What is the word in french for beautiful

How do you say “beautiful” in French? Beau/belle is the most common way to say “beautiful” in French. Beau describes a masculine noun, and belle describes feminine noun. So to say “a beautiful woman”, you would say une belle femme.

Is beauty a French word?

If you want to say “beauty” in French, the word is literally “la beauté.” Trying to describe someone or something as beautiful? When describing a person or object, you would generally say “beau” for men (or masculine object) and “belle” for woman (or feminine object).

What is the most beautiful French word?

Here are the most beautiful French words

• Papillon – butterfly.
• Parapluie – umbrella.
• Paupiette – a piece of meat, beaten thin, and rolled with a stuffing of vegetables, fruits or sweetmeats.
• Romanichel – gypsy.
• Silhouette – silhouette.
• Soirée – evening.
• Tournesol – sunflower.
• Vichyssoise – from vichy. Masculine, noun.

What do you call a beautiful French woman?

belle femme. More French words for beautiful woman. femme belle. beautiful woman.

Is Bella French for beautiful?

Bella is a feminine given name. It is a diminutive form of names ending in -bella. Bella is related to the Italian, Spanish, Greek, Portuguese and Latin words for beautiful, to the name Belle, meaning beautiful in French.

Gorgeous French Words That Mean Beautiful
Just like in the English language, there are many ways to say “beautiful” in French. attrayant (masculine adjective) – attractive. belle (feminine adjective) – beautiful. charmante (feminine adjective) – charming or lovely. éblouissante (feminine adjective) – dazzling.

What is C est la vie?

Definition of c’est la vie
: that’s life : that’s how things happen.

What is the most beautiful word?

The Top 10 Most Beautiful English Words

1. 1 Sequoia (n.) (A seven-letter word that has the letter Q and all five vowels) A redwood tree, especially the California redwood.
2. 2 Euphoria (n.)
3. 3 Pluviophile (n.)
4. 4 Clinomania (n.)
5. 5 Idyllic (adj.)
6. 6 Aurora (n.)
7. 7 Solitude (n.)
8. 8 Supine (adj.)

What is a French princess called?

dauphin, title of the eldest son of a king of France, the heir apparent to the French crown, from 1350 to 1830. The title was established by the royal house of France through the purchase of lands known as the Dauphiné in 1349 by the future Charles V.

What is unique called in French?

Chaque signature est unique. 2. (= exceptional) [talent, opportunity, voice] unique.

What does La Belle fille mean?

pretty girl noun. belle-fille. good-looking girl noun.

Is Mi Amor French?

It’s no secret that French is widely considered to be one of the most romantic languages with many romantic expressions. For example, “my love” in French is mon amour.

How do you flirt in French?

Here are some typical phrases used to flirt in French:

1. Excuse-moi, tu as l’heure ?
2. Pardon, tu aurais du feu/une cigarette ?
3. Tu es avec quelqu’un ?
4. Tu veux (aller) boire un verre ?
5. Je peux t’offrir un verre ?
6. Tu viens souvent ici ?
7. Tu veux aller faire un tour ?
8. On pourrait peut être aller…

How do you compliment a girl in French?

Compliments In French

1. You are cute! — Tu es mignonne !
2. You have beautiful eyes. — Tu as de beaux yeux.
3. You are very nice. — Tu es très sympa.
4. I love your smile, it’s so charming.
5. I like your new haircut.
6. I like this color, it really suits you!
7. That’s what I call smart!
8. You are a great cook!

What do we say Belle in English?

a woman or girl admired for her beauty and charm. the most beautiful, charming, or engaging woman or girl among a number: the belle of the ball.

How do you tell a French girl she’s beautiful?

Talking to Women. Tell a woman she is beautiful with “Tu es belle.” This literally translates to “You are beautiful.” The first part, “tu es” means “you are,” and the word “belle” translates as “beautiful.” “Tu es belle” is pronounced as “Two eh bell.”

How do you use bisous?

Bisous can say good-bye to a good friend (A demain! Bisous à toute la famille) as well at the end of a letter: Bisous, Gros bisous, Bisous aux enfants, etc. When saying good-bye on the phone, friends sometimes repeat it several times: Bisous, bisous, bisous!

How do you say bisous?

