{"id":118430,"date":"2016-03-23T10:13:42","date_gmt":"2016-03-23T14:13:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/french-easter-vocabulary\/"},"modified":"2025-01-31T06:14:57","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T11:14:57","slug":"french-easter-vocabulary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/french\/french-easter-vocabulary\/","title":{"rendered":"French Easter Vocabulary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Easter is just as popular in France as it is in the US, if not more so.\u00a0Exploring the cultural aspects of French holidays, like P\u00e2ques<\/em><\/strong> (Easter), is one of the best ways to get in touch with the heart, traditions and vocabulary of the language.<\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n

Basic Easter Vocabulary<\/h2>\n

The French love a good long weekend, and Easter vacation is no exception. Not only do they observe Easter Sunday, but also Easter Monday, which is a public holiday in France. You could eat a lot of chocolate and eggs during a weekend that long.<\/p>\n

With a large Roman Catholic population in France,\u00a0it’s no surprise that the churches get crowded on Easter Sunday. For many, it’s one of the prime days of church attendance during the year. For a beautiful Easter service at none other than\u00a0Notre-Dame de<\/em>\u00a0Paris<\/em>, get your comprehension skills dusted off and take a peek at\u00a0this video<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Primarily, Easter in France is a religious holiday, and secondarily, it’s a nice long weekend to be spent enjoying family (and possibly the reappearance of the sun).<\/p>\n

So here we go: These vocabulary words and phrases will get you through that long weekend.<\/p>\n

1. P\u00e2ques<\/em><\/h3>\n

The French word for “Easter.”\u00a0To tell someone “Happy Easter,” use the phase\u00a0Joyeuses\u00a0P\u00e2ques !<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>Make sure you remember this one, because it’s going to be creeping around for the rest of the list.<\/p>\n

2. Pascal<\/em> \/Pascal<\/em>e<\/em><\/em><\/h3>\n

Pascal(e)<\/em><\/strong> is an adjective for all things Easter! If there were good Easter movies out there (sadly, there aren’t many), they would be called\u00a0films pascaux<\/strong>.<\/em>\u00a0Or if you have special Easter socks (because who doesn’t?), they would be called\u00a0chaussettes pascales<\/strong>.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

3. Les\u00a0vacances de P\u00e2ques<\/em><\/h3>\n

“Easter vacation.” The length of your Easter vacation may change depending on where you live and what you do for a living. But in France, if the\u00a0word vacances<\/strong>\u00a0<\/i>is nearby, then you can expect to have your feet up on your Parisian\u00a0terrace\u00a0<\/em>and drinking a glass of\u00a0r<\/em><\/strong>os\u00e9<\/strong>\u00a0<\/i>(the favorite springtime wine).<\/p>\n

4. Le v<\/em>endredi saint<\/i><\/h3>\n

The French translation of Good Friday. Technically, it means “Holy Friday.” Depending on where you are in France, how vendredi saint<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>is celebrated differs. If you’re in the Alsace region or in Switzerland, then it’s common to have the day off and for church services to be held.<\/p>\n

5. Le\u00a0dimanche de P\u00e2ques<\/em>\u00a0\/ lundi de P\u00e2ques<\/em><\/h3>\n

Easter Sunday and Easter Monday! I told you the word\u00a0P\u00e2ques\u00a0<\/em>would end up creeping into more of these vocabulary phrases.\u00a0These are the primary days of celebration in France, and where most of our vocabulary fun will take place.<\/p>\n

6. Le<\/em>\u00a0car\u00eame<\/em><\/h3>\n

If you aren’t familiar with “Lent,” it starts on Ash Wednesday, or le mercredi des Cendres<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>(which occurs the day after Mardi Gras). Lent lasts for six weeks leading up to Easter Sunday, and is a time of self-examination.<\/p>\n

7. La P\u00e2que<\/em><\/h3>\n

The French word for “Passover.” Passover is a Jewish holiday around the same time as Easter. Although France is predominately Catholic, there are about half a million Jews in the country. It’s important to note that while both P\u00e2ques\u00a0<\/em>and la P\u00e2que<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>are pronounced the same, you can often tell the difference because the noun for passover uses the definite article la<\/em><\/strong>. Yay definite\u00a0articles<\/a>!<\/p>\n

