Wiktionary: boy → garçon, gars, boy, jeune homme.
girl → fille; jeune fille.
What is girl and boy in French?
French Translation. garçons et filles.
What Garcon means?
A waiter or servant. noun. A waiter. noun. A waiter (especially at a French restaurant).
What is the Italian word for boy?
Look it up in the dictionary and you’ll find a simple enough definition: un ragazzo is a boy, una ragazza is a girl, i ragazzi are boys and le ragazze are girls.
What is French love?
There aren’t many French terms of endearment more romantic than mon amour, which means “my love” in French. Is it ma amour or mon amour? Whether you’re speaking to a man or a woman, the term is the same: mon amour.
What does I am a boy mean in French?
The phrase ”I am a boy” translates as Je suis un garçon (pronounced: zhuh swee uhn gahr-SOHN).
What is á in French?
Generally speaking, à means “to,” “at,” or “in,” while de means “of” or “from.” Both prepositions have numerous uses and to understand each better, it is best to compare them. Learn more about the preposition de.
What is your name in French?
If you’d like to say “What is your name?” in French, you generally have two options. To pose the question formally, you’d say “Comment vous-appelez vous? Speaking informally, you can simply ask “Comment t’appelles-tu?”
What are some French words?
- Bonjour = Hello, Good morning.
- Au revoir = Goodbye.
- Oui = Yes.
- Non = No.
- Merci = Thank you.
- Merci beaucoup = Thank you very much.
- Fille = Girl.
- Garçon = Boy.
Is Garcon rude?
The word garçon means boy. It’s disrespectful. Address the waiter as you would any stranger: politely. If you must say something to get the waiter’s attention, you can employ the word monsieur, but it is often unnecessary.
Is Gaston a French name?
French: from the Old French oblique case of a Germanic personal name, originally probably a byname from gasti ‘stranger’, ‘guest’, ‘host’. Compare Guest. The surname is also found in England and Ireland, where it is probably a Huguenot importation.
What is the opposite of Bon in French?
The French words bon and bien, mauvais and mal are often mixed up. This is because the two pairs have similar meanings: bon and bien are positive while mauvais and mal are negative.
How do you say boy in all languages?
- American English: boy /ˈbɔɪ/
- Arabic: وَلَد
- Brazilian Portuguese: menino.
- Chinese: 男孩
- Croatian: dječak.
- Czech: chlapec.
- Danish: dreng.
- Dutch: jongen.
What does Forza stand for?
Forza literally means force, or power. But also, as one Italian dictionary puts it, “the ability to face the difficulties of life.” Used in this context, forza means something like “come on” or “you can do it!” Almost like saying “be strong” or “you’ve got the strength to do this.”
What does Alberto say in Luca?
In “Luca” Alberto tells Luca, “Piacere, Girolamo Trombetta?” This roughly translates to, “Pleased to meet you.” In fact, the director himself, Enrico Casarosa, explained it on Twitter. Basically, the bit is a wordplay meaning “Nice meeting you, my name is Twisty Trombone.”
What is BAE French?
babe, bade, bake, bale. bae. n. bébé ; chéri(e)
What is meant by French kiss?
: an open-mouth kiss usually involving tongue-to-tongue contact.
Do French guys kiss on first date?
Generally speaking, French men don’t tend to initiate any type of physical contact on a first date. And when they finally do, they will usually ask for permission first. This is largely due to the fact that in France, kissing on the lips for the first time carries far more weight than in some other countries.
How do you say the number one in French?
| Number | In French | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | un | uh |
| 2 | deux | duh |
| 3 | trois | twah |
| 4 | quatre | KAT-ruh |
How do you say B in French?
Does Des mean some in French?
You might already know that des is a contraction of de and les. It is always followed by a plural noun, and can be used as a preposition to mean “of,” “from,” or “by,” or as an article to mean “some” or “a few.” Note that when des is used as an article, it is often left untranslated.
