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Last updated:
March 10, 2023
There are so many words for dough, bucks and bills.
So you can bank on the fact that knowing how to talk about money in French can help you with everything from traveling in the French-speaking world to getting extra value out of French pop culture.
In this post, we’ll cover different ways to say “money” in French, plus learn important vocabulary about banking, economics and everything in between.
Let’s get current with currency—à la française (French style).
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This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you
can take anywhere.
Click here to get a copy. (Download)
Contents
- How to Say “Money” in French
- French Slang Terms for Money
- Financial States and Status in French
-
- Free and Cheap
- Costly and Pricey
- Debt and Poverty
- Wealth
- French Banking Terms
-
- General Banking Terms
- Checking
- Savings
- Loans
- Paying Bills and Spending
- Advanced Finance and Economics
- When Will You Need to Talk About Money in French?
- How to Practice French Money Words
-
- Money Slang Lists
- Money Vocabulary Online Study Tools
- Business Newspapers
How to Say “Money” in French
Before we get to the slang and advanced French money terms, let’s get the basics down.
How do you say “money” in French?
“Money” in French is l’argent.
This is the general masculine noun to use for any kind of currency, from bills and coins all the way to silver.
In fact, you may recognize the word argent from the Latin name for the silver element, argentum!
French Slang Terms for Money
Depending on your conversation partner, you may get mileage out of both the standard French and slang terms for money.
- L’argent liquide — cash
In English, a similar term would be “liquid assets,” although that belongs more to the world of high finance than everyday conversation.
- Le billet — paper money, bank note
Mnemonic: The word billet in French looks a bit like “bill” in English… as in “a dollar bill,” a “billfold” or a “wad of bills.”
Be careful because billet is also a word for “ticket”—as in trains, plains, automobiles and the lottery.
- La monnaie — loose change, currency
The word monnaie sounds like a mock-French pronunciation of the English word “money.”
- Une pièce de monnaie — a single coin
- La thune — money
This slang term for money derives from an old word for a five-franc piece, hearkening back to the days before the Euro.
- Poigner des poissons — to make money
Poigner is a colloquialism for “to catch” or “to grab,” coming from either la poignée (handful or fistful) or la poigne (the grip of one’s hand).
Poigner des poissons means “to make money”—literally, “to catch some fish.”
- Le pognon — money (used similarly to “bread” or “dough” in English).
Pognon seems to be related to the French words for “fistful,” “grip” and “grab.” According to Wordsense, it comes from pogner.
If it’s related to la poignée, le pognon could refer (figuratively) to a fistful of Euros.
- Le blé — money (literally, “wheat”).
French uses blé (wheat) as a slang term for money in the same way “bread” is used to mean “money” in English. In both cases, something essential that money can buy is used to represent money.
- Une balle — a Euro.
Just like “buck” means “dollar” in American English, une balle is an informal French word for a Euro. (Back in the old, pre-Millennium days, it used to refer to a franc.)
The standard French word balle means both a “bullet” and a “ball” (used in sports). However, it can also mean “chaff,” which is probably what led to its use referring to a single Euro, since blé (wheat) is slang for “money.”
Chaff is considered the worthless part of the grain. What with inflation, some folks might see a single franc or Euro out of a whole bunch of money (the wheat) as small and valueless. In other words, it’s extremely petty cash.
Example sentences:
Le billet et la monnaie sont tous les deux des genres de l’argent liquide. (Paper money and coins are both types of cash.)
Pour avoir le pognon, il faut poigner les poissons. (To have dough, you have to make money.)
Financial States and Status in French
When people talk about money, it’s usually with an awareness of cost, value and the ability to pay.
This is certainly true in French, as these expressions and slang terms demonstrate.
Free and Cheap
- C’est gratuit — free of charge, on the house, gratis.
- Une réduction — a discount.
This one’s close to its English counterpart, une réduction is a reduction in cost… or, put another way, a discount.
- C’est cadeaux — free, a gift
- Radin — cheap or stingy, tight with the purse-strings.