Pronunciation

1. IPA: /bi.zu/
2. Audio (France, Paris) (file)
3. Audio. (file)
4. Audio (CAN) (file)
5. Rhymes: -u.

Why is French pretty?

With its unpronounceable “r”, its nasal vowel sounds “en”, “in”, “un” and melodious intonation, it sounds extremely musical to the non-native ear. And let’s not forget the strong cultural context which lends French the status of the most beautiful spoken language in the world.

What is Mon Cheri?

What does mon chéri mean? Mon chéri means “my dear” or “sweetheart” in French. It’s an adorable term of endearment for a male person someone is fond of, romantically or platonically.

What is mon ami?

Mon ami (or mon amie in the feminine) means “my friend.” If there’s a French character in an American movie, they basically have to say it at some point.

19th-century French poet Charles Baudelaire once wrote Le beau est toujours bizarre. (The beautiful is always bizarre). Although he wasn’t talking about the word beau itself, he might as well have been.

Beau and its feminine form, belle are the French words for “beautiful” or, depending on the context, “handsome”. 

That seems pretty straightforward. But the more you use them or see them used, the more you realize that there are a lot of rules they don’t follow, and a lot of other rules that exist only for them and a handful of other bizarre adjectives.

Intrigued? Let’s discover how to say “beautiful” in French!

Beau/belle is the most common way to say “beautiful” in French. Beau describes a masculine noun, and belle describes feminine noun.

So to say “a beautiful woman”, you would say une belle femme. And to say “a beautiful man”, you would say un bel homme.

Similarly you would say: 

Cet arbre est très beau en automne.

This tree is beautiful in autumn.)

Quelle belle robe !

What a beautiful dress!

If you didn’t know that this pair was just the masculine and feminine version of the same adjective, don’t feel bad. After all, normally in French, when an adjective modifies a singular noun, it stays the same if the nouns is masculine, or an “e” is added if the noun is feminine. For example: un chat bleu/ une rose bleue (a blue cat/a blue rose).  

Not so for beau and belle, masculine and feminine forms that look very different from one another!

But when it comes to beau/belle’s strangeness, that’s just the beginning. You will learn more about this in the second part of this article.

How to properly use beau/belle

Beau/belle comes before the noun it modifies

In the second example a few paragraphs back, you may have noticed another bizarre thing about beau/belle: Although most French adjectives follow the noun(s) they describe, beau/belle comes before the noun it describes, not after. 

So, you would never see something like, un garçon beau or une fille belle – it would always be written or said un beau garçon or une belle fille.

Beau changes in the plural form 

We’re not finished with beau/belle’s bizarreness just yet!

Beau changes its appearance when agreeing with different kinds of nouns. 

Normally in French, if an adjective modifies a plural noun or group of nouns where even one is masculine, an “s” is tacked onto it. If the noun/group of nouns is feminine, you add “-es” to the end, and call it a day.

des renards malins/des souris malines

clever foxes/clever mice

Belle, the feminine form of beau, follows these rules just fine. If you have a feminine noun, just use belle as-is, since it’s already feminine. If there’s a plural noun or a group of all-feminine nouns, just add an “-s” to it.

Hélène est belle, et ses sœurs Rachel, Laure, Sarah, et Christine sont belles aussi.

Helene is beautiful, and her sisters Rachel, Laure, and Christine are beautiful, too.

C’est une belle maison./Ce sont de belles maisons.

That’s a beautiful house./Those are beautiful houses.

But, like so many romantic heroes it could be used to describe, beau is a rebel. 

When beau modifies a singular masculine noun, it stays as-is, since it’s already in its masculine form.

But when it modifies a plural masculine noun or a group of nouns where at least one of the nouns is masculine, you add, not an “s”, but an “x” at the end. 

Jean-Charles est beau, et ses frères Henri, Loïc, et Romain sont beaux aussi.

Jean-Charles is handsome, and his brothers Henri, Loïc, and Romain are handsome, too.

C’est un beau tableau./Ce sont de beaux tableaux.

That’s a beautiful painting./These are beautiful paintings.

Okay, this isn’t actually that strange; beau simply follows a rule of pluralizing French words that end in “-eau” with an “x”, instead of an “s”. Still, it is one more thing to pay attention to when you’re using it in writing. 