Is there a French alphabet?
Alphabet. The French alphabet is based on the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet, uppercase and lowercase, with five diacritics and two orthographic ligatures. The letters ⟨w⟩ and ⟨k⟩ are rarely used except in loanwords and regional words.
How do I say my age in French?
How do you spell Jessica in French?
What are the 4 seasons in French?
| Summer | l’été | /lete/ |
|---|---|---|
| Fall | l’automne | /lotɔn/ |
| Winter | l’hiver | /livɛʀ/ |
| Spring | le printemps | /lə pʀɛ̃tɑ̃/ |
What is a popular French word?
Let’s dive right in with some of the most common French words and phrases. Bonjour: a general greeting meaning “hello” or “good morning” Au revoir: goodbye. Oui: yes. Non: no.
What is the most French word?
| Number | French | in English |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | comme | as |
| 2 | je | I |
| 3 | son | his |
| 4 | que | that |
Is French hard to learn?
According to the FSI, French is one of the easiest languages to learn for a native English speaker. And yet, with an average of 30 weeks to achieve proficiency (instead of 24), it’s also one of the hardest.
Do the French eat pizza?
Some 96 percent of French people declare a love for pizza – their favourie being the Reine – (tomato sauce, ham, cheese and mushrooms) followed by the margherita and 84 percent order pizzas at home. There are some 13,000 pizzerias in France and 5,000 pizza food trucks.
Why do the French call waiters boy?
Calling The Waiter “Garçon”
It means boy which sounds quite derogatory in English, but it’s not quite as bad as it sounds in French since it originated as a means of calling a waiter “garçon de café”. … Just catch the server’s attention by saying “s’il vous plaît”. It’s easy and very polite.
How do I call a waitress?
You should address your waiter or waitress with “Sir. Miss, Ms., or Ma’am” as appropriate. If they introduce themselves by name, use their names. DO NOT whistle, snap your fingers, clap your hands, whistle, or call, ‘Hey, you!”
What name means stranger?
42. Doyle (Irish origin) means “stranger”.
What’s the meaning of the name Maurice?
Meaning:dark-skinned, Moorish.
Is Gaston a real name?
The name Gaston is primarily a male name of French origin that means From Gascony, France.
What is the opposite of Grande in French?
| modest | reserved |
|---|---|
| discreet | unpretentious |
Is Mal French?
The French words mauvais and mal can be tricky for French students because they both belong to three different parts of speech (adjectives, adverbs, nouns) and have similar meanings. If you have a poor understanding of the difference, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to read this lesson.
Does Bon mean good in French?
Bon is usually an adjective. It modifies a noun and means good, suitable, efficient, correct, useful, etc.
What is the Korean word for boy?
남자 아이 (namja ai) boy (noun)
남자 아이는 여자 아이보다 키가 큽니다. Namja aineun yeoja aiboda kiga keumnida.
What is oh boy in Russian?
Russian Translation. О, парень O, paren’
What is the plural of boy in French?
If the noun is plural then “Some” becomes Des. For example : A boy = Un garçon. A girl = Une fille.
Continue Learning about Other Arts
What is the french word for boy?
garson
What is the French word for boyfriend?
A boy friend is ‘un petit ami’ in French.
The french word for lost?
About a boy: perdu
About a girl: perdue
French word for beautiful?
Belle means beautiful for a girl in French. So does Beau for a
boy.
What is the French word ‘amis’ in English?
«Friends» is an English equivalent of the French word amis.Specifically, the French word is a masculine noun in its plural form. It literally means «boy friends» or «friends who are boys.» The pronunciation is «ah-mee.»
