English words that are difficult to say in French

Awkward, confusing, random, hang out, cringe, creepy and more!

Languages are strange. When a word doesn’t exist, native speakers don’t complain about its absence. But when two languages meet and find out that they both have words they don’t have, the tendency is to want to borrow from each other.

Language is often enriched by words from other languages. But sometimes, the language doesn't want to accept and incorporate these new words.

As a French learner, you’ll have to accept that certain words you use in English won’t translate.

Sometimes, you can use a different word to convey the same meaning. But sometimes, you'll have to say goodbye to this word.

What do native speakers say in the same situation? Oftentimes, the situation simply doesn’t arise because it’s not part of the culture. But often, the meaning is conveyed in a subtler way.

English is often direct and explosive. It can paint crude and vivid pictures. Think of the use of the word amazing, which often doesn’t translate well into French.

French speakers might speak of a movie as incroyable, but that word has more reverence than the word amazing. They might call it génial or a chef-d’oeuvre, which pays homage to the filmmakers' talent. They might often say c’était vraiment bon, or j’ai beaucoup aimé. This is still a compliment, but it gives the impression that the viewer is less modest than the one using the word amazing.

You have to accept that languages have a different logic, and dare I say, vibe. Get used to it, and incorporate it into your conversation skills!

Let’s look at several words that are difficult to translate into French, and what you might say instead.

Awkward

The expression to remember here is être mal à l’aise.

In Quebec, we have the word malaisant, which has a similar meaning.

• This was a very awkward situation

  C’était une situation très gênante

  Cette situation m’a mis très mal à l’aise

• I felt very awkward

  Je me suis senti très mal à l’aise

  C’était très malaisant (Word used in Quebec)

An incentive

The word incitatif doesn’t exist in French, although some people use it. It’s usually a verb. In other words, we don’t say an incentive but to incite to do something.

• Taxes can provide a clear incentive to reduce environmental damage

  Les taxes peuvent inciter à réduire les dégâts environnementaux

But an incentive can also be translated as “a motivation”

• This should be enough incentive to change your diet

  Cela devrait être une motivation suffisante pour changer ton alimentation

Baking

There is more cooking terminology that comes from French than any other language, but there’s no word for “baking.”

When you say, “I love to bake,” we understand that it means baking cookies, making bread, and perhaps pies, cakes, and other such things. In French, you would probably say you love to cook!

You could say: J’aime faire cuire des pâtisseries, but that sounds strange, because la pâtisserie can mean both pastries and cakes, but also the shop where they are sold.

So what would you say when you want to say you love baking? Probably just:  

• J’aime faire cuire des tartes et des gâteaux

An argument

An “argument in French only means “a reason or set of reasons given with the aim of persuading others that an action or idea is right or wrong.” An argument between people is something else.

• They had a big argument over parking

  Ils ont eu une grosse dispute à propos du stationnement

  Ils se sont disputés à propos du stationnement

Consistent

This word may be difficult to translate in the following example:

• I’d like to read more in French. I’m not very consistent

First of all, you can’t translate it to je ne suis pas très consistant

Consistant refers to the consistency of something, like a cake, so it is filling. It can also refer to arguments that are meaty or solid.

For example:

• C’est un plat consistant

  It’s a hearty dish

Also, you can’t say:

Je ne suis pas très régulier.
I’m not very regular (consistent)

😨 This has the same meaning as in English, being regular, and refers to another type of schedule. 💩

I personally would simply say:

• J’aimerais lire plus souvent en français. Mais je ne suis pas très discipliné

  I’d like to read more in French. I’m not very consistent

You could also say

• J’aimerais lire plus souvent en français. Mais je n’arrive pas à trouver le temps.

Get away from the mindset of trying to find the translation for everything you want to say in English in your head! Instead, listen to what others say, and notice what expressions are used in certain situations.

Confusing

Confusant is not a French word, so don’t try using it…

• I find French verbs very confusing
  Je trouve les verbes en français très compliqués

  Les verbes en français… je n’y comprends rien

• It was a very confusing movie

  Ce film n’était pas très clair

  Je n’ai rien compris à ce film

• This is all very confusing

  Ce n’est pas très clair, cette histoire-là

Hang out

There is a word called flâner that can have a similar meaning, but I explained it in a different article.

---

10 French words that are difficult to translate

---

Hang out can translate in the following ways:

• We should hang out together

  On devrait faire quelque chose ensemble!

  On devrait passer un peu de temps ensemble

• We’re not planning to do much, just hang out

  On ne prévoit pas faire grand-chose

Overwhelmed / overwhelming

Again, maybe it’s the tendency of anglophones to exaggerate, but my feeling is that people in French don’t talk as much about this topic.

But here are some examples and how they are used in French.

In the context of work, the word overwhelmed can be translated as être débordé.

But it’s a fact, not a feeling. So you would say:

• I feel overwhelmed at work

• Je suis débordé au travail

• How to deal with constantly feeling overwhelmed?
  Comment se sentir moins débordé au travail

  Comment se sentir moins stressé au travail

You might come across the translation of écrasant or accablant. The latter is closer to the meaning, but it still doesn’t mean “overwhelming.”

• The situation is completely overwhelming

  La situation me dépasse complètement.

Être dépassé par une situation, means that it’s above your ability to deal with it.

Random

I feel that this word is overused in English.

For example:

• There are many random, everyday words I don’t know in French

• She said something totally random

So those examples are the casual, everyday use (and probably overuse) of the word random. In its primary meaning, the word can translate easily into French as: aléatoire, par hazard, inattendu.

For example:

• Life is often random

  La vie est souvent une question de hasard

• They are chosen at random

  Ils sont choisis au hasard

• The lottery is random

  La loterie est aléatoire

And now, for the more casual way of using the word random in English.

• There are many random, everyday words I don’t know in French

  Il y a plusieurs mots du quotidien que je ne sais pas en français

Here, we’re dropping the word random entirely, because it's not necessary.

• She said something totally random
  Elle a dit quelque chose de vraiment bizarre

Here, I’m also using what I would say in French in the same situation. Translating the word from English doesn’t work, because it’s slang and doesn't translate.

“It’s my treat”

It’s not that we can't say this in French, but we say something completely different.