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Best French words

French is well known to be a beautiful language, possibly the most beautiful language in the world. But which words in particular make the ‘language of love’ so marvellous?

It was hard to choose as there are so many wonderful words but we’ve put together 15 of our favourites, along with their English translations and how to say them.

épanouir = to blossom ‘ey- pan- noir’

This lovely word almost sounds like what it is describing, you can imagine a flower blossoming into life as the letters roll off you tongue.

un coquelicot = a poppy ‘co-kley-co’

I love this word because to an English speaker the French pronunciation is so different to how we would pronounce it. It also sounds charming and summery like the flower.

un câlin = a hug ‘ca-lan’

A great word in both languages.

une pantoufle = a slipper ‘pon-toof-le’

My personal favourite French word, I love the sound of the word and it makes me feel cosy and warm when I hear it.

ronronner = to purr ‘ron-ron-ney’

A fabulous word that actually sounds like a cat purring (repeat a few times in a soft voice!). Also a great way to practice the infamous French rolling ‘r’.

un papillion = butterfly ‘pap-e-on’

A well-known word which sounds as pretty as the insect.

la folie = madness ‘ foll-ey’

Rhymes with ‘jolie’ (pretty) and has a really romantic sound to it in French.

l’ananas = pineapple ‘an-na-nas’

Such a fantastic word, not only does it conjure up a tropical paradise complete with pineapple cocktails, it sounds as sweet as the fruit it describes.

les pneus = tyres ‘puh-ner’

This is such an unusual sounding and looking word, and even once you know how to pronounce it, it’s still difficult not to say something like ‘p-noos’!

inoubliable = unforgettable ‘in-ooh-li-ar-ble’

It’s a bit of a mouthful but once you have mastered the tricky pronunciation of this word you won’t be able to stop saying it!

bibliothèque = library ‘bib-leo-tech’

I don’t think there’s a more classic French word that every French language learner learns when they are a beginner. It’s always great fun to say and makes me think nostalgically of French lessons at school.

fainéant = lazy ‘fen-ay-ant’

This is quite onomatopoeic, the drawn out pronunciation suggest you can’t really be bothered to even say the word.

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