Most Used French Canadian Words

August 1

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french canadian words, Most Used French Canadian Words

There are words in Québec French that refer specifically to French Canadian culture and that’s why they do not exist in Metropolitan French, such as “poutine” or “dépanneur”.
Well for the word “dépanneur” that’s another story actually, as the word “dépanneur” does exist in Metropolitan French. But it is used to refer to a mechanic or an electrician that comes to your place for repairing, whereas this word in Québec French refers to a small grocery store.

And because of its isolation from France during the British rule in the 1700s, some words are used in Quebec, yet have no longer been used in France for decades or centuries. For example, the verb “pogner” comes from the word “la pogne”, which is an old Metropolitan French word meaning “la main” (the hand).

List of Quebec French words and their equivalent in Metropolitan French

Le chandail

Note that Québécois will perfectly understand Metropolitan French words. But they will prefer to use the Quebec French word in everyday conversations with other francophones from Quebec.

Most Used French Canadian Words - 1

ENGLISH	QUEBEC FRENCH
to go out and party	sortir en soirée
to chat, in person	bavarder
to lock the door	fermer à clef
sweater/t-shirt	un pull/un t-shirt
purse	un sac à main
birthday	l’anniversaire
it’s cold / weather	il fait froid
it’s raining	il pleut
French fries	des frites
to take a walk	faire une promenade
convenience store	une épicerie/supérette
it’s all good	c’est parfait
car	une voiture
to catch, grab	attraper, prendre
from puis / and	et
girlfriend (romantic only)	une petite amie
boyfriend (romantic or not)	un copain

Canadian Suffixes

Le flanage

Québécois tend to use more suffixes than French people, in particular suffixes such as “–eux”, “-age” or “-able”:

Most Used French Canadian Words - 2

ENGLISH	QUEBEC FRENCH
one can not speak to him/her	il est pas parlable
strolling	le flânage
stupid	niaiseux
pot smokert	un poteux

Words Borrowed From Other Languages

Anglicisms

La gomme

Québec French vocabulary is distinctive from Metropolitan French; primarily due to the strong influence of the English language upon it. Also called Anglicisms, the borrowed English words are even more obvious in spoken Québec French.

So just as French people, people from Quebec do use a lot of English words, yet they use different anglicisms:

Most Used French Canadian Words - 3

ENGLISH	QUEBEC FRENCH
bubblegum	la gomme (le chewing-gum)
to fall in love	tomber en amour
job	fermer à clef
the mop	la moppe
it’s cute	c’est joli
destroyed – obviously it comes from the word f$ck	focké
to check	checker
cell phone	un téléphone portable

You will notice that Quebec French has words that are taken directly from English, which makes it very easy to memorize and use! (“la gomme”, “la job”, “c’est cute”)

Sometimes the English word has been changed to the point that it sounds like a French word:

Most Used French Canadian Words - 4

ENGLISH	QUEBEC FRENCH
to cheat someone = in fur wrap	enfirouaper
cookroom : a tiny room, a shed	un coqueron
toilet = backhouse	une bécosse

Attempts to limit the use of Anglicisms

Magasiner

However, with the Quiet Revolution, the nationalist sentiment in Quebec prompted French Canadians to want to limit the use of Anglicisms, especially in formal speeches. In spoken language, when Quebec French uses too many anglicisms, it is called “franglais”, and it is a derogatory term.

And that is why ‘L’Office de la Langue Française’ in Quebec regularly creates neologisms to limit the use of anglicism:

Most Used French Canadian Words - 5

ENGLISH	QUEBEC FRENCH
(email) → this word is a contraction of “courri-er” (letter) and “el-ectronic	un courriel
(to chat) → this word is a mix of “clav-ier” (keyboard) and “bav-arder” (to have a chat)	clavarder
faire du shopping — (to go shopping)	magasiner

Words borrowed from Amerindian languages

Le caribou

Words borrowed in Quebec French are not limited to English only. Some are borrowed from the Aboriginal languages to which early settlers were exposed during colonization: