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.

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10 French words that are difficult to translate

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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.

• C’est moi qui t’invite!

  C’est moi qui paye

When someone says ce soir, c’est moi qui t’invite, it really means they intend to pay.

Engaging

Engageant in French means qui attire, qui donne envie d’entrer en relations.

• Elle le regardait d’un air engageant

• She looked at him engagingly

Even though the English meaning of charming and attractive exists, increasingly, this word tends to mean something that pulls you into an experience.

In this way, you would translate it differently in French.

• This book is familiar, yet engaging

  Ce livre est familier, mais très intéressant

• Our virtual reality device creates a very engaging experience

  Notre dispositif de réalité virtuelle crée une expérience très stimulante

Sustainable

This is difficult to translate, because this word is appropriate for an entire philosophy that rethinks our impact on the environment and the future of the human species on planet earth.

Whatever you do, don’t say ce n’est pas soutenable, because soutenable means bearable.

As in Milan Kundera's famous novel:

• L’insoutenable légèreté de l’être

  The unbearable lightness of being

To talk about “sustainable,” you could say:

• This is not sustainable

  Ce n’est pas viable

• I try to make more sustainable choices when grocery shopping

  J’essaie de faire des meilleurs choix pour l’environnement quand je fais l’épicerie

• This urbanist tries to build sustainable cities

  Cet urbaniste essaie de construire des villes durables

• UK public finances on an unsustainable path

  Le chemin suivi par les finances du Royaume Uni n’est pas viable

Immersed

Usually, the problem will be with something like:

• I need to be immersed in French

Don’t say:

• J’ai besoin d’être immergé dans la langue française

Être immergé means to be immersed in a liquid, and is not really used in any other way.

You could say:

• J’ai besoin de vivre en français

• J’ai besoin de faire une immersion

• J’ai besoin d’être entouré de français

Being sleepy

There’s no adjective in French that means sleepy.

You can say:

• Je suis fatigué

• Je m’endors

• J’ai envie de dormir

Being successful

There is no adjective in French that means successful. We have the verb réussir.

• She’s successful

  Elle a réussi

• The plan wasn’t successful

  Le plan n’a pas réussi

You can also say that something a du succès, to mean commercial success. Or also à succès.

• This movie was very successful

  C’est un film à succès

• C’est un film qui a eu beaucoup de succès

• She’s a successful businesswoman

  C’est une entrepreneuse qui a très bien réussi

Creepy

The word creepy in English means: “causing an unpleasant feeling of fear or unease,” but is now often used to describe people that look like they are up to no good, and certainly the types of people you wouldn’t want to spend the night with.

In French, you can say someone is louche, but it means shady or sketchy.

You can say that someone is bizarre, but that’s not the same as creepy.

So, for that creepy person you met, you can probably say:

• Il est vraiment louche

• Elle est vraiment bizarre

But if the person is really scary, you could say:.

• I get the creeps from him!

• Il me donne la chair de poule!

That literally means goosebumps, but not positively.

And that’s definitely a step above creepy.

Siblings

• Do you have any siblings?

In French, there’s no word for siblings. You can only say :

• Est-ce que tu as des frères et soeurs?

To cringe

I doubt that people forty years ago said something is cringeworthy, but it’s now an expression, and of course, it’s one that doesn’t exist in French. Unless you speak franglais.

Here, we really have to think outside the box. Forget about translating literally!

• Do you cringe when you hear the word “budget”?

  Est-ce que le mot budget vous donne le goût de vomir?

• As a progressive person, it makes me cringe at the way things are going here

  En tant que personne progressive, je suis révolté de la façon dont les choses évoluent ici

• That love scene in that movie was cringeworthy

  Cette scène d’amour dans le film était vraiment mauvaise!

I’m excited

You might have heard that the saying je suis excité in French has a sexual meaning.

Through English influence, more and more people use this expression to mean I’m looking forward to it.

But it’s better to say:

• J’ai hâte!

• Je suis emballé!

Translate into French, using the words or verbs in parenthesis.  Conjugate accordingly.

1.  I felt very awkward during our meeting (mal à l’aise)

2.  I need a bigger incentive (motivation).

3. I spent my week-end baking (gâteaux).

4. I don’t want to have an argument about that (se disputer)

5. I’m not consistent with my piano practice. (discipliné). 

6. I find your explanation confusing (pas très claire).

7. I plan to hang out with my friends on Saturday (passer la journée).

8. When you feel overwhelmed, you should make a list (débordé).

9. It’s my treat! (inviter)

10. His lecture was engaging. (intéressant)

11. Local agriculture is more sustainable (durable).

12. Immerse yourself in the sounds of Japan. (s’entourer de)

13. I’m sleepy. (s’endormir).

14. Her business is very successful (avoir du succès).

15. This restaurant has a creepy vibe. (ambiance louche).

16. I have no siblings. (frères et soeurs)

17. I’m excited about my trip to Quebec (avoir hâte).

Answers

1. Je me suis senti très mal à l’aise durant la réunion.

2. J’ai besoin de plus de motivation.

3. J’ai passé le week-end à faire cuire des gâteaux.

4. Je ne veux pas qu’on se dispute à ce sujet.

5. Je ne suis pas très discipliné dans ma pratique du piano.

6. Je trouve que ton explication n’est pas très claire.

7. Je prévois passer la journée avec mes amis samedi.

8. Quand vous vous sentez débordé, faite une liste.

9. Je t’invite!

10. Sa conférence était très intéressante!

11. L’agriculture locale est plus durable.

12. Entourez-vous des sons du Japon.

13. Je m’endors.

14. Sa compagnie a beaucoup de succès.

15. Ce restaurant a une ambiance très louche.

16. Je n’ai pas de frères et soeurs (aussi: je suis enfant unique)

17. J’ai hâte à mon voyage au Québec.