Watch out, you middle-aged skirt chasers—here come les couguars! (Note: I didn’t see any cougars to photograph on the island of Ré; I hope this cat will do! Also, enjoy these white umbrella flowers, which covered the island, competing with all those hollyhocks.)
un coug(o)uar (koo-gar)
Le mot couguar désigne une femme, généralement de plus de 40 ans (la génération de trentenaires qui précède la cougar est plutôt appelée «puma»), qui cherche ou fréquente des hommes plus jeunes, typiquement ayant au moins quatre ans de moins qu’elles. Ces hommes sont généralement appelés des toy boys ou des lionceaux. —definition from Wikipedia
The word cougar designates a woman, generally over 40 (the generation of 30-year-olds who precede cougars are called «pumas»), who looks for or hangs out with younger men, typically at least four years younger than herself. These men are generally referred to as «toy boys» or lionceaux.
Audio File (Note: waiting for my LION to return from his errands in time to record today’s definition… ) Update: the sound files are ready, listen here: Download MP3 file or listen to Wav file
A Day in a French Life… by Kristin Espinasse
Our second day on l’île de Ré we rode our vélos from the beach to the farmers’ market. I parked my rental bike in front of the tourist office, waved goodbye to Jean-Marc, and set out to discover the busy marché, with its fishmonger, its beachwear vendor, its olive merchant, and its obese man selling figure-slimming cookware. Step right up, Madame! Check out this pan!
The pots and pans salesman wasn’t the only curious sight, there was that aspirin-white American woman with the two giant watermarks on her shirt… My bathing suit had soaked through! Thankfully, I was unaware of the state of my chemise, and could suffer the embarrassment later, upon checking my appearance in the mirror back at our rental.
As I checked myself in la glace, scrutinizing every detail of my person, I remembered the remark my husband had made after we met up outside l’office de tourisme. Unlocking our bikes for the ride home, Jean-Marc teased me:
«Ça va le maraîcher?» he snickered.
The produce guy? So my husband had seen me lingering at the vegetable stand… chatting with that young man!
The embarrassment bubbling up from within soon showed itself on my face, which reddened visibly despite a precautionary thick white mask of sunblock.
I laughed it off. After all, that student selling onions and cantaloupes was only a few years older than our son, Max! What did my husband think I was—a cougar?
Of all people! The truth is, while my barely-clad French contemporaries were busy watching Sex and The City (around the time we were reaching our 40s), I was poring over Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, fearful my sinful nature would betray me at any moment! The word «cougar» never even entered my lexicon until my friend Diana shared the term with me, over an evening barbecue in which our middle-aged husbands smoked cigars and helped themselves to seconds from the dessert tray.
Facing the mirror, searching my face, with its crows feet and cicatrices, I couldn’t help but think how ridiculous my husband’s insinuation was, that an out-of-shape, 44-year-old femme mariée had been flirting with a charming student!
(Did I say charmant?)
To be continued… (Click here for the 2nd half of this story)
Note, the underlined (or highlighted) words within the article contain links to archived stories, including the story in which Jean-Marc is caring, for the first time, for his very own vines. Don’t miss «Surrogate Mother» (La Mère Porteuse) here.
French Vocabulary
le vélo = bicycle
le marché = (farmers’) market
la chemise = shirt
l’office de tourisme = tourist office
Ça va le maraîcher? = How’s the produce guy doing?
une femme mariée = a married woman
Fun French expression: in the story, I referred to my skin tone as aspirin white. I borrowed the expression from the French, who use the following idiom: blanc comme un cachet d’aspirine (as white as an aspirin pill)
If you’re new to this journal—welcome! That’s me, Kristin, on the left and this is the 10th year that I have written this blog. One of the rewards of writing is meeting readers. Kris (right) joined us for one of our last tastings of the season. She eventually traveled back to Brittany after being stuck in Tulette one week no thanks to car problems. Kris tells me the Domaine Rouge-Bleu wine she and her husband bought helped them through this extended visit!
Correct Your French Blunders: How to Avoid 99% of the Common Mistakes Made by Learners of French. Speak and write French as if it were your native tongue! Order here.
Spotted another cougar on the way back from the beach…. There’s Jean-Marc heading to the market.
Holding up the hollyhocks. Islanders take such good care of their emblematic flower. One woman told me that a hollyhock, or rose trémière’s, lifespan is two years. Lucky for us, each season they drop hundreds of graines, reseeding themselves.
Hello, chers amis! If you want to make your sweetheart melt or embarrass the hell out of your kids, instead of calling them sweetheart, snookums or honey bunny, try out one of these cute French terms of endearment and French pet names for men, women, and children. I’ve also listed a few dirty French nicknames towards the end.
If you’re looking for actual French pet names for your cat and not pet names for people, check out this post I did…
If you’re looking for actual French girl names, check out this post.
101 Cute, Quirky, and Romantic French Terms of Endearment (and a few naughty ones too)
Click to open Table of Contents
Hey baby,
let’s talk about terms of endearment, sometimes referred to as «pet names» or «nicknames.»
Those sweet words of affection people use to address their boyfriend, girlfriend, wife, husband, friends, children, loved ones and even pets.
In the English language, there are many cute terms of endearment and nicknames such as «honey bunny,» «sweetheart,» «pumpkin,» «baby,» «buddy,» and «dude,» to name a few.
French terms of endearment = «Les surnoms» (nicknames) or «petits nom d’amour» (little love names.)
The French language has just as many, if not more equally cute, romantic, quirky and even dirty French nicknames, love names, pet names, and terms of endearment.
Some French terms of endearment translate to English word for word like «mon ange» which means «my angel». Sounds cute doesn’t it?
Others French nicknames won’t sound as cute to a non-native French speaker such as «mon chou» which can either mean «MY CABBAGE or my «CREAM PUFF PASTRY.»
It may sound strange to you but, calling someone «pumpkin» sounds weird to a French person, but not to a French person because it’s a very common and affectionate way to talk to a child or even your partner.
How this list of French terms of endearment is organized.
In this article, I’ll list some of the more common and interesting terms of endearment in French as well as less common ones.
I’ve tried to organize the French nicknames and pet names into meaningful categories such as cute nicknames for a boyfriend, animal related French terms of endearment, or commonly said to a woman, but most can be used for both males and females, such as «mon coeur» (my heart.)
Needless to say, you probably shouldn’t use the raunchy ones at the end of this article on children.
If you’re looking for some French names for girls, check out this article…
HOW TO USE
this list of 101 French terms of endearment every day:
Go through this list and write down the French terms of endearment and pet names that you like.
Then simply replace someone’s name with one the French pet name.
Examples and literal meaning
For example: Instead of saying hello + someone’s name, you could say the following.
- Bonjour mon amour (Hello my love).
- Bonjour ma belle (Hello my beautiful).
- Bonjour mon Coeur (Hello my heart).
- Where are you ma cocotte? (Where are you my casserole?)
(1-10)
Top 10 most common or popular French terms of endearment
The following 10 French nicknames are some of the more common ones in France.
|
French Term |
Meaning |
|---|---|
|
1) Mon Chou: |
Literally my cabbage but «chou» can also refer to a French cream-puff called «Chou Chantilly». |
|
2) ChouChou: |
Cabbage Cabbage or Cream puff cream puff |
|
3) Mon ange: |
My angel |
|
4) Mon bébé: |
My baby |
|
5) Mon cœur: |
My heart |
|
6) Mon Doudou: |
My blanky or my cuddly thing |
|
7) Mon trésor: |
My Treasure |
|
|
Say to males: My darling; implies love. You can say this to your lover or to little boys. |
|
9) Ma chérie: |
Say to females: My darling; implies love. You can say this to your lover or to little girls. |
|
10) Ma puce: |
My flea (this is quite popular with parents for boys and girls) |
Mon chéri:Mon cher / Ma Chère:
vs
Mon Chéri / Ma Chèrie
Don’t confuse Mon Cher and Ma Chère with Mon chéri and Ma chérie.