Radin, an adjective that came into use around 1710, can also be used as a noun (le radin or la radine), meaning “skinflint” or “miser.”
Circa 1837, the related word la radinerie (stinginess) came into use.
Example sentence:
L’homme radin, qui voulait avant tout entendre les mots “c’est gratuit,” a demandé une réduction du prix. (The stingy man, who more than anything else wanted to hear the words “it’s free,” asked for a discount.)
Costly and Pricey
For more ways to bemoan costliness than the expressions below, try this list that’s rich with figurative language, hyperbole and style.
- C’est pas donné ! — It’s expensive — literally, “It’s not given (away)!”
In textbook French, of course, the negation would be ce n’est pas donné .
- Ça coûte les yeux de la tête — This costs a lot.
In English, we might say, “It costs an arm and a leg.” Our French friends render this as, “It costs the eyes from out of one’s head.”
- Ça douille — it’s costly, expensive.
La douille was an archaic French word for “money.” It’s possible that the expression originally contained a verb, such as coûter (as in, ça coûte douille , “it costs money”).
- Reuch — expensive.
Reuch is the Verlan slang word for the standard French term cher (expensive).
Here’s a mnemonic for reuch (it’s admittedly zippier in French than English): Tu dois être riche pour acheter une chose reuch. (You have to be rich to buy something expensive.)
Example sentences:
Tu crois que ça douille? (Do you think that’s pricey?)
C’est pas donné, ça c’est sûr! (They’re not giving it away, that’s for sure!)
Debt and Poverty
- Le /la grippe-sou — scrounger or penny-pincher.
Used in both the masculine and feminine, this is literally someone who seizes a sou and won’t let go.
A sou was an old French coin of little value that was last in circulation about 200 years ago. The word is still used to refer to a paltry amount of money—similar to saying something is worth pennies.
A related expression, gripper les sous, can also mean “money-grubbing.”
- Avoir les dettes — to have debts.
Another way of saying this is être endetté (to be in debt).
The adjective endetté has a common root with la dette—which, although spelled differently, has a close pronunciation to its English counterpart, debt.
- Être fauché — to be broke.
This phrase comes from the expression fauché comme les blés (mown down like wheat).
Since, as we’ve noted, le blé is a slang French term for “money,” this expression basically means to be wiped out of cash.
- Être à sec — to be penniless or broke — literally, “to be dry.”
Example sentence:
Le grippe-sou se croit mieux que ceux qui ont les dettes, et ceux qui sont fauchés. (The skinflint believes himself better than those who have debts, and those who are broke.)
Wealth
- Salement riche — filthy rich
- Rouler sur l’or — to be rolling in money.
Rouler sur l’or is literally “to be rolling on gold.” Even though the word “money” in standard French is officially argent (literally, “silver”), gold is traditionally a metaphor for money.
- Bourré de fric — very rich — literally, “drunk with money.”
- Un richard — a wealthy man
- Être plein aux as — to be flush with cash, to be rich.
The word as in French means “ace,” referring to the playing card. Être plein aux as is “to be full of aces,” as in having lots of aces in one’s hand… a sure bet to win any kind of gamble, resulting in lots of cash.
Example sentences:
Richard était un richard qui était salement riche. On peut dire qu’il roulait sur l’or, ou bien qu’il était bourré de fric. (Richard was a wealthy man who was filthy rich. One could say that he was rolling in money, or that he was drunk with riches.)
French Banking Terms
People don’t just talk about money. If you travel in a French-speaking country, you’ll need to spend money and perhaps withdraw some from your bank account.
If you live or work in the francophone world, you’ll also need to save and invest.
Here are some essential banking terms to help you navigate the world of French finance.
General Banking Terms
- Le caissier — bank teller.
Outside of the context of banking, le caissier is a “cashier,” the person who checks out your purchases in a grocery store or department store.
- Le guichet — window where the bank teller works, dispenses money, etc.
In addition to being the window where you get a ticket for something, like a train or a movie, un guichet is also the counter at which you’d transact business with a bank teller.