Beau changes to bel when it’s followed by a noun that starts with a vowel

Beau isn’t always the same even when it’s modifying a singular noun.

When it precedes a singular masculine noun that starts with a vowel, beau becomes bel. 

Here are a few examples:    

• un bel oiseau (a beautiful bird)
• un bel oeuf (a beautiful egg)
• notre bel Étienne (our lovely/handsome Étienne)

Note that beau ONLY becomes bel when it precedes a noun. If the structure of the sentence or phrase separates beau from the noun it’s modifying, it’s always beau, whether the noun starts with a vowel or not.

For example: 

C’est un bel écureuil.

That’s a beautiful squirrel.

Je trouve cet écureuil particulièrement beau.

I find this squirrel especially beautiful.

If this rule is blowing your mind, take a deep breath and remember that it’s not as uncommon as you might think. After all, even in that last example, another word followed the same rule: ce has a t added to it because ce followed by a vowel sound is ugly to the French ear, too.

The indefinite article des becomes de when it precedes beau/belle

You’ve probably spent many hours of your French learning experience drilling the fact that des is the main French plural indefinite article into your head. 

Well…here’s another exception when it comes to beau/belle.

Essentially, French grammar dictates  that when an adjective precedes the noun it’s modifying, des can’t be used. Instead, it has to be de.  That’s why the examples that I marked with an asterisk aren’t typos.

So, to recap: You may think you should say Ce sont des beaux livres or Ce sont des belles robes BUT NO! It’s Ce sont de beaux livres and Ce sont de belles robes.

This remains the rule with most adverbs. For example, Ce sont de très beaux livres or Ce sont de très belles robes.

Note that this rule doesn’t necessarily apply to spoken French. In oral language, using des with this kind of sentence structure is generally accepted (although not officially grammatically correct). But in writing, you should always use de.

Using adverbs with beau/belle: Generally easy, with a  few exceptions

What if you want to say that someone or something is more than just beautiful or handsome?

Generally speaking, if you add an adverb to beau/belle and a noun, you would just place it before beau/belle.  This will make the phrase’s structure change slightly, by pushing beau/belle after the noun it modifies – for example,  un garçon terriblement beau/une fille terriblement belle.

But there is an exception with what is probably the most common adverb you’d use – très. In this case, you’d keep the structure the same as it was without an adverb: un très beau garcon/une très belle fille.

This works the same way in the plural: des garçons terriblement beaux/des filles terriblement belles or de très beaux garçons/de très belles filles.

There are also a few adverbs that seem to se balader (walk around). For example, you could say » Jamais tu n’as vu une fille si belle » , as French crooner Eddy Mitchell sings.  But you could also say, “Tu es une si belle fille.”

The first statement is a general one, with no particular context unto itself, just “Never have you seen such a beautiful girl.”/”Never have you seen a girl so beautiful.”.

But using un/une si beau/belle [noun] is almost always part of a larger statement, and implies that the person is so beautiful or handsome, they shouldn’t waste their life or make what the speaker considers a serious mistake. For example :

Tu es si belle, Marilyn, tu ne devrais pas te contenter de rester avec lui.

You’re so beautiful, Marilyn – you shouldn’t settle for him.

2 other ways to say “beautiful” in French

As I mentioned earlier, there are no other exact equivalents of “beautiful/handsome” in French, due to the French love of precision. So, you could choose words like magnifique, ravissant(e), impressionnant(e), etc., depending on what exactly makes you think the person or thing you’re talking about is beautiful.

Most of these adjectives follow the general rule of coming after the noun they modify, not before like beau/belle.

Here are two common “beautiful”-related words that you’ll hear or see quite a lot:

1. Joli(e) – Pretty

Pretty. In many cultures, the concept of “pretty” is usually used for a female or a baby or very young child of either gender. This is true for joli, as well. The masculine form is mainly used for describing animals, objects, and ideas whose grammatical gender is masculine.  For example: un joli cheval; un joli uniforme.

Note that joli(e) is another exceptional adjective that comes before the noun it modifies. This means that it follows the same grammar rules as beau/belle when it comes to using de instead of des.

