The french word for house

How Do You Say House in French?

House is French is “la maison“. It’s a feminine French word.

La maison est grande – the house is big.

This free French lesson – like many on French Today’s blog – features audio recordings. Click on the link next to the headphones to hear the French pronunciation.

How Do You Translate Home in French?

The notion of home in French is a bit more difficult to translate. You can use “la maison” :

On est à la maison – we’re home !

A common way to translate the notion of home in French is “(mon) chez moi“.

Ici, c’est (mon) chez moi – here, it’s my home.

You’ll modify the stress pronoun (the “moi”) to match the subject :

1. for je: chez moi,
2. for tu : chez toi,
3. for il: chez lui,
4. for elle: chez elle,
5. for on: chez soi,
6. for nous: chez nous,
7. for vous: chez vous,
8. for ils: chez eux,
9. for elles: chez elles…
10. or use a name : chez Pierre, chez Anne…

What Are the French Names of The Various Rooms in a House?

1. l’entrée – entrance, foyer
2. la salle de séjour – family room
3. le salon – (fancy) living room
4. le bureau – office
5. la chambre – bedroom
6. la salle à manger – dining room
7. la cuisine – kitchen
8. le garage – garage
9. l’atelier – workshop
10. la buanderie – linen / laundry room
11. le sous-sol – basement
12. le grenier – attic
13. la cave – cellar

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Kitchen in French = La Cuisine

1. la cuisine – kitchen
2. le frigo – refrigerator
3. le congélateur – freezer
4. l’évier (m) – sink
5. la cuisinière à gaz – gas stove
6. la cuisinière électrique – electric stove
7. le four – oven
8. le micro-ondes – microwaves
9. les provisions (f) – food

Learn the French house vocabulary as a longer list and then illustrated within the context of the real-life like story translated into English and recorded in French at different levels of enunciation (traditional and modern) in my French learning method.

Living-room in French = Le salon

1. le salon – living room
2. le divan – couch
3. le fauteuil – armchair
4. les bibelots (m) – knick-knacks
5. l’étagère (f) – shelf
6. le bureau – desk
7. le lustre – chandelier (more French light vocabulary)
8. le téléviseur – TV set
9. la stéréo – stereo
10. le tableau – painting in a frame (art)

Bedroom in French = la chambre

1. la pièce = room (any room)
2. la chambre = bedroom (not any room)
3. la chambre à coucher = bedroom (very specific)
4. le lit – bed
5. le matelas – mattress
6. le drap-housse – fitted sheet
7. le drap normal – flat sheet
8. la couverture (en laine) – (wool) blanket
9. le dessus-de-lit – bedspread
10. l’oreiller (m) – pillow
11. la table de chevet – night stand
12. la lampe de chevet – bedside lamp
13. le réveil (électronique) – (electronic) alarm clock
14. la penderie – wardrobe
15. la commode – dresser
16. le tiroir – drawer
17. le linge – laundry

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Bathroom in French = La Salle de Bains

More about how to ask where the bathroom is in French + French bathroom vocabulary.

1. la salle de bains – bathroom
2. la baignoire – bathtub
3. la douche – shower
4. le carrelage – tiles
5. le lavabo – sink
6. les toilettes (f) – the toilet

Various French House Terms

1. l’allée (f) – driveway, pathway
2. le jardin – garden
3. la cour – courtyard
4. la porte – door
5. la porte d’entrée – front door
6. le couloir – corridor
7. le mur – a wall
8. le tapis – carpet
9. la moquette – wall to wall carpeting
10. la cheminée – fireplace
11. la fenêtre – window
12. le rideau – curtain
13. le porte manteau – coat rack
14. le papier peint – wallpaper
15. l’étage (m) – floor
16. l’ascenseur – elevator
17. les escaliers (m) – staircase
18. le plafond – ceiling
19. le sol – the ground / the floor (as opposite to the ceiling)
20. le plancher – hardwood floor
21. le carrelage – tile floor

If you’d like to help me make a better list, please suggest more French house terms in French with English translation in the comment below and I’ll add your suggestions to the list. Thank you!

How To Count Floors in French?

The French word for floor is “l’étage“.

In French, we count the floors from one floor up from the ground/street level. So the street level floor is “le rez-de-chaussée“. Then you have “le premier étage“, “le deuxième étage“, “le troisième étage” and so on…

So watch out! The floor your rental apartment is on may be one floor up than what you expected!

Since buildings are often quite old in France, they don’t always have an elevator. And if they do, chances are it will be very small… You may actually have to put your bags in the elevator, then climb the stairs and call the loaded elevator to your floor!

How to say Porch in French?

Many houses in the US feature a porch. It can be a closed or an open porch. It’s not something very common in France. Just like the wooden deck, some 19th century “beach” houses – like in Arcachon – would have an open porch, but it’s not a typical French feature.

So how would you translate porch in French? It’s a bit tricky. The dictionary would tell you that the translation for porch is “un porche”.

OK. However a French person may never have seen a typical American house porch… In which case you’d have to describe the idea to them.

How to say an open porch in French?

To translation the notion of an open porch, I would say “une galerie en bois”.

Devant ma maison, il y a un galerie en bois avec une jolie barrière et des fauteuil en osier pour s’asseoir et boire un thé glacé.
In front of my house, there’s a wooden porch with a pretty fence and wicker armchairs to sit down and enjoy an iced-tea.