- Le guichet automatique — ATM
- Le code PIN — PIN code
- La carte bancaire — bank card/ATM card
- La banque sur internet — online banking
- L’agence bancaire — the bank branch
- Le compte bancaire — bank account.
Le compte en banque is another way you can say “bank account” in French.
Example sentences:
Gérard a oublié son code PIN. Donc, il ne pouvait pas utiliser sa carte bancaire au guichet automatique. Il a dû aller directement à l’agence bancaire pour redresser la situation avec un cassier. (Gerard forgot his PIN code. Therefore, he couldn’t use his bank card at the ATM. He had to go directly to the bank branch to address the situation with a teller.)
Checking
- Un compte courant — checking account.
A checking account is often known as a “current account” in English-speaking parts of Europe. The French term reflects this usage.
- Un carnet de chèque — checkbook
- Le registre de vérification — check register
- Remplir un chèque — to write a check
- Le découvert bancaire — overdraft.
Découvert can mean “uncovered,” as in a debit that’s not covered by the amount of money in an account.
- Être à découvert — to be overdrawn
Example sentence:
Chaque fois que tu remplis un chèque, il faut noter le montant au régistre de vérification afin d’éviter le découvert bancaire. (Each time you write a check, you must note the amount in the check register in order to avoid an overdraft.)
Savings
- Réaliser des économies — to save money
- Un compte épargne — savings account.
You may also hear the term une caisse d’épargne, which is a “savings bank.”
- Déposer d’argent — to deposit money
- Le relevé mensuel — monthly statement
- Le taux d’intérêt — interest rate
- Retirer — to withdraw (money)
Example sentence:
Sur le relevé mensuel, on peut voir combien de fois qu’on a déposé d’argent au compte épargne, et même, chaque fois qu’on a retiré de l’argent. (On the monthly statement, we can see how many times we deposited money into the savings account, and also, each time we withdrew money.)
Loans
- Prêter — to lend (money)
- Un prêt — a loan
- Le prêt hypothécaire — mortgage loan.
A related word—“hypothecary”—exists in American English… in the civil law of Louisiana, a state where the French influence persists to this day.
- L’hypothèque — mortgage
Example sentence:
Quand la banque prête de l’argent à payer l’hypothèque d’une maison, ce genre de prêt s’appelle “un prêt hypothécaire.” (When the bank loans money to pay the mortgage of a house, this type of loan is called a “mortgage loan.”)
Paying Bills and Spending
- La carte de débit — debit card
- La carte de crédit — credit card
- Payer comptant — to pay cash
- Le versement — a payment that settles an account, a remittance, an installment (in a series of payments).
Payer en versements mensuels means to pay off a debt in monthly installments.
- La paiement — payment (of interest or debt).
While sounding a lot like the English word “payment,” la paiement pertains specifically to paying interest or debt.
- Dépenser — to spend.
Did you know that an accent aigu (acute accent) usually means there was once an “s” after the vowel? Now you’ll see how similar dépenser is to the English word dispense. So you might think of dépenser as dispensing money.
- Débourser — to lay out, to fork out.
Une bourse is a purse (where money is kept). Débourser literally means “to take out of (the) purse.”
- Rembourser — to pay back
- Claquer — to blow money.
This is the kind of unbridled spending that you’ll normally want to avoid!
Claquer has many meanings in different contexts, including “to flap,” “to snap” (as in fingers), “to slam,” “to chatter” (as in teeth). You may have heard the expression je claque des dents , meaning “my teeth are chattering.”
- Claquer is also slang for dying, the way we’d say “to buy the farm” or “to kick the bucket” in English.
- La compte présente un arriéré — The account is overdue.
Like en retard (overdue) and impayé/es (unpaid), this isn’t a French financial term you’d want to experience first-hand.
- Le reçu — receipt.
The French word for “receipt” doesn’t sound much like the English word. Trust me on this.
The looks and laughs I got when I requested une recette (a recipe) to show that I’d paid for my student housing still make me cringe.
While the plural, recettes, can mean “takings”—as in recettes entrées (gate receipts) and recettes fiscales (tax receipts)—you really don’t want to ask for une recette for that new chemise (shirt) you just bought.
