50 Interesting Facts About the French Language
Although French is one of the most spoken languages in the world, it’s no less complex! This beautiful and fascinating language is also known to be one of the most attractive languages, which is why French is the 2nd most learned language after English.
But did you know that French is the root of about 45% of English vocabulary? Or that counting in French might be extremely difficult?
Learn more with these 50 interesting facts about the French language! 🇫🇷
The Best French Language Facts
Besides being one of the most spoken languages in the whole world, France also has a huge cultural and historical influence.
There are some very interesting facts I thought you should know about it, so today I am listing my best France language facts for you. 👌🏽
1. There are approximately 220 million French speakers worldwide
That’s right, while people usually associate only France with its language, there are a lot more French speakers than you might think.
Only 80 million of them are native speakers though, which means French is learnt pretty intensively in lots of countries.
2. French is the official language of 29 countries
No less than 29 countries call French their official language, in several continents!
The most famous of them are France, Canada, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Congo. However, it is not even close to being the most spoken language of the European Union.
3. French is the fourth most spoken language of the European Union
While that might sound surprising after all I told you about the huge amount of French speakers all around the world, French is in fact only fourth in terms of the most widely spoken language in the European Union (behind English, Spanish and German).
4. The number of French speakers in the world is expected to reach 700 million by 2050
The French language is growing exponentially in terms of number of speakers.
While you might not expect it, it is because of the huge number of French speakers in Africa that, by 2050, there will be around 700 million of speakers!
5. The French language is a Romance language
Just like Italian and Spanish, French takes its roots in Latin.
It derived from vulgar Latin, and was influenced by both Gaulish and Old Frankish. With their invasion, the Romans also had of course a very important part in the development of the language.
6. French became the official language for the administration in 1539
The French language as we know it today is only relatively old. In fact, it was not before 1539 that Francis I of France, arguably one of the most important French kings in history, made French the official language for the administration.
7. French started to be standardized throughout the 17th century
While the French language has not changed much for a long time, it was only from the 17th century onwards that it became more standard.
The “Académie Française”, in charge of the French language, was created in 1634.
L’Académie Française in Paris
8. At one point, French was the official language of Europe
On top of having the newly created Académie Française, the French language took a whole other turn when it became the official language of European commerce: the lingua franca.
It also started to spread worldwide thanks to the multiple French colonies all around the globe.
9. The French language is an important diplomatic language
French and English are both the official diplomatic languages in the world.
As for French, it is the official language of many important international institutions, like the United Nations, the European Union and the Red Cross for instance.
10. Some words in the French language do not rhyme with any other
If you are a poet, you will not like this!
When writing a poem in French, you have to avoid words like “quatorze” (14), “quinze” (15) or “monstre” (monster). These do not rhyme with any other one in the whole French dictionary.
11. There are lots of French words made of only one letter
While there are 26 letters in the alphabet, there are even more French words that are made of only one letter.
Words like these are “y”, “à” or “a”. Technically, some others like “c’” or “j’” are considered standalone words, though they don’t exist by themselves (they need a verb).
12. French town names range from 1 to… 38 letters!
The shortest town name in France is “Y”, and it is located in Somme, northern France.
On the other hand, the longest one is made of a whopping 38 letters, and is called “Saint-Remy-en-Bouzemont-Saint-Genest-et-Isson”. You can find this city in Marne (northeastern France).
13. With English, French is the only language spoken on all continents
I have already told you about the old French colonies, but because they are sometimes still French to this day, or they kept a strong French heritage including the language, you can speak French (and English as well) on every continent.
14. French tongue twisters look very weird
While in English (and other languages as well), you can usually see why the sentence is a tongue twister, in French, words look very different… while sounding the same!
The most famous French tongue twister is probably “Les chaussettes de l’archiduchesse sont-elles sèches, archi-sèches“.
15. The French language is constantly evolving
We all know the French language as one of the most complex and historical ones.
Well, in fact, there are over a million words in French, and 20,000 new ones are added every year!
16. Some French words look impossible to pronounce
Many French words, for non-native speakers, look very different to what they are used to.
The most shocking ones are probably words like “créée”, with 3 E’s in a row! Don’t worry though, it is quite easy to pronounce.