Cher/Chère
Mon Cher and Ma Chère are more formal than Mon chéri and Ma chérie.
French people RARELY use Cher / Chère «ami(e),» or “Cher / Chère + «name” to address a friend.
Cher / Chère do not imply love and is not intimate or romantic. It’s used to show respect and consideration.
They can be used in a conversation, in correspondence and in letters just as you would write «dear john.»
Examples:
- Ma chère cousine vient d’arriver (my dearest cousin just arrived)
- Chers amis, je vous remercie de votre présence aujourd’hui. (Dear friends, thank you for being here today.)
- Bonjour ma chère (Hello my dear) said to a woman.
- Bonjour mon cher (Hello my dear) said to a man.
Chéri/Chèrie
Chéri and Chèrie are more intimate, tender and used as a French term of endearment to someone you know very well, love, or care deeply for.
It’s meaning is closer to my darling.
Examples:
- Veux-tu boire un verre ce soir chérie? (Do you want to have tonight darling?)
- Bonjour chèrie (Hello dear) said to a woman.
- Bonjour chér (Hello dear) said to a man.
Click to Tweet to someone special
(11 — 20)
French Terms Of Endearment for:
HIM, HER or THE KIDS
You can use these French pet names to address your boyfriend, girlfriend, kids, husband, wife and maybe a very close friend.
They all generally have the same meaning as «honey,» «sweetie,» or «darling.» I personally would not use these on your parents or co-workers.
|
French Term |
Meaning |
|---|---|
|
11.) Mon biquet: |
My lamb |
|
12.) Mon canard: |
My duck |
|
13.) Mon colibri: |
My hummingbird |
|
14.) Mon lapin: |
My rabbit |
|
15.) Mon Lapinou: |
My bunny |
|
16.) Mon Minou: |
My kitty |
|
17.) Mon poussin: |
My chick (as in baby chick) |
|
18.) Mon sucre d’orge: |
My barley sugar, candy cane |
|
19.) Mon trognon: |
My apple core or fruit core |
|
20.) Mamours: |
contraction of «mon amour» to mean «my love» |
Click to Tweet to someone special
(21 — 38)
French Terms Of Endearment for:
MEN or BOYS
Here are a few French nicknames you can call your boyfriend or husband but also your son’s.
My favourite on this list is «Mon LouLou.»
Again, these all have the general meaning of sweetie, hun or darling.
|
French Term |
Meaning |
|---|---|
|
21) Mon Petit Chou: |
My little cabbage |
|
22) Mon Beau: |
My handsome |
|
23) Mon Loup: |
My wolf |
|
24) Mon Nounours: |
My Teddy Bear Or Plushy |
|
25) Mon Ours: |
My Bear |
|
26) Mon Petit Caneton: |
My Little Duckling |
|
27) Mon Poulet: |
My Chicken |
|
28) Mon Rêleur: |
My Grumpy Or Complainer |
|
29) Mon Homme: |
My Man |
|
30) Mon Loulou: |
My Pomeranian ( Cute, Cuddly And Carried Around) |
|
31) Mon Lutin: |
My Elf |
|
32) Mon Vieux: |
My Old One (but closer in meaning to Big Guy) |
|
33) Mon Bébé D’amour: |
My Love Baby |
|
34) Mon Bibou: |
Means Nothing Like «Smoopy Poop» |
|
35) Mon Grand: |
My big (this common term idiomatically means «big boy» |
|
36) Mon Petit Monstre: |
My Little Monstre (Great For The Kids) |
|
37) Mon Vilain: |
My Naughty One (Another Good One For The Kids) |
|
38) Mon Bibou: |
Nonsensical like «Smoopy Poop» |
Click to Tweet to someone special
(39 — 48)
Cute Animal French Terms Of Endearment to Call:
WOMEN AND LITTLE GIRLS
Many French nicknames involve animals such as my little butterfly or ladybug. Here are some of my favourite.