Steer clear of that false cognate and remember that un reçu—like the past participle for the verb recevoir (to receive)—is your proof that the seller received your money.
- Récupérer de l’argent /se faire rembourser — to get money back
Example sentences:
Si je paie comptant, j’insiste que le caissier me donne un reçu, pour que je puisse récupérer de l’argent si je rendrais mon achat. (If I pay cash, I insist that the cashier gives me a receipt, so that I can get money back if I were to return my purchase.)
Quand vous dépensez à ce magasin, vous avez le choix d’utiliser votre carte de débit ou bien votre carte de crédit. (When you spend [money] at this store, you have the choice of using your debit card or your credit card.)
Advanced Finance and Economics
- Le marché boursier — stock market.
France’s equivalent of the New York Stock Exchange, Euronext Paris, was known as La Bourse until the turn of this century.
- Les services financiers — financial services
- Le conseil d’administration — board of directors
- Entrer en récession — to go into a recession
- Le ralentissement économique — economic slowdown.
Ralentissement comes from the verb ralentir , which means “to slow down.”
- La crise financière — financial crisis
- Le plan de sauvetage — bailout plan
- La banque d’investissement — investment bank
- Le placement — investment.
Un bon placement is “a good investment.”
Placement can also refer to the act of getting someone a job, as in bureau de placement (employment agency).
And, outside of an economic or career context, placement can mean the act of placing an object somewhere.
- Le retour sur investissement — return on investment (ROI)
- En souffrance — past due.
Unlike impayé (unpaid) and arriéré (past due), en souffrance is a formal expression that usually refers to an investment or financial instrument (rather than an invoice or a bill for services rendered).
Example sentences:
Après le ralentissement économique causé par la crise financière, plusieurs pays étaient entrés en récession. (After the economic slowdown caused by the financial crisis, several countries entered into a recession.)
Les placements de la banque d’investissement étaient en souffrance avant que le plan de sauvetage ait implémenté par le gouvernement fédéral. (The investment bank’s investments were past due before the bailout plan was implemented by the federal government.)
When Will You Need to Talk About Money in French?
No matter who you are, where you go or what you do for a living, talking about money is inevitable. That’s why having a good grasp of French monetary terms will serve you well, whether you’re a tourist, a student or a globe-trotting tycoon.
- French money vocabulary is necessary for traveling, working or living in France or other francophone countries—from simple currency exchanges to payment documentation.
- If you’re a global entrepreneur (or just dabble in the international financial scene), French money terms will increase your understanding of business and economics in the 29 nations where French is an official language.
- Learning money words, especially slang and everyday terms, will help you better understand French media and pop culture.
Money is part of life, so French songs, TV shows and movies are rife with references to money.
How to Practice French Money Words
Here’s a bountiful grab-bag of resources for learning and practicing French money-related terms.
Money Slang Lists
Money-related jargon grows about as quickly as inflation! Keep up with the latest lingo using these resources:
- This list of slang and idiomatic expressions involving money casually covers the world of money as it relates to work. Give the audio player near the top of the page a click—you’ll hear all the French terms on the page pronounced in a little over a minute.
- You’ll find a list of over 90 French money expressions in this online English-French dictionary—ranging from standard French phrases, to colloquialisms, to proverbs such as l’argent fait la loi (money talks — literally, “money makes the law”).
- Converse more colorfully about your finances with this Cool French: Money primer from the BBC.
Money Vocabulary Online Study Tools
Use a combination of online flashcards, quizzes and games to help you learn money vocabulary:
- Break into discussions about banking and personal finance with this flashcard set of 25 useful words.
- The FluentU program is a way to learn money terms (and other vocabulary) in authentic usage. Watch short videos like movie trailers and news segments to see how native French speakers talk about money.
Dual-language subtitles, video-enhanced flashcards and a contextual dictionary all contribute to FluentU’s natural language learning process.
- Here are 40 French banking terms, with some detours into investment and purchasing.