17. There is also a phrase for French typists
You probably know the sentence “The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog”, which is the English typists’ phrase, containing every letter of the alphabet.
There is one in French as well: “Allez porter ce vieux whisky au juge blond qui fume un havane”.
18. The four largest French-speaking cities are in four different countries
You already know how international French is, but let me tell you more about it.
The top four largest French-speaking cities in the world are Paris (France), Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo), Montréal (Canada) and Brussels (Belgium), so they are all in different countries!
Montreal in Canada
19. Almost every ballet word comes from French
Words like “rond de jambe”, “plié” or “enjambée” should ring a bell if you have heard a bit of ballet lingo.
They all come from the French language, and that is because ballet was formalized in French: to this day, many of the words still in use are French words.
Inside the Opera Garnier in Paris, France
20. American people love French movies and books
French culture has an international influence, especially in the United States.
There, people love to watch French movies: half of the foreign films watched come from France. On top of that, 30% of books also originate from the star-shaped country.
21. More generally, French is still very present in the United States
Whether you believe it or not, French is the second most taught language in the United States, after Spanish. It is the fourth most spoken one in the country as well.
The main French centers in the US are New York, California and Florida.
22. The number of French speakers has tripled since 1945
It is true that the general population is growing a lot, but still this is pretty impressive: the number of French speakers around the globe has tripled since 1945.
There are over 100 million students and 2 million teachers dedicated to the French language.
23. French people greet each other… even when they leave
If you have ever been to France, you must have heard people saying “salut” (meaning “hi”) both at the beginning and the end of their discussion.
This is because “salut” means both “hello” and “goodbye” at the same time, but don’t use it for people you don’t know, it is very rude!
Read more: How to say “Hello” and more useful phrases in French
24. “Oh là là” does not mean what you think it means
Lots of English-speaking people, when they refer to French, use the expression “oh là là” as a way of showing their amazement.
However, in French, it actually means “oh no”. You can say “oh là là” when you dropped something, or you heard bad news for instance.
25. The French simply do not have the sound “ch” like in “cheese”
Some French pronunciations are very unique, and this is one of them.
If you see “ch”, you will never have to pronounce it like “tsh”, but rather “sh”. “Chat” (meaning “cat”) is pronounced “sha” for example.
26. Be careful about the green color in French
Remember what I told you about the French homonyms?
Well, “vert” (meaning “green”) is probably the most famous of them all. “Ver” (worm), “verre” (glass), vers (“towards”) and “vaire” (a type of fur) are all pronounced exactly the same as the color green.
And that’s it, those were the 26 most interesting facts about French language!
But don’t worry, if you want to learn more, feel free to keep reading, I still have tons of facts to tell you about!
Fun Facts About the French Language
The French language is so complex and has so much history that there are definitely lots of fun or unusual facts you will want to know about.
I have 12 fun facts about French language right here. 👇
27. There are (too?) many homophones in the French language
This is probably something you have already heard about concerning the French language: too many homophones (words that sound the same, but are written differently) exist, and create confusion for non-native speakers!
Not only is the spelling different, but the meaning can also change a lot.
28. Around 45% of modern English words come from the French language
Historically, France and England are the worst enemies. After so many wars, it is not surprising that they had an important influence on each other in terms of language.
In fact, because of the Norman conquest by England, a good number of French words were incorporated into English, and you can still see it to this day.
29. The most common letter in the French language is E
Most French people know it, the letter E is by far the most common letter of all in the French language.
Not only is it used in the majority of the words, but it can also be declined with 4 accent marks (é, è, ê, ë)!
30. George Perec, a French writer, wrote a whole book… without the letter E!
Considering what I just told you, this is definitely an impressive feat of strength.
Because of how important the letter E is in the French language, it seems impossible to write a whole book without using it once, yet George Perec did it in his book “La Disparition” (A Void)!
31. French was not that popular… in France!
This seems hard to believe, yet it is true.
Until after the French Revolution, French was more popular in both Holland and Germany! But what would French people speak then? Well, their own dialect, which depends on the region of course.
Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix, 1830
32. The French way of counting is probably the worst one ever made
For French people, it feels natural to count this way obviously, but learners are often having a hard time figuring out the logic behind it.
While English people say ninety-nine (90+9), the French say “quatre-vingt-dix-neuf” (4*20+10+9)… pretty hard to remember!
33. The French language is somewhat the official language for cuisine
While there is no official language for gastronomy, French is definitely the most widely used one.
Even in English, you will often hear “blanching”, “sautéing” or “julienne”. These are all based on French words, just like… “chef”!
Julienne
34. Many celebrities can speak French
French is a language that lots of people admire and consider to be extremely beautiful.
Because of that, you will love to hear that many of your favorite celebrities can speak French: Shakira, Bradley Cooper, Joseph Gordon-Lewitt or Johnny Depp.
35. There are no original French words with the letter W
Nowadays, there are many words with the letter “W” in the French language, but none of them were originally part of it, they are all borrowed.
For example, Wifi, WC, wagon or week-end are all widely used and yet they all come from English.
36. French birds gather all the vowels
In French, “oiseau” means “bird”.
As a matter of fact, this word is the shortest one made of all the French vowels (the letter “Y” is still controversial). Very weirdly, if you want to say “birds”, you have to add an “X”, not an “S” like in most words!
37. The longest word in the French dictionary is “anticonstitutionnellement”
French words are in general not that long compared to some others like German for instance.
However, the longest one of them is extremely long. Anticonstitutionnellement, meaning unconstitutionally, is made of 25 letters.
38. French is considered to be the most romantic language in the world
The French have a very strong reputation of being amazing poets and musicians.
Because of that, their language is very often associated with romance and love. To this day, many people in the world still consider French as the most romantic and the sexiest language of all.
That’s all I have for the fun part. There is still one last part though, so don’t go anywhere. 👀
French Language Facts for Kids
The last part of this list of facts is dedicated to kids. While every fact is suited for everyone, I insist on having a special part for the younger ones and their special curiosity.👇
39. French is not that hard to learn if you want to try
For some reason, many people think French is too hard to learn, and don’t even try.
However, if you are an English speaker, I have good news for you: both languages are more similar than you might think, and the language itself is not that hard to learn… So go ahead!
40. Many fairy tales were first written in French
Some of the most famous children’s fairy tales were first in French.
These include Beauty and the Beast (“La Belle et la Bête”), Little Red Riding Hood (“Le Petit Chaperon Rouge”), Cinderella (“Cendrillon”) and The Sleeping Beauty (“La Belle au bois dormant”).
41. The French motto is “Liberté, égalité, fraternité”
Every country has its motto, and the French one is “liberté, égalité, fraternité”, which means “liberty, equality, fraternity”.
It originated from the French Revolution, and you can now see it everywhere, on coins, postage stamps or government logos.
42. There is an official French Language day
Not that many people know this, but the United Nations celebrates six Language Days every year: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
These days are supposed to celebrate cultural diversity and multilingualism. The official French Language day is on March 20th.
43. French might become the most spoken language in the world by 2050
According to a study by Natixis, the French language could very well be the most spoken of all in the whole world by 2050.
This is mainly due to the explosion of demographics in Africa, where French is very present.
44. French eyes are unique in their own way
No, I am not talking about the literal eyes of French people, but rather the word for eyes, “yeux”.
The singular form is “oeil”, and it is in fact the only word in the whole French language beginning with a different letter in its plural form.
45. There are fascinating anagrams in the French language
An anagram is a play on words when you change the letters of a word to create another one. You must have seen it in “Harry Potter”, with Voldemort’s other name being “Tom Marvolo Riddle” (rearranged into “I am Lord Voldemort”).
In French, the word “endolori” means painful, and one of its anagrams is “indolore”, meaning painless!
46. Some French words are both feminine and masculine
The most widespread example of two different genders being used throughout the country is most definitely “après-midi”, meaning “afternoon”.
Many people say “un”, others say “une”, but in fact you can use both. This is why I love English: there are no genders!
47. The famous novel “Les Misérables” contains one of the longest sentences
“Les Misérables” is a masterpiece by Victor Hugo. It is known worldwide and has been translated in countless languages.
