{"id":117226,"date":"2023-11-09T01:17:25","date_gmt":"2023-11-09T06:17:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/french-fall-autumn-vocabulary-word-list\/"},"modified":"2025-02-26T23:42:10","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T04:42:10","slug":"french-fall-autumn-vocabulary-word-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/french\/french-fall-autumn-vocabulary-word-list\/","title":{"rendered":"60 French Fall Words and Phrases"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the days grow shorter and the air becomes crisp, autumn paints the world with its vibrant hues.\u00a0In France, this enchanting season is celebrated with the same fervor as its culinary delights and artistic heritage.<\/p>\n

To truly appreciate the beauty of this time of year, one must embrace the vocabulary unique to the season. With these 60 terms, you’ll discover how the French language beautifully encapsulates the essence of this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]
\n<\/p>\n

French Fall Words<\/h2>\n

Here are some of the most common words and some short phrases for talking about fall in French:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
French word<\/th>English translation<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
l'automne<\/i> <\/a>\n \u00a0(masc.)<\/td>autumn\/fall <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
l'arri\u00e8re saison<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>late autumn\/fall<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
automnal<\/i> <\/a>\n \/ automnale<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>autumnal (male\/female)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
une saison<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>season<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
le changement de saison<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>the change of season<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
septembre<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>September<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
octobre<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>October<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
novembre<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>November<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
decembre<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>December<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
un arbre<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>a tree<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
les arbres<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>trees<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
une feuille<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>a leaf<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
les feuilles<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>leaves<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
les feuilles mortes<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>fallen leaves<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
le feuillage d'automne<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>the fall foliage<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
tomber<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>to fall<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
un r\u00e2teau<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>a rake<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ratisser<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>to rake<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
les couleurs d'automne<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>fall colors<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
jaune<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>yellow<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
rouge<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>red
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
orange<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>orange<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
brun<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>brown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
frais<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>cool\/fresh <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
une journ\u00e9e froide<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>a cold day <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
la pluie<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>rain<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
pluvieux<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>rainy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
une averse<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>a rain shower\/downpour<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
une flaque (d'eau)<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>a puddle (of water)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
le vent<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>wind<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
venteux<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>windy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
un pull<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>a sweater<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
un manteau<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>a coat
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
un parapluie<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>an umbrella<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
des bottes<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>boots<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
la couverture<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>blanket<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
un feu de joie<\/i> <\/a>\n \t<\/td>a bonfire<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
les raisins<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>grapes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
la ch\u00e2taigne<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>a chestnut<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
le marron<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>a sweet chestnut<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
le champignon<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>mushroom<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
la pomme de pin<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>a pine cone<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
le gland<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>acorn<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
la migration<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>migration<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Fall Phrases in French<\/h2>\n

Now that you now some key words and short phrases, you can put them together to make sentences like these:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
French phrase<\/th>English translation<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
L\u2019automne est beau ! <\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>Fall\/autumn is beautiful<\/a>!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ma saison pr\u00e9f\u00e9r\u00e9e est l\u2019automne.<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>My favourite season is autumn.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
J\u2019adore les arbres en automne !<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>I love the trees in autumn!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Les feuilles tombent.<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>The leaves are falling.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Les feuilles changent de couleur en automne.<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>Leaves change colour in autumn.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Prenez le r\u00e2teau !<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>Grab the rake!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Il fait frais aujourd\u2019hui.<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>It\u2019s cool today.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mets ton manteau.<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>Put your coat on.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
N\u2019oublie pas ton parapluie.<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>Don\u2019t forget your umbrella.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
J'adore sauter dans les flaques d'eau.<\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>I love jumping in puddles.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
On f\u00eate halloween le 31 octobre. <\/i> <\/a>\n <\/td>We celebrate halloween on the 31st of October.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

French Customs and Traditions in Autumn<\/h2>\n

If you’re interested in French culture or will be visiting France in the fall season, there are some important customs and traditions you should be familiar with. Here are a few of the main ones:<\/p>\n

\u00c0 la rentr\u00e9e<\/em> (At the return)<\/h3>\n

\"French-open-sign\"<\/p>\n

It’s no secret that the French adore their holidays. The country as a whole, except for the tourism industry, typically takes the month of August off to enjoy summer<\/a>. Children finish school, professionals go on their breaks and businesses adopt rather lazy opening and closing hours\u2014or they don’t open at all.<\/p>\n