On the other hand, when using most adverbs, you can place joli(e) in various parts of a sentence. For example: Ce sont de très jolis lapins/Ce sont des lapins très jolis. Notice that in the second example, des is used, since jolis no longer directly precedes the noun it’s modifying.

Examples:

• Quel joli tissu ! (What a pretty fabric!)
• C’est une jolie fille. (She’s a pretty girl.)
• Ce sont de jolis bijous. (These are pretty jewels)
• Regarde ces jolies jupes. (Look at these pretty skirts.)

You can sometimes hear “Joli!” as a sarcastic way to say “Good one!” – for example, if a friend trips while coming into the room. It’s usually a gentle context, not particularly mean.

Another common expression is joli(e) comme un cœur (pretty as a heart). This is like it sounds: a sweet, almost saccharine expression, so you won’t hear a virile action star use it, but it’s very common for women and children to say – usually about women, children, and animals, or fairytale princesses.

2. Canon

If you hang around young people or people who use a lot of slang in general, you’re bound to hear this word.  

Canon is an interesting mix of the old and new school: Although it’s a recent term and very informal, it refers to the canon of beauty, which is a classic concept.  

Note that because it refers to le canon, you keep it the same whether you’re talking about a male or female.  Also note that, unlike beau/belle or joli(e), canon is used only to describe a person.

Il est canon, ce mec.

This guy is so hot.

Elle est trop canon.

She’s amazingly good-looking.

Note that there are two slang elements here: canon and the use of trop instead of très. Traditional French culture tends to downplay emotions and opinions (Proof: Saying something is pas mal means it’s actually pretty good).

Here are a few other ways to say that someone is beautiful in French:

• sublime – sublime
• ravissant / ravissante – ravishing
• magnifique – magnificent
• splendide (splendid)
• mignon / mignone – cute

Note that nowadays, if you say someone is sublime or magnifique to a French person, you might hear them giggle or repeat what you said in a strange accent. If this happens, they’re probably making a reference to Christina Cordula, a Brazilian former model who hosts several reality competition shows here. The French adore her way of pronouncing these words (you can hear her at the 1:36 minute mark of this video). 

For more ways to say “beautiful” in French, you can do an online search for “Façons de dire belle” or “Façons de dire beau”.

What do the French think is beautiful?

The French have a reputation for excellent taste and being aesthetically gifted. While that can be true, reality TV and everyday life show that there are probably even more French people who like flashy fashion or have taste that many would dub “questionable”. 

Nevertheless, there is an aesthetic that seems to be an ideal in French culture — but it may not be what you think. We’re often fed images of glamorous Parisians, and while those do exist, the French seem to prize a more natural look and a sort offhand, casual elegance. Take French fashion icons like Inès de La Fressange or Mademoiselle Agnès – they’re natural-looking women with a chic yet laidback style, not polished top models in haute couture. 

The same goes for things like home décor. The ideal aesthetic in France (though not necessarily what most French people actually follow) is subtle, rather than bold and flashy.  French interiors that are up-to-date tend to privilege clean lines, open spaces, and touches of color. 

The popular house-flipping show Maison à vendre is an excellent thing to watch to get a glimpse of how many French people inhabit and decorate their homes…and what the people they’re trying to sell them to see as an ideal. You can watch some episodes of it on YouTube, by typing “Maison a vendre, Stephane Plaza complet”.

It’s funny that the French seem to be more open-minded when it comes to physical beauty. One of the things I love about French culture is that while you can definitely find people who appreciate the looks of your average Hollywood starlet, and while being thin is considered an ideal, anyone who is charming will win the tastemakers over, at least. 

This means there is a certain appreciation for someone with imperfect teeth, like Vanessa Paradis, someone who’s a bit curvy or heavyset but utterly unique looking, like Beth Ditto, or someone with a dramatic presence and style, like Grace Jones.

Although there are shallow and vain French people and mean teenagers, the fact that the French as a whole seem to recognize different kinds of beauty always makes me happy, because personally, that’s how I see the world, too. 

It’s also a tie to the past. Whether you’re talking about the French notion of beauty, or the word itself, what Baudelaire wrote nearly two hundred still hold true among many French people today: there is conventional beauty, but there’s also the kind that’s perfectly summed up by the lines Le beau est toujours bizarre  – a beauty that comes from being intriguing, surprising, even sometimes inspiring.