What you might not know about it is that it has one of the longest sentences in all literature, with 823 words without a single period!
48. French punctuation needs space to breathe
In English, before question marks, exclamation marks, colons and semicolons you never put a space before.
In French, you will need to add one space before and one space after these if you want to write correctly.
49. There are tons of silent letters in the French language
This is probably the reason many people think of the French language as one of the toughest ones to learn: opposite to Italian for example, there are lots of silent letters you should know when to pronounce, and when not to.
For instance, “qu’est-ce que” meaning “what” only has two syllables: it is pronounced “kess kuh”.
50. The male gender is almighty in the French gender
You might think of this as a sexist rule… and to be honest, it is. But in the French language, the masculine gender overcomes anything.
If you don’t know about someone (on the Internet for example), you will use “il”. If there are 499 women and 1 man in a room, you will call them… “ils”, not “elles”.
So there you have them, these were all my 50 interesting facts about France language. I hope you enjoyed them and that you learned something new today.
In case you want to learn more about the rest of the country, feel free to keep reading, as I still have lots of things to tell you about. 🔎
More Facts!
Loved these facts? Well, I have other France facts posts I’m sure you’ll love reading!
Here is the main guide of the best France facts 👉 The 60 Best Facts about France
Check out these France facts by city:
- Facts about Paris
- Facts about Lyon
- Facts about Marseille
- Facts about Strasbourg
- Facts about Nice
- Facts about Bordeaux
- Facts about Toulouse
- Facts about Cannes
Or these French facts by region:
- Facts about Brittany
- Facts about Normandy
- Facts about Corsica
- Facts about French Guiana
- Facts about Guadeloupe
- Facts about Martinique
You can also check these French facts by topic:
- Facts about French food
- Facts about French people
- Facts about the Tour de France
- Facts about French schools
- Facts about Easter in France
- Facts about French cheese
- Facts about fashion in France
- Facts about Christmas in France
- Facts about the French Alps
- Facts about Disneyland Paris
Or click here to see ALL the facts up on the blog! Spoiler alert: there’s A LOT of them.
The Full List of 50 French Language Facts
- There are approximately 220 million French speakers worldwide
- French is the official language of 29 countries
- French is the fourth most spoken language of the European Union
- The number of French speakers in the world is expected to reach 700 million by 2050
- The French language is a Romance language
- French became the official language for the administration in 1539
- French started to be standardized throughout the 17th century
- At one point, French was the official language of Europe
- The French language is an important diplomatic language
- Some words in the French language do not rhyme with any other
- There are lots of French words made of only one letter
- French town names range from 1 to… 38 letters!
- With English, French is the only language spoken on all continents
- French tongue twisters look very weird
- The French language is constantly evolving
- Some French words look impossible to pronounce
- There is also a phrase for French typists
- The four largest French-speaking cities are in four different countries
- Almost every ballet word comes from French
- American people love French movies and books
- More generally, French is still very present in the United States
- The number of French speakers has tripled since 1945
- French people greet each other… even when they leave
- “Oh là là” does not mean what you think it means
- The French simply do not have the sound “ch” like in “cheese”
- Be careful about the green color in French
- There are (too?) many homophones in the French language
- Around 45% of modern English words come from the French language
- The most common letter in the French language is E
- George Perec, a French writer, wrote a whole book… without the letter E!
- French was not that popular… in France!
- The French way of counting is probably the worst one ever made
- The French language is somewhat the official language for cuisine
- Many celebrities can speak French
- There are no original French words with the letter W
- French birds gather all the vowels
- The longest word in the French dictionary is “anticonstitutionnellement”
- French is considered to be the most romantic language in the world
- French is not that hard to learn if you want to try
- Many fairy tales were first written in French
- The French motto is “Liberté, égalité, fraternité”
- There is an official French Language day
- French might become the most spoken language in the world by 2050
- French eyes are unique in their own way
- There are fascinating anagrams in the French language
- Some French words are both feminine and masculine
- The famous novel “Les Misérables” contains one of the longest sentences
- French punctuation needs space to breathe
- There are tons of silent letters in the French language
- The male gender is almighty in the French gender
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