\u00c0 la rentr\u00e9e <\/em>is a common French phrase used to describe the beginning of autumn when life in France returns to normal<\/strong>. More specifically, it refers to the “back to school” period.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Bonnes vacances !<\/em> (Have a good holiday!)<\/p>\n

Merci, \u00e0 la rentr\u00e9e<\/strong> !<\/em> (Thanks, see you in autumn!)<\/p>\n

Le passage\u00a0\u00e0 l’heure d’hiver<\/em> (Changing to “winter time”)<\/h3>\n

\"Muse\u0301e-d'Orsay-clock-Paris-France\"<\/p>\n

Like many countries, France embraces daylight savings time<\/strong>. October marks le passage \u00e0 l’heure d’hiver, <\/em>when everyone turns their clocks back one hour in anticipation of the winter period.<\/p>\n

Conversely, there’s a corresponding date in spring called le passage \u00e0 l’heure d’\u00e9t\u00e9<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>when the clocks are wound forward one hour.\u00a0<\/p>\n

N’oublie pas qu’on passe \u00e0 l’heure d’hiver<\/strong> ce week-end !<\/em> (Don’t forget that we’re turning the clocks back this weekend!)<\/p>\n

La Toussaint<\/em> (All Saints’ Day)<\/h3>\n

\"daffodils<\/a><\/p>\n

Although more relevant for French Catholics,\u00a0La Toussaint<\/em> is a public holiday on November 1st<\/strong> that’s now widely acknowledged by the nation as a whole. The word “La Toussaint”\u00a0<\/em>itself is a contraction of “T<\/em>ous les saints,”\u00a0<\/i>meaning “all the saints”\u00a0or, more commonly, “All Saints’ Day.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Most businesses and schools close so families can honor their dead relatives<\/strong> either by attending mass or visiting graves with a bouquet of chrysanthemums, the traditional Toussaint<\/em> flower.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Often, the cold, grey weather<\/a> at this time of the year is illustrated by the expression “faire un temps de Toussaint”<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>which can be used to describe icky weather<\/strong> throughout the year.<\/p>\n

Quel temps fait-il ?<\/em> (How is the weather?)<\/p>\n

Il fait un temps de Toussaint<\/strong>.<\/em> (It’s miserable.)<\/p>\n

Halloween\u00a0<\/h3>\n

\"carved-pumpkins-in-France\"<\/p>\n

Halloween, though not a traditional French holiday<\/strong>, has gained popularity in France in recent years, especially among young people and children.<\/p>\n

You can see people dressed up in costumes, Halloween decorations and themed treats, although not as widespread as in other countries like the U.S.<\/p>\n

You might even hear young children saying “un\u00a0bonbon ou un coup de b\u00e2ton”<\/em><\/strong> or “trick or treat.”<\/p>\n

Comment vas-tu te d\u00e9guiser pour Halloween <\/strong>?<\/em> (What are you dressing up as for Halloween?)<\/p>\n

Je vais me d\u00e9guiser en vampire !<\/em> (I’m going to dress up as a vampire!)<\/p>\n

La Vendange<\/em> (The Vintage)<\/h3>\n

\"French-winery-grapes\"<\/p>\n

One good reason to love France in the autumn is the wine! La vendange <\/em>is the process of grape picking<\/strong>. For those more savvy on vineyard lingo, this is called “the vintage.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Typically between September and October<\/strong> each year thousands of grapes are harvested and processed to be made into wine. The event brings about celebratory festivals, well-stocked flea markets and herds of visitors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Les vendanges<\/em>\u00a0refers to the grape-picking period as a whole, whereas la vendange<\/em>\u00a0is a particular grape harvest.<\/p>\n

Quand sont les vendanges <\/strong>?<\/em> (When is the grape harvest?)
\nEntre septembre et octobre.<\/em> (Between September and October.)<\/p>\n

Qu’est ce tu fais ?<\/em> (What are you doing?)
\nJe fais la vendange<\/strong>.<\/em> (I’m picking grapes.)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

With this vocabulary, you can talk about fall in French and the many things there are to love about the season.<\/p>\n

And to learn more French words and phrases in authentic contexts, you can check out the FluentU<\/a> language-learning program.

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

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