Who or what in France or French culture do you think is beau, belle, or even trop canon? 

Are you looking for easy ways to say beautiful in French? The French language has many words that can describe something nice or indicate a beautiful person.

While one can use one or two words to express this specific feeling, there are many other ways to say it, which can add elegance and shades of meaning to a sentence. This article covers the best creative ways to say beautiful in French.

What Are The Best Easy Ways To Say Beautiful In French?

In general, you use the word belle to say beautiful in French when using the feminine version, which means you are referring to feminine nouns or persons. But, if you are referring to masculine nouns or people, you can use beau.

The French grammar when using adjectives is a bit challenging. But to make it simple, the words describing people or objects change when used in feminine and masculine forms and when used with a name in the single or plural form.

Here are a few examples of how to say beautiful in French:

1. Belle – Handsome (feminine object or person)
   

2. Beau – Handsome (masculine object or person)
   

3. Joli – Pretty or attractive
   

4. Mignon – Cute
   

5. Ravissant – Delightful
   

6. Canon – Good-looking
   

7. Adorable – Lovely
   

8. Magnifique – Gorgeous
   

9. Splendid – Splendid
   

10. Sublime – Sublime
    

Masculine And Feminine Forms In French

As a general rule of thumb, in the French language, you transform a masculine noun into a feminine noun by changing the ending.

For example:

• un ami – a (male) friend 
  

• une amie – a (female) friend 
  

But there are exceptions. In fact, if the masculine noun already ends in -e, no e is added.

For example:

• un collègue – a (male) colleague 
  

• une collègue – a (female) colleague 
  

There are other variations to consider, depending on how the French words end. Here are the rules. If the male version ends in:

• -f, then it will become a -ve in the feminine version
• -x, then it will become a -se
• -eur, then it will become a -euse
• -teur, then it will become a -teuse or -trice
• -an, then it will become a -anne
• -ien, then it will become a -ienne
• -on, then it will become a -onne
• -re, then it will become a -ère 
• -te, then it will become a -ette
• -el, then it will become a -elle

Here are some examples of use:

• Un veuf (masculine) becomes une veuve  (feminine) – A widower/a widow 
  

  
  /
  

• Un Parisien (masculine) becomes une Parisienne (feminine) – A Parisian 
  

  
  /
  

• Le cadet (masculine) becomes la cadette (feminine) – The youngest child
  

  
  /
  

What Is The Difference Between French And English Adjectives?

There is a big difference between the French and English adjectives, which is that French adjectives need to change to agree with the noun gender and number. This means that each adjective can be:

• Masculine
• Feminine
• Singular
• Plural

For example, one French word for beautiful is “Joli.” Here is how it can change when used in different ways:

• Singular masculine: Joli
  

• Singular feminine: Jolie
  

• Feminine plural: Jolies
  

• Masculine plural: Jolis
  

But there are exceptions too. The most obvious is the word belle. Here is how it changes in the different forms:

• Singular masculine: Beau
  

• Singular feminine: Belle
  

• Feminine plural: Belles
  

• Masculine plural: Beaux
  

How Do You Position French Adjectives?

While in English, you see that the adjective always precedes the noun, in French, the adjective can be placed before and after the noun depending on the meaning.

The general rules are the following:

• Descriptive adjectives are placed after the noun they need to modify
• Adjectives that have to do with beauty, size, good and bad are generally placed before the noun
• Non-descriptive adjectives usually are placed before the noun

Descriptive adjectives are those words that express color, nationality, religion, personality, taste, and similar.

Examples:

• Ami italien – Italian friend
  

• Mur blanc – White wall
  

Example Sentences Using Beautiful In French

Now that you know some basic grammar regulations, here are examples of French expressions using the word beautiful in different forms:

• Il est beau – He is handsome
  

• Un beau home – A handsome man
  

• Vous êtes belle – You are beautiful
  

• Une belle femme – A beautiful woman
  

• Tu es belle – You’re pretty
  

• Vous êtes belles – You are beautiful (used for more than one person – feminine form)
  

• Vous êtes beaux – You are beautiful (used for more than one person – masculine form)
  

• Le chien mignon – Cute dog
  

• Bel ami / Belle amie – Nice friend (masculine adjective) / Nice friend (feminine adjective)
  

• Belle robe – Beautiful dress
  

• Jolie maison / Belles maisons – Beautiful house / Beautiful houses
  

  
  /
  

• Bel écureuil – Beautiful squirrel
  

• Bel oiseau – Beautiful bird
  

• Tu es magnifique – You are magnificent
  

• Une belle fille – A beautiful girl
  

• Beau garçon – Handsome boy
  

Would you like to learn more about the French language? Or add more words to your vocabulary?