|
French Term |
Meaning |
|---|---|
|
39) Ma coccinelles |
My ladybug |
|
40) Ma colombe |
My dove |
|
41) Ma crevette |
My shrimp |
|
42) Ma poule |
My chicken |
|
43) Ma tigresse |
My tigress |
|
44) Mon papillon |
My butterfly |
|
45) Ma biche |
My doe, as in do a dear |
|
46) Ma bichette |
Derived from biche (doe) |
|
47) Ma bibiche |
Derived from biche (doe) |
|
48) Ma caille |
My quail |
(49 — 65)
Tender French Terms Of Endearment to Call:
WOMEN AND GIRLS
|
French Term |
Meaning |
|---|---|
|
49) Ma truffe |
My truffle |
|
50) Ma choupinette |
mainly used when addressing a little girl |
|
51) Ma cocotte |
My casserole |
|
52) Ma douce |
My sweet |
|
53) Ma loulotte |
No translation |
|
54) Ma lutine |
My elf, or maybe pixie |
|
55) Ma pepette |
My money |
|
56) Ma petite sirène |
My little mermaid |
|
57) Ma mie |
Not the crust but the soft white part of bread |
|
58) Ma princesse |
My princess |
|
59) Mon bijou |
My jewel |
|
60) Ma belle |
My pretty like the Beatles song «Michelle, ma belle» |
|
61) Ma bohème |
My bohemian |
|
62) Ma rêleuse |
My grumpy or my complainer |
|
63) Ma fée |
My fairy |
|
64) Ma poupée |
My little doll |
|
65) Ma poupette |
derived from poupée, my dolly |
Click to Tweet to someone special
(66 — 93)
Romantic French Terms Of Endearment that can can also be used affectionately with children.
The following French terms of endearment and nicknames can be used romantically with someone you’re involved with as well as affectionately with kids in a very lovey dovey way.
For instance, «Mon Amour» which means my love can be used both romantically with your boyfriend as well as with little children.
|
French Term |
Meaning |
|---|---|
|
66) Mon Amour |
My love (this is extremely popular) |
|
67) Mon Amoureux |
My lover ( not sexual. Can say to children means my love |
|
68) Ma raison de vivre |
My reason for living |
|
69) Mon étoile |
My star |
|
70) Mon destin |
My destiny |
|
71) Ma force |
My strength |
|
72) Mon ciel étoilé |
My starry sky |
|
73) L’amour de ma vie |
Love of my life |
|
74) Ma passion |
My passion |
|
75) Mon indispensable |
My essential or indispensable one |
|
76) Mon rève |
My dream |
|
77) Mon préféré |
My preferred |
|
78) Mon désir |
My desire |
|
79) Ma perfection |
My perfection |
|
80) Ma foi |
My faith |
|
81) Ma raison d’ètre |
My reason for living My reason for being |
|
82) Mon prince |
My prince |
|
83) Mon Roméo |
My Romeo |
|
84) Mon superman |
My superman |
|
85) Mon bonheur |
My happiness |
|
86) Mon Essentiel |
My essential |
|
87) Mon avenir |
My future |
|
88) Mon Exception |
My exception |
|
89) Mon rayon de soleil |
My ray of sunshine |
|
90) Ma pomme d’amour |
My apple of love |
Click to Tweet to someone special
(91-101)
WARNING!
French terms of endearment you may find
STRANGE, NAUGHTY OR RISQUÉ
USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!
Les surnoms coquins
Dirty French nicknames and terms of endearment
I saved the best or worst for last, depending on how you look at it.
The following French terms of endearment will probably sound raunchy or dirty to you.