How to say a closed porch in French?

To translate the notion of a closed porch in French, we would say “une véranda”, or “une salle-à-manger d’été” (a summer dinning-room !!).

Quand j’habitais à Boston, sur le côté de ma maison il y avait une salle-à-manger d’été : une pièce avec des fenêtres partout et des moustiquaires, un peu comme une véranda fermée.
When I lived in Boston, on the side to my house, there was a closed porch: a room full of windows with mosquito screens, a bit like a closed verandah.

How to say balcony in French?

Who hasn’t seen pictures of typical Paris apartments featuring beautiful balconies with wrought iron?

A balcony in French is called “un balcon”. It can be very narrow and extend just in front of a window, or be like an outdoor path sticking out of the building wall. Sometimes a balcony leads to a patio.

In any case, having even a small balcony in a city apartment can be a real luxury!

How do you say a deck, a patio in French? This will be part of my French garden vocabulary lesson. You may also enjoy my lesson about French home repair words.

Browse our French vocabulary section for over 150 Free French vocabulary lessons, many with audio recordings.

Houses in France video

Finally, would you like to know how French houses look like? Here is a fun, unscripted “live” practice video I shot in my home town of Paimpol, Brittany, France.

Although there are many beautiful older houses in France, and the look and architecture of the French houses vary tremendously throughout the various regions of France, you’ll see that not every French house is an old traditional stone house…

This video comes with French subtitles I personally checked and a YouTube auto-generated English translation.

The home is the center of French family life, so words identifying the house, furniture, and areas of the home are a part of everyday language for French people. It’s important, then, to learn some of the most common words for furniture, house, and home in French. Where provided, click the links to hear how the word is pronounced in French.

Ma Maison

Starting with maison (house), as well as chez moi (my home), several words describe a house in French, from searching for a home to buying your abode and perhaps renovating it.

• la maison > house
• chez moi > at my house, my home, at home
• rénover, remettre à neuf > renovate, refurbish
• construire, bâtir une maison > build a house
• un architecte > architect
• un agent immobilier > a real estate agent, house agent
• acheter une maison > to buy a house
• une perquisition domiciliaire > a house search

Inside la Maison

Once you’re inside a French home, many French words describe its interior, from la cuisine (the kitcchen) to le bureau (the office).

• à l’intérieur > inside
• architecte d’intérieur > interior designer
• décorateur d’intérieur > home decorator
• la pièce, la salle > room
• la cuisine > kitchen
• la salle à manger > dining room
• le bureau > office, study
• la salle de séjour, le salon > den, living room
• la chambre, la chambre à coucher > bedroom
• la salle de bain > bathroom (does not include a toilet)
• la salle d’eau > shower room
• les toilettes, les cabinets / le W-C (pronounced «vay say») > toilet / water closet (British)
• la salle de jeu > playroom
• une domestique, une femme de chambre > housemaid
• le sous-sol > basement
• le grenier > attic
• la porte > door
• le couloir > hall
• un escalier > stairway

Furniture, Appliances, Equipment, and Home Furnishings

A number of words can discribe les meubles (the furniture) you might use to make your house a home.

• les meubles > furniture
• un meuble > a piece of furniture
• le living > living room  
• mobilier design > designer furniture
• des meubles en kit > self-assembly furniture
• un bureau > desk
• une imprimante > printer
• un ordinateur > computer
• ordinateur portable, PC (pronounced «pay say») portable > laptop computer
• une étagère > bookshelf, shelving unit
• une chaîne stéréo > stereo
• une affiche > poster
• une peinture > a painting
• un canapé > couch
• une chaise > chair
• un rideau > curtain
• une télévision, un télé, un TV (pronounced «tay vay») > television
• une armoire, un placard > closet
• un lit > bed
• un oreiller > pillow
• une commode > dresser
• un réveil > alarm clock
• un bain, une baignoire > bathtub
• une douche > shower
• un lavabo > bathroom sink
• une toilette > toilet
• une cuisinière > stove
• un four > oven
• un four à micro-ondes > microwave
• un réfrigérateur > refrigerator
• un évie > kitchen sink
• une fenêtre > window
• une lampe > lamp
• une moquette > carpet
• un tapis > rug
• un miroir, une glace > mirror
• un mur > wall
• le parquet, le sol > floor
• le plafond > ceiling
• une porte > door
• une table > table
• un téléphone > telephone

Outside a Maison

Once you’re comfortable with your home’s interior, you might proceed à l’extérieur (outside), where you can use many words to describe the home in French.

• à l’extérieur > outside
• une garage > garage
• la remise à calèches > carriage house/coach house
• la maison d’invités > guest house
• le porche, la véranda > porch, veranda
• le balcon > balcony
• le patio > patio
• un auvent > an awning
• une clôture > a fence
• le pergola > a pergola (area covered with wooden timbers and climbing plants)
• le jardin > yard, garden
• un potager > a vegetable garden
• un jardin de fleurs > a flower garden
• un parterre > a flower bed
• une jardinière > a flower box
• une fontaine > a fountain
• bain d’oiseau > a birdbath
• jardinier > gardener
• une allée > a driveway
• une piscine en plein air / découverte > an outdoor swimming pool   
• le barbecue, le gril > an outdoor grill