Business Newspapers
Grow your commercial word interests with these two French business periodicals:
- A classic since 1908, Les Échos was the first daily French financial newspaper. You’ll find your fill of economic analyses, as well as newer features on tech, marketing and ecologically sustainable businesses.
- A relative newcomer, La Tribune was founded in 1985 as an economics-focused publication. It comes complete with a stock ticker and minute-by-minute news timeline.
No matter what the economy does, remember: L’apprentissage d’une langue est toujours un bon placement, et le retour sur investissement est excellent. (Learning a language is always a good investment, and the return on investment is excellent.)
Many happy returns!
Download:
This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you
can take anywhere.
Click here to get a copy. (Download)
What is the slang word for money in French?
French uses blé (wheat) as a slang term for money in the same way “bread” is used to mean “money” in English. In both cases something essential that money can buy is used to represent money. une balle: a Euro. Just like “buck” means “dollar” in American English une balle is an informal French word for a Euro.
How do you call money in France?
National Currency & Exchange Rates
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France is a member of the European Union and one of 23 countries in the region that uses the euro (abbreviated €) as its national currency.
Is cash a French word?
au comptant cash comptant en liquide liquide. argent monnaie sous fric capitaux pognon centimes deniers blé pièces d’argent denier monnaie comptant liquide encaisses encaisse disponibilités.
…
Cross Translation:
| From | To | Via |
|---|---|---|
| • cash | → recouvrer encaisser | ↔ incasseren — (geld) in ontvangst nemen. |
How do you pronounce L Argent in French?
What is Italian money?
Euro
How do you say money?
What is Paris money called?
Euro
Euro the European currency.
Can I use dollars in Paris?
U.S. dollars are not accepted in most establishments though some hotels shops and restaurants may accept U.S. dollars at an agreed upon exchange rate. Coins: 2€/1€/50 cents/20c/10c/5c/2c/1c The Euro is divided into 100 cents or centimes.
What is Greek money?
Euro
How do you say cash in all languages?
In other languages cash
- Arabic: نُقُود
- Brazilian Portuguese: dinheiro em espécie.
- Chinese: 现金
- Croatian: gotovina.
- Czech: hotovost.
- Danish: kontanter.
- Dutch: contant geld.
- European Spanish: dinero en efectivo.
What cozen means?
Definition of cozen
transitive verb. 1 : to deceive win over or induce to do something by artful coaxing and wheedling or shrewd trickery. 2 : to gain by cozening someone cozened his supper out of the old couple.
What is word of the day today?
Definition of eyesome | Dictionary.com
Today’s Word of the Day is eyesome. Learn its definition pronunciation etymology and more.
What does Largent mean?
English (Suffolk of Norman origin): nickname for someone with silvery hair a variant of Argent with the French definite article l(e). French: metonymic occupational name for a silversmith from French argent ‘silver’.
What is money in Chinese?
Renminbi
How do you say money in Italian slang?
“Denaro” is slang for money in Italian and Spanish.
Which word is slang for money?
Bucks. Perhaps the most commonly used slang term for dollars it is believed to originate from early American colonists who would often trade deerskins or buckskins.
What is $100 slang?
“C-note” is a slang term for a $100 banknote in U.S. currency. The “C” in C-note refers to the Roman numeral for 100 which was printed on $100 bills and it can also refer to a century.
How do you say make money in slang?
15 ways to say I’m making money
- Scrooge McDuckin’ Definition: Making an absurd amount of money usually by crooked means. …
- Making jack. Definition: Making or getting money. …
- Stackin’ loot. …
- Rolling in it. …
- Making a mint. …
- Making bread & honey. …
- Money for jam (or money for old rope) …
- Baking cake.
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How do you say American money?
How much is $1 worth in Paris?
US dollars to French francs conversion table
| amount | convert | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 USD | USD | 5.85 FRF |
| 2 USD | USD | 11.70 FRF |
| 3 USD | USD | 17.55 FRF |
| 4 USD | USD | 23.40 FRF |
What is money called in England?
Pound sterling
How much is $100 Australian dollars in euros?