8. Un d\u00e9fil\u00e9 pascal<\/em><\/h3>\n

Un d\u00e9fil\u00e9<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>is a parade, procession or march. So with our little Easter adjective tacked on the end, we have an Easter parade or procession!<\/p>\n

9. Les rameaux<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/h3>\n

Les rameaux<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>refers to the decorated branches that people bring into church on Palm Sunday (or Les Rameaux<\/strong>,<\/em>\u00a0as the holiday is also called). This takes place the Sunday before Easter. The word also works for any other branch from a tree\u2014if you’re into nature vocabulary.<\/p>\n

The Bells<\/h2>\n

I told you there would be flying bells! And not just flying bells, of course\u2014all kinds of bells. The thing about France is that there are old churches and cathedrals at every corner, and many of them have bells (though unfortunately no Quasimodos ringing them). It’s one of the most beautiful parts of Easter traditions in France, unless you’re not into loud noises (get your earplugs in that case).<\/p>\n

And now, bet you’re wondering what the heck is up with the flying bells. On the Thursday before Easter, the bells in France go quiet. That’s because they’ve begun their trip to Rome to visit the Pope. And they do this by magically forming wings, of course!<\/p>\n

After spending\u00a0their yearly vacation in Rome, they come back home in time to pick up some chocolate before snuggling back into bed. When the bells ring on Easter Sunday, the children know to go looking for the bell-delivered chocolate. Awesome, huh?<\/p>\n

By the way, I know you’re probably confused, but the bells don’t actually fly away. No need to be afraid. Here’s<\/a> a rational explanation.<\/p>\n

10. Une <\/em>cloche<\/em><\/h3>\n

You guessed it, this means a bell! And it doesn’t pertain only to church bells or Easter bells, but any old bell you find lying around.<\/p>\n

11. Une <\/em>\u00e9glise<\/i><\/h3>\n

Une \u00e9glise<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>refers to a church. If you like the\u00a0more ornate things in life and would rather refer to a cathedral, then you would say une cath\u00e9drale<\/strong>.<\/i>\u00a0Isn’t it nice when we have\u00a0cognates<\/a>?<\/p>\n

12. Les<\/em>\u00a0cloches volantes<\/em> \/ les cloches de P\u00e2ques<\/em><\/h3>\n

The flying bells! Depending on whether you’re talking to a child or an adult about Easter, you can refer to the bells of Easter as les<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0cloches volantes<\/strong>\u00a0<\/i>or\u00a0les cloches de P\u00e2ques<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The Chocolate!<\/h2>\n

Let’s get real for a second: If you’re a chocolate fan, then Easter might be your new favorite French holiday. Walking the streets of Paris, or any other French town, you’ll see elaborate chocolate sculptures and figurines in the windows of candy shops. And while French chocolate doesn’t quite stack up to Belgian or Swiss (great places to take your French language knowledge to take advantage, by the way), it has a pretty good reputation.<\/p>\n

Your biggest issue will be whether to devour the chocolate or admire it. Here’s a slideshow<\/a>\u00a0(and another<\/a>\u00a0from French Cosmo)<\/em> of some amazing Easter chocolates to get you salivating.<\/p>\n

13. Le chocolat<\/em>\u00a0(au lait\/noir\/blanc)<\/em><\/h3>\n

Another easy cognate is\u00a0le chocolat<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/em>Depending on your tastes, you may want\u00a0chocolat au lait<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>(milk chocolate),\u00a0chocolat noir<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>(dark chocolate) or\u00a0chocolat blanc<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>(white chocolate). While there are other varieties of chocolate treats to be found in France, these three are most commonly used for Easter creations.<\/p>\n

14. La confiserie<\/em><\/h3>\n

But where to buy the chocolate? You may be aware of the many different French shops for each individual culinary desire:\u00a0la boucherie<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>for meat,\u00a0la boulangerie<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>for bread, etc. La confiserie<\/strong>\u00a0<\/i>is where you find the things that rot your teeth (happily so) and the towers of chocolate for les\u00a0<\/em>cloches volantes\u00a0<\/em>to drop off.<\/p>\n