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With a culture known for its beautiful language, beautiful people, and beautiful food, learning how to say beautiful in French will serve you well.

Luckily, the word beautiful in French is one of the first things you’ll learn if you ever take a French class. But, it’s also one of the most common words you’ll find in the French language, which means there are a lot of opportunities to understand it better.

That being said, there are a few things to remember when using the word beautiful in French. Like many French adjectives, its form changes depending on whether it’s masculine/feminine or singular/plural.

So, whether you’re here to captivate your crush or crush your French exam, let’s dive in. 

How to Say Beautiful in French

To begin with, the first word you’ll see in the French dictionary for beautiful is beau. And beau is the masculine singular form of beautiful in French. 

For example, you’ll use it to describe masculine singular words like this:

• Le beau chien = the beautiful dog
• Le beau canapé = the beautiful couch
• Le beau pantalon = the beautiful pants

But, beautiful in French also translates to the word belle. Belle is the feminine singular form of “beautiful.” 

For example, you’ll use it to describe feminine singular words like this:

• La belle danseuse = the beautiful dancer
• La belle journée = the beautiful day
• La belle chemise = the beautiful top

Other Translations of Beau in French

But, even though beautiful translates to beau/belle in French, these two vocabulary words can mean different things depending on the situation.

For example, in English, it’s not as common to call a man beautiful. But, this means that beau can sometimes translate to attractive, handsome or good-looking.

So if you’re using “beau” to describe a masculine person rather than a masculine object, it would translate like this: 

• Le beau boulanger = the handsome baker
• Le beau serveur = the attractive waiter

Depending on the situation beau/belle can also translate as:

• Lovely
• Pleasant
• Fine
• Good

Adjective agreement for beau/belle/bel

Now, we’ve talked a little bit about the feminine and masculine forms of beautiful in French. But what we haven’t had the chance to look at is it in its plural form. 

Since every French noun has a masculine/feminine and singular/plural form, the adjective must match that form with its own. But, let’s look at a few examples.

Plural vs. Singular

The masculine plural form of beautiful in French is beaux. And the feminine plural form of beautiful in French is belles. 

So, here is how to use the plural form of beautiful in French:

• Les beaux jardins (mpl.) = the beautiful gardens
• Les beaux dessins (mpl.) = the beautiful drawings
• Les beaux bateaux (mpl.) = the beautiful boats
• Les belles robes (fpl.) = the beautiful dresses
• Les belles boutiques (fpl.) = the beautiful boutiques
• Les belles chaussures (fpl.) = the beautiful shoes

Difference between beau and bel

We’ve almost made it to the end of all of the forms of beautiful in French. But there is one last form, which is bel. 

In the French language, bel is a masculine singular form of beautiful, just like beau. But, since beau ends in a vowel, you can’t use it before a word that starts with a vowel. 

So, similar to how we say “an apple” instead of “a apple,” you say un bel oiseau instead of un beau oiseau. Here are a few other examples:

• Un bel écureuil = a beautiful squirrel
• Un bel image = a beautiful picture
• Un bel arbre = a beautiful tree

How to Use Beau and Belle in a Sentence

You did it! You’ve now learned all of the forms of beautiful in the language of love. But, there are a few rules about how to use beau/belle in a sentence. 

Most French adjectives go after the noun they’re describing in a sentence. But, beau/belle is one of the rare adjectives that come before the noun it’s describing. 

For example, you’ll say la belle maison, not la maison belle.