Nevertheless, they are terms of endearment some French people use.
|
French Term |
Meaning |
|---|---|
|
91) Ma coquine |
My naughty |
|
92) Mon p’tit cul |
Diminutive form of «petit cul», little ass
|
|
93) Ma Lolita |
Ma Lolita has the same connotation in French & English: You girl who is precocious and seductive |
|
94) Ma grosse |
My fat one.
|
|
95) Ma crotte |
Literally means my turd. Belgians use this to refer to their women, like Ma chérie
|
|
96) Ma quequette |
A childish or cute name for a penis, like willy. A friend of mine, who is a woman sometimes calls me this. weird right?
|
|
97) Ma nénette |
Nénette can mean slut but can also mean chick or broad. Salope can also mean slut but, here it can also mean «My Bitch»
|
|
98) Ma chatte |
Be careful! This means pussy cat and, it has the same double meaning in English «pussy«.
|
|
99) Ma couille |
Literally means my testicle, but young men use it to refer to their friends, like «hey dickhead», only it would be «hey testicle.
|
|
100) Mon petit poil de cul |
Literally means «my little butt hair.» I found this on a French forum from someone who said she calls her boyfriend this.
|
|
101) Mon dieu de sexe |
My sex god. Don’t use in public unless you want to perk up someone’s ears.
|
LA FIN!
There you have it mes chèrs.
There are probably 100’s more French terms of endearment that I could have included but this French vocabulary should take you a while to memorize.
Related Articles you might like
Annie André
About the author
I’m Annie André, a bilingual North American with Thai and French Canadian roots. I’ve lived in France since 2011. When I’m not eating cheese, drinking wine or hanging out with my husband and children, I write articles on my personal blog annieandre.com for intellectually curious people interested in all things France: Life in France, travel to France, French culture, French language, travel and more.
Looking for something else to call your loved ones beside the usual nicknames like sweetie, honey, darling or sweetheart?Then perhaps we can interest you with their French counterparts; just like mon amour which is my love in French! This article lists down 80 French terms of endearment for the special man, woman, or little child in your life.
Not only are French words considered by many to be the epitome of romance, it will also help you level up your game and steer you away from the tired and dull terms that everybody else uses.
A Quick Background
French terms of endearment are more than just mon amour or ma chèrie that you hear in movies. There are loads more where that came from.
In general, the French like to use words related to food and animals (perhaps because French people love food more than anything else and care deeply about pets, too). That, and of course, the truly romantic ones that are dripping with love. Ooh la la!
Gender Agreement
Take note that the possessive adjectives mon and ma which means “my” need to agree with the gender of the word being used in the terms of endearment and not with:
- the gender of the speaker, and
- not necessarily with the gender of the person you are speaking to.
This is why we say mon amour or mon coeur even to the ladies (for example, a man could call his wife mon amour). This is because the gender of the word amour is masculine and not because of the gender of the speaker or the person he is talking to.
For a little review of how French possessive adjectives work, check out this short article.
In general, the masculine terms of endearment work for both men and women, unless the word associated with it make it strictly for male (i.e. mon homme or my man). Female terms of endearment, however, can only be used for women.
To make it easier for you, we’ve segregated the terms based on its usage: whether it can be used for male, female, and children, or solely for men and boys, or for women and girls.
Using Petit/Petite
Another thing to remember is that you can basically add the word petit/petite (little) in most of the terms here. This will make it even cuter, such as ma petite chérie or mon petit chou.
English Equivalents
Some of the words here are direct translations from words you already know and use in the English language, but you’ll find that some can be quite quirky and silly. Take for example, ma crotte. It means something like “my poo” (or even worse, ‘turd’). Now that’s something you wouldn’t call someone in English, but in French it’s a sweet yet silly nickname.