15. Un<\/i>\u00a0poisson d’avril<\/em><\/h3>\n

It’s chocolate fish! April Fools’? Actually, this kind of fish is both chocolate and for April Fools’ Day. Traditions for the first of April include eating chocolate fish (think chocolate shaped like fish, not fish covered in chocolate!), and playing pranks\u2014more notably, sticking paper fish on people’s backs when they aren’t looking.<\/p>\n

Since the first of April falls around Eastertime, les c<\/em>loches volantes\u00a0<\/em>often drop off\u00a0des poissons d’avril<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>along with the Easter chocolate. For an explanation of the origins of\u00a0poisson d’avril,\u00a0<\/em>watch this<\/a> video.<\/p>\n

Poisson d’avril !\u00a0<\/em>This<\/a> video will give you a real explanation.<\/p>\n

16. Des \u0153ufs en chocolat<\/em><\/h3>\n

We can’t talk about\u00a0P\u00e2ques\u00a0<\/em>without talking about chocolate eggs. (And again, it’s not eggs covered in chocolate, but rather chocolate shaped like eggs.) They’re hidden in the garden by\u00a0les cl<\/em>oche volantes.\u00a0<\/em>Stay tuned for\u00a0more on where to find them later.<\/p>\n

The Easter Meal<\/h2>\n

As with many other French holidays, the celebratory meal is one of the most important, delicious and elaborate parts of Easter. Have you ever heard about the insanity that goes on at the Christmas meal?<\/a>\u00a0The Easter meal also comes with its trimmings, and while many French families take liberties with it, here are a few staples you’re likely to find on the table on Easter Sunday.<\/p>\n

17. Un gigot d’agneau<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/h3>\n

Hope you like lamb!\u00a0Un gigot d’agneau<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>is a leg of lamb in French, but meat-enthusiasts beware, the word\u00a0gigot<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>applies specifically to a leg of lamb. You wouldn’t refer to your own leg as\u00a0un gigot,<\/em>\u00a0for example.\u00a0<\/em>Another way to say a leg of meat is\u00a0une cuisse<\/strong>,\u00a0<\/em>as in\u00a0une cuisse de poulet<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0(chicken).\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

To try it yourself, here are instructions<\/a> on how to prepare it!<\/p>\n

18. Des<\/em>\u00a0\u0153ufs durs<\/em><\/h3>\n

Hard-boiled eggs! Remember, when pronouncing des \u0153ufs<\/strong>,\u00a0<\/i>you don’t pronounce the\u00a0f<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0s\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>!<\/em><\/p>\n

19. L’asperge<\/em><\/h3>\n

Asperge<\/strong>,\u00a0<\/i>or asparagus, is a vegetable commonly found on the table for the Easter meal. It’s roasted and served as an appetizer, maybe with some champagne if you’re lucky.<\/p>\n

20. Une tarte<\/em><\/h3>\n

And if you like pie, you’re in luck. A typical dessert on Easter would be\u00a0une tarte aux pommes<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>(an apple pie)\u00a0or maybe even\u00a0une tarte aux fraises<\/strong>…<\/em><\/p>\n

21. Des fraises<\/em><\/h3>\n

Speaking of which, strawberries are in season in springtime, and since the French tend to eat the produce that’s in season and at its best, strawberries are a common addition to the table during Easter. Nothing gets you in the springtime mood quite like fresh fruit. Or chocolate eggs, whatever your preference.<\/p>\n

22. Une quiche<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

And of course, the most quintessentially French thing on the menu, so much so that it’s the same word in English: quiche. For Easter (and most times of the year), you can find\u00a0une quiche au fromage<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>(with cheese),\u00a0une quiche aux \u00e9pinards<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>(with spinach),\u00a0une quiche<\/em> au poulet<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(with chicken)\u00a0<\/em>and many others on the table.<\/p>\n

For some more Easter recipes, Marmiton.com has this great list<\/a>\u00a0in French. Most of them include videos if you need that visual boost.<\/p>\n

Easter for French Kids<\/h2>\n

Not that kids get to have all the fun on Easter or anything, but they do get to play lots of fun games in the garden. And let’s get real, they’ll probably get more chocolate than their adult counterparts (but hopefully, you can “help” them eat it).<\/p>\n

