, a family member, your significant other or even your pet, it doesn&#8217;t matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Les retrouvailles<\/em><\/strong><strong> refers to the moment you see them again, happy to be reunited once more.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Exemple: <em>Je n&#8217;avais pas vu mon meilleur ami depuis 2 ans. Les retrouvailles ont \u00e9t\u00e9 magiques!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Note that<strong> <\/strong><strong><em>les retrouvailles<\/em><\/strong><strong> is always used in the plural form.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"etre-a-l-ouest\">\u00catre \u00e0 l&#8217;ouest<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If I tell you the literal translation is &#8220;To be in the West&#8221;, can you guess what this means?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Probably not! That&#8217;s because it&#8217;s one of those untranslatable French words you can&#8217;t guess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>This familiar expression generally describes someone who:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>daydreams<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>is spaced out<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>has their mind on other things<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>doesn&#8217;t really know what they are doing anymore<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, if you&#8217;re talking to your sister next to you and she doesn&#8217;t answer, you could say to your mother <em>Elle est \u00e0 l&#8217;ouest.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"insortable\">Insortable<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We all have at least one friend we can&#8217;t take out in public without them spilling their drinks or their food on the table, right? And if you don&#8217;t, then I&#8217;m sorry to tell you, you might be that person (I know, I am that person!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The adjectif <\/strong><strong><em>insortable<\/em><\/strong><strong> describes that person, who might bring you embarrassment without meaning to.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Example: <em>Mon fr\u00e8re est insortable.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can use <em>insortable<\/em> to joke nicely about your friend&#8217;s bad habits or strange fashion choices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also use it more seriously, if the person who is <em>insortable<\/em> has a truly inappropriate behavior or really bad manners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alternatively, you can use <em>pas sortable<\/em> in the same manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Example: <em>Mon fr\u00e8re n&#8217;est pas sortable.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"ras-le-bol\">Ras-le-bol<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>When you&#8217;re feeling frustrated, annoyed, despair or simply had enough of something and can&#8217;t take it anymore, then you can say <\/strong><strong><em>J&#8217;en ai ras-le-bol<\/em><\/strong><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This literally means you&#8217;ve had your &#8220;bowl full of it&#8221;.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I suggest you learn this sentence by heart, because <strong>French people are very fond of saying it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"frileux-frileuse\">Frileux\/Frileuse<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This untranslatable French word is <strong>an adjective that describes a person sensitive to the cold.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You&#8217;re <em>frileux<\/em> if you&#8217;re a man and <em>frileuse<\/em> if you&#8217;re a woman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"cartonner\">Cartonner<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You want to say that something is a big hit (movies, songs, books, etc.)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then you can express your point of view with the familiar verb <em>cartonner<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Example: <em>Ce film cartonne en France!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"a-l-arrache\">\u00c0 l&#8217;arrache<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Have you ever done something quickly, with haste?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If so, then you did it <em>\u00e0 l&#8217;arrache<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This slang word is especially fitted to students doing their homework at the last minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"a-la-saint-glinglin\">\u00c0 la Saint-Glinglin<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This expression is <strong>how French people say that something will (unfortunately) never happen.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, if you gave money to a friend and have been expecting them to pay you back for a long time, you could say <em>Il ne me remboursera jamais <\/em>(He&#8217;ll never pay be back).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-bottom-line\">The bottom line<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Now you know what these 12 of the most common untranslatable French words mean!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By learning them, you&#8217;ll expand your vocabulary and you&#8217;ll become that much more French!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn what these 12 untranslatable French words people actually use really mean!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3089,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"table_tags":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/frenchscope.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/untranslatable-french-words-featured.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Joanna","author_link":"https:\/\/frenchscope.com\/author\/joanna\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/frenchscope.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3084"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/frenchscope.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/frenchscope.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frenchscope.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frenchscope.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3084"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/frenchscope.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3840,"href":"https:\/\/frenchscope.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3084\/revisions\/3840"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frenchscope.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/frenchscope.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frenchscope.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frenchscope.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3084"},{"taxonomy":"table_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frenchscope.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/table_tags?post=3084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}