10 French Words With No English Equivalent
By the Eachday team ·
English has borrowed thousands of words from French, so it can be surprising how many French words still have no English partner. Some English simply adopted, like terroir. Others, like dépaysement or retrouvailles, name feelings that English can only describe at length.
To be honest about the word untranslatable: a few of these have rough English cousins. None has an exact one, and that gap is the interesting part. Every word here comes from Eachday's French pack, with its pronunciation, an example sentence and where it comes from.
The words: le dépaysement, la flânerie, les retrouvailles, le terroir, la douceur de vivre, le goûter, la veillée, l'embellie, feutré, douillet.
le dépaysement the feeling of being far from home; a change of scenery
/de.pɛ.iz.mɑ̃/ · say day-peh-eez-MON · noun
The pleasant disorientation of being somewhere unfamiliar; a change of scenery. From dé- (un-) + pays (country) — literally 'un-country-ing'. There's no single English word for the gentle disorientation of being somewhere utterly new.
Le voyage lui a offert un dépaysement total.
The trip gave her a total change of scenery.
It can be refreshing or slightly unsettling, and context decides which. Many French people travel precisely to feel it.
la flânerie leisurely strolling with no purpose
/flɑ.nə.ʁi/ · say flah-nuh-REE · noun
Aimless, unhurried strolling for its own pleasure. From flâner, to wander. Baudelaire's flâneur strolled the city just to watch it — idleness raised to an art.
J'adore la flânerie du dimanche matin.
I love a leisurely Sunday-morning stroll.
Not a walk to get somewhere, and not exercise. A flâneur walks to look.
les retrouvailles the joyful reunion after time apart
/ʁə.tʁu.vaj/ · say ruh-troo-VAHY · noun
The happy reunion of people after a long separation. From retrouver, to find again — and always plural. A word entirely for the warmth of meeting again after a long absence.
Les retrouvailles à la gare étaient émouvantes.
The reunion at the station was moving.
Always plural, as if one reunion were never enough.
le terroir the land's character, tasted in its food and wine
/tɛ.ʁwaʁ/ · say tair-WAHR · noun
The character a place's soil and climate give to its produce, especially wine. From terre, earth. Untranslatable: the soil, climate and tradition of a place, tasted in what it produces.
Ce vin exprime bien son terroir.
This wine really expresses its terroir.
English wine writers now use terroir untranslated, which says everything about how hard it is to replace.
la douceur de vivre the sweetness of life
/du.sœʁ.də.vivʁ/ · say doo-sur-duh-VEEVR · phrase
The gentle art of enjoying an easy, pleasant life. A phrase that captures a whole ideal — douceur ('sweetness, gentleness') + de vivre ('of living').
Ici règne une certaine douceur de vivre.
A certain sweetness of life reigns here.
It is often traced to Talleyrand, who is said to have remarked that anyone who had not lived before 1789 never knew the sweetness of life.
le goûter afternoon snack
/ɡu.te/ · say goo-TAY · noun
A small afternoon snack, especially for children. From goûter ('to taste'), Latin gustare — literally 'a taste', a little something between meals.
Les enfants ont pris leur goûter.
The children had their afternoon snack.
The four o'clock snack of a French childhood, often a piece of bread with a square of chocolate.
la veillée evening gathering, vigil
/ve.je/ · say vay-YAY · noun
An evening spent together in talk, story, or watch. From veiller ('to stay awake'), Latin vigilare — the old winter evenings spent awake together.
La veillée s'est prolongée près du feu.
The evening gathering went on by the fire.
Before television, a veillée was how long winter evenings passed: neighbours by the fire, telling stories.
l'embellie bright spell, brief clearing
/ɑ̃.be.li/ · say ahn-beh-LEE · noun
A spell of fair weather between storms; a hopeful lull. From embellir ('to make beautiful'), from beau ('beautiful') — the sky's brief turn to fair.
Nous avons profité d'une embellie pour sortir.
We took advantage of a bright spell to go out.
It is used figuratively too: an embellie in the economy, in a career, in a hard week.
feutré muffled, hushed
/fø.tʁe/ · say fuh-TRAY · adjective
Soft and quiet, as if wrapped in felt. From feutre ('felt') — a sound or space softened as though lined with felt.
On avançait dans une atmosphère feutrée.
We moved through a hushed atmosphere.
English has hushed and muffled, but neither carries the soft, felt-lined texture of this one.
douillet cozy, snug
/du.jɛ/ · say doo-YAY · adjective
Soft, warm, and comfortably sheltering. From douille, tied to the idea of softness — the padded comfort of a warm nest.
Le lit était douillet et chaud.
The bed was snug and warm.
Said of a person, it means something else: il est douillet means he is a bit soft about pain.
How to keep them
The fastest way to lose a new word is to read it once. The surest way to keep it is to meet it again a few days later, in a sentence, and say it out loud. We wrote up how to remember new vocabulary without flashcard marathons, and a gentler French routine in how to learn French without app overload.
Eachday puts one French word on your home screen each morning, with pronunciation, an example and the story behind it. The French word of the day page explains how it works. There is nothing to keep up with, so a missed day costs nothing.