French nicknames for men, women, and kids
| L’amour de ma vie | Love of my life |
| Ma crotte | My poo |
| Mon rêve | My dream |
| Ma moitié | My (other) half |
| Ma passion | My passion |
| Ma perfection | My perfection |
| Ma puce | My flea |
| Ma raison d’être | My reason for being |
| Ma raison de vivre | My reason for living |
| Mamour | My love (shortened for mon amour) |
| Mon amour | My love |
| Mon amoureux | My lover (does not necessarily have sexual connotation) |
| Mon ange | My angel |
| Mon bébé | My baby |
| Mon biquet | My lamb |
| Mon bonheur | My happiness |
| Mon canard | My duck |
| Mon chaton | My kitten |
| Mon chou | My sweetie (lit. cabbage; my pastry) |
| Mon chouchou | My favorite |
| Mon ciel étoilé | My starry sky |
| Mon cochon | My pig |
| Mon coco | My egg |
| Mon coeur | My heart |
| Mon destin | My destiny |
| Mon étoile | My star |
| Mon lapin | My rabbit |
| Mon lapinou | My bunny |
| Mon mignon | My cutie |
| Mon mimi | My pussycat |
| Mon poussin | My chick (baby chicken) |
| Mon rayon de soleil | My ray of sunshine |
| Mon sucre d’orge | My barley sugar, candy cane |
| Mon trésor | My treasure |
Nicknames for women and girls only
| Ma belle | My beautiful |
| Ma bibiche | My little doe |
| Ma biche | My doe |
| Ma bichette | My little doe |
| Ma caille | My quail |
| Ma chère | My dear |
| Ma chèrie | My darling |
| Ma choupinette | My cutie |
| Ma cocotte | My hen |
| Ma colombe | My dove |
| Ma douce | My sweet |
| Ma fée | My fairy |
| Ma fifille | My little girl |
| ma grande | My big (girl) |
| Ma lutine | My elf/ my pixie |
| ma mie | My dear |
| Ma minette | My pussycat |
| Ma petite | My little love |
| Ma petite sirène | My little mermaid |
| Ma poule | My hen |
| Ma poupée | My little doll |
| Ma poupette | My dolly |
| Ma princesse | My princess |
| Ma tigresse | My tigress |
| Mon bijou | My jewel |
French terms of endearment for men and boys only
| Mon beau | My handsome |
| Mon bébé d’amour | My baby love |
| Mon cher | My darling |
| Mon chéri | My dear |
| Mon grand | My big guy |
| Mon homme | My man |
| Mon loulou | My little one |
| Mon loup | My wolf |
| Mon lutin | My elf |
| Mon minet | My pussycat |
| Mon nounours | My teddy bear |
| Mon ours | My bear |
| Mon petit | My little love |
| Mon petit caneton | My little duckling |
| Mon petit chou | My little cabbage / chou |
| Mon poulet | My chicken |
| Mon prince | My prince |
| Mon roméo | My romeo |
| Mon superman | My superman |
| Mon tigre | My tiger |
| Mon vilain | My naughty |
You can also get this list in PDF format.
Conclusion
French nicknames can be sweet or silly or totally romantic. Which one is your favorite? And which one would you like to try out with your sweetheart? Feel free to share in the comments the French terms of endearment you like!
Check out some related readings here:
Romantic French Words and Phrases to Melt your Lover’s Heart
French for Parents 101: Baby Talk, Vocabulary Lists, and More!
Learn 20,000+ French words with our French Vocabulary Mastery Course.
Here are some FAQs about French Terms of Endearment
How do you say “my love” in French?
“I love you” in French is je t’aime.
How do you say “sweetheart” in French?
“Sweetheart” in French is chérie.
How do I say “Hello my love” in French?
To say “Hello my love” in French, you say Bonjour mon amour. Bonjour is “hello” and mon amour means “my love.”
How do I say “Good morning, my love” in French?
To say “Good morning, my love” in French, you say Bonjour, mon amour! Bonjour can mean “hello,” “hi,” or “good morning” and mon amour means “my love.”
How do you say “Goodnight, my love” in French?
“Goodnight, my love” in French is bonne nuit, mon amour. Bonne nuit means “good night” and mon amour is “my love.”
How do you say “I love you, my love” in French?
You say, “Je t’aime, mon amour” if you want to say “I love you, my love” in French.