Adverbs with Beau/Belle

That being said, if you pair an adverb with beau or belle, the structure slightly changes. Instead of going before the noun like we saw above, the adverb + adjective phrase will go after the noun like this:

• Un chien trop beau = a very beautiful dog
• Une fille terriblement belle = a terribly beautiful girl

The only exception to this is the adverb très. With très and beau, the adverb + adjective phrase stays before the noun. So, here’s an example:

• Un très beau chien = a very beautiful dog
• Une très belle fille = a very beautiful girl

How to tell a woman or man she/he is beautiful in French

Indeed, one common reason English speakers want to learn the word “beautiful” in French is so that they can use it to tell a woman or man she/he is beautiful. 

So if you would also like to compliment a beautiful woman or man in France, here’s how to say it depending on the situation. 

To call a woman beautiful you can say:

• Vous êtes belle = You are beautiful (formal)
• Tu es belle = You are beautiful (informal)

But, to call a man beautiful/handsome you can say:

• Vous êtes beau = You are handsome (formal)
• Tu es beau = You are handsome (informal) 

Common Expressions with Beau and Belle

Since beau and belle are both common French words, there are a few famous proverbs and quotes containing the word beautiful in French. So let’s take a look at a few.

French Expressions with the Word Beau/Belle

• à belles dents = with greed
• beau comme un coeur = very beautiful
• avoir beau dire = may well do [something]
• Avoir le beau rôle = to get to play the hero

French Proverbs with the Word Beau/Belle

Quebecois Proverb

• “Chaque oiseau trouve son nid beau.” 

Every bird finds their beautiful nest. 

Provençal Proverb

• “Beau chemin n’est jamais long.” 

The beautiful path is never long. 

French Proverb

• “Après la pluie, le beau temps.”

After the rain, good weather.

Emmanuel Kant Quote

• “Le sublime touche, le beau charme.”

The sublime affects deeply, the beautiful charms.

Breton Proverb

• “Celui qui aime les chats a une belle femme.”

Whoever loves cats has a beautiful wife.

French Proverb

• “La plus belle épargne est celle du temps.”

The most beautiful savings account is time.

Synonyms for Beautiful in French

Lastly, just like how there are multiple English words that mean beautiful, there are many synonyms for beautiful in French. So here are a few other common ways to say beautiful in French besides beau/belle:

• Joli(e) = pretty
• Magnifique = magnificent 
• Ravissant(e) = ravishing 
• Mignon(ne) = cute
• Merveilleux/euse = marvellous
• Splendide = gorgeous
• En beauté = beautiful 
• Superbe = superb
• Éblouissant(e) = dazzling
• Éclatant = brilliant 
• Angélique = angelic

Slang Words for Beautiful in French

And finally, if you really want to sound like the native speakers it’s time to learn some French slang for beautiful. 

Sexy (adj.)

Just like we use a few French words in the English language, the French use English words as well. The French use the word sexy as more of a slang version of beautiful.

But be careful because just like in English, the word sexy in French does have more of a sexual connotation. 

Canon (adj.)

Canon is commonly used among young people to mean hot or very beautiful. This phrase was coined in the second half of the 20th century and the French originally used it to refer to an artillery cannon. 

And its noise and damage were very powerful so French speakers would use it as an intensifying adjective. But nowadays, the word is used to describe an extremely attractive person. 

Bonne (adj.)

Bonne is a word that won’t always be appreciated by its recipient. It means hot or sexy, but specifically means that someone is sexually desirable. 

Usually, you don’t use this word to someone’s face. But, it’s more of a “locker room-type” word. So I would say beware when using it!

• Bombe (n.)

Similar to canon, bombe is a word to describe a very attractive woman. Bombe comes from the old French bombance, which the French used to describe the vanity and pride of a person in the thirteenth century. 

Later on, the French started using the phrase bombe sexuelle to describe someone with certain charms.  But now, you’ll usually just hear the French say bombe.

What do the French think is beautiful?

But, before you start using all of the French words for beautiful, it’s important to know what the French think is beautiful. We often view French women as these long-legged, smooth-tressed models with a pack of cigarettes in their blazer pockets. 

Next, they’ll eat pain au chocolat for breakfast, enjoy a hunk of brie cheese after both lunch and dinner, and always have room for a chocolate soufflé for dessert. And yet, they still squeeze into the jeans they’ve been wearing since high school. 

But, French beauty is so much more than those stereotypes. In summary, French beauty is very diverse and is more about enjoying a balanced lifestyle, cultivating confidence, and using your uniqueness to your advantage.