23. La chasse aux \u0153ufs<\/em><\/h3>\n

Easter egg hunts should be familiar to American Easter fans. Often, the flying bell is the one who hides the Easter eggs, and not only are eggs hidden, but sometimes gifts and entire chocolate sculptures from\u00a0la confiserie.\u00a0<\/em>Watch this video<\/a> to see France’s largest Easter egg hunt in action.<\/p>\n

24. Un panier<\/em><\/h3>\n

Where else to put all of your findings from la chasse aux \u0153ufs\u00a0<\/em>than in your panier<\/em><\/strong>,\u00a0<\/em>or basket?<\/p>\n

25. Le lancer d’\u0153ufs<\/em><\/h3>\n

This may not be a familiar tradition to French learners.\u00a0Le lancer d’oeufs<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>is a game where you throw eggs. Of course, throwing eggs is generally frowned upon, but not during\u00a0P\u00e2ques !\u00a0<\/em>Often, they are rolled down a hill to see whose lasts the longest without breaking. Sounds like an egg-cellent way to make a mess (couldn’t help myself there).<\/p>\n

26. Un<\/em>\u00a0\u0153uf teint<\/em><\/h3>\n

You didn’t think I was talking about plain old white eggs\u2014it’s Easter!\u00a0Un \u0153uf teint<\/strong>,\u00a0<\/em>or a colored egg, is a common tradition in France as well as the States. Kids get their fingers stained with food coloring while dyeing eggs every spring!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So where does all of this leave us?<\/p>\n

Well, for P\u00e2ques <\/em>this year,<\/em>\u00a0get\u00a0<\/i>on your Easter Sunday best, throw some eggs, stuff yourself with fancy chocolate you found in the garden, have a quiche or two, enjoy an Easter parade and of course…<\/p>\n

Watch the flying bells fly back from Rome.<\/p>\n

By the end, you’ll be in a springtime mood and all ready to enjoy a Parisian summer.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And One More Thing...<\/h2>\r\n

\r\n\tIf you like learning French at your own pace and from the comfort of your device, I have to tell you about FluentU<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

\r\nFluentU makes it easier (and way more fun) to learn French by making real content like movies and series accessible to learners. You can check out FluentU's curated video library, or bring our learning tools directly to Netflix or YouTube<\/strong> with the FluentU Chrome extension. \r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\"learn-french-with-videos\"<\/a><\/p>\r\n

\r\nOne of the features I find most helpful is the interactive captions<\/strong>\u2014you can tap on any word to see its meaning, an image, pronunciation, and other examples from different contexts. It\u2019s a great way to pick up French vocab without having to pause and look things up separately.\r\n<\/p>

\r\n\"learn-french-with-movies\"<\/a><\/p>\r\n

\r\nFluentU also helps reinforce what you\u2019ve learned<\/strong> with personalized quizzes. You can swipe through extra examples and complete engaging exercises that adapt to your progress. You'll get extra practice with the words you find more challenging and even be reminded you when it\u2019s time to review!\r\n<\/p>

\r\n\"practice-french-with-adaptive-quizzes\"<\/a><\/p>\r\n

\r\nYou can use FluentU on your computer, tablet, or phone with our app for Apple or Android devices. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Easter is just as popular in France as it is in the US, if not more so.\u00a0Exploring the cultural aspects of French holidays, like (Easter), is one of the best…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":159,"featured_media":249612,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"French Easter Vocabulary | FluentU French Blog","description":"Is Easter an excuse to eat chocolate or a reason to learn more French? With this French Easter vocabulary, it can be both! Read on to find out how to say \"Easter\" in French, along with related vocabulary so that you can talk about the holiday with your French friends."},"footnotes":""},"categories":[570,571],"tags":[],"coauthors":[677],"class_list":["post-118430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-french","category-french-vocabulary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/159"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118430"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118430\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":247443,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118430\/revisions\/247443"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118430"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=118430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

If you\u2019re interested in learning even more about French Easter culture, this podcast at Frenchpod101<\/a> goes into more detail about the holiday.<\/p>\n