Quick Conversions from Australian Dollar to Euro : 1 AUD = 0.64118 EUR
| AUD | EUR |
|---|---|
| A$ 100 | € 64.12 |
| A$ 250 | € 160.30 |
| A$ 500 | € 320.59 |
| A$ 1 000 | € 641.18 |
How much is $100 euros in US dollars?
Convert Euro to US Dollar
| EUR | USD |
|---|---|
| 10 EUR | 11.2234 USD |
| 25 EUR | 28.0585 USD |
| 50 EUR | 56.1171 USD |
| 100 EUR | 112.234 USD |
What is $15 dollars in euros?
Are you overpaying your bank?
| Conversion rates US Dollar / Euro | |
|---|---|
| 14 USD | 12.47050 EUR |
| 15 USD | 13.36125 EUR |
| 16 USD | 14.25200 EUR |
| 17 USD | 15.14275 EUR |
Is Paris expensive?
Paris can be one of the most expensive cities in the world when it comes to hotels. Stay near the most famous sights and attractions and your wallet will not thank you. … They are generally cheaper or at least better value than hotels especially for certain types of travelers.
What is a ancient name for money?
Nomisma (Greek: νόμισμα) was the ancient Greek word for “money” and is derived from nomos (νόμος) anything assigned a usage custom law ordinance”. … The term nomos may also refer to an approximately 8 gram Achaean coin denomination.
What is money called in Korean?
South Korean won
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What is the ancient Greek word for wealth?
Plutus (/ˈpluːtəs/ Greek: Πλοῦτος translit. Ploûtos lit. “wealth”) is the Greek god of wealth.
What is the language of money called?
Some call this “financial literacy ” I more commonly refer to it as “the language of money.” My own passion for learning languages originated from my father. He spoke five of them fluently his native Portuguese Italian Spanish French and English.
What language is cash?
The word “cash” derives from the Middle French caisse (“money box”) which derives from the Old Italian cassa and ultimately from the Latin capsa (“box”).. Another origin for the word “cash” is the Portuguese word caixa which derives from Tamil word காசு (pronounced as kācu) a small copper coin of gold or silver.
How do you say wealth in other languages?
In other languages wealth
- American English: wealth /ˈwɛlθ/
- Arabic: ثَرْوَة
- Brazilian Portuguese: riqueza.
- Chinese: 财富
- Croatian: bogatstvo.
- Czech: bohatství
- Danish: rigdom.
- Dutch: rijkdom.
What is a Pickery?
A place where cotton is picked. noun.
What does the word Mulct mean?
mulcted mulcting mulcts. Definition of mulct (Entry 2 of 2) transitive verb. 1 : to punish by a fine. 2a : to defraud especially of money : swindle.
What does the word crabbed mean?
Definition of crabbed
1 : marked by a forbidding moroseness a crabbed view of human nature. 2 : difficult to read or understand crabbed handwriting.
22 French phrases about “MONEY”
How to Talk about Money in French?
4 French slang words for MONEY
How to say “money” in french ? | YouTube #shorts in FRENCH ??
Asked by: Xinying Douieb
asked in category: business and finance Last Updated: 3rd September, 2020
French word for money is l’argent.
Read, more elaboration about it is given here. Also asked, what is the word money in French?
French word for money is l’argent.
Also, how do you say change money in French? Changing Currency
- Currency exchange — un bureau de change.
- Exchange rate — le taux de change.
- To change money (into Euros) — changer de l’argent (en Euros)
Additionally, what does Largent mean?
Largent Name Meaning. English (Suffolk, of Norman origin): nickname for someone with silvery hair, a variant of Argent, with the French definite article l(e). French: metonymic occupational name for a silversmith, from French argent ‘silver’.
What is the word love in French?
Love is just love. L’amour est simplement l’amour.
How do you say «money» in French? Learn how to use the word «argent» properly, check out examples, idioms, slang and more!
Funnily enough, the way how to say money in French is «argent«. It literally means «silver», trace of an old age where precious metals were the currency of the day. The French word «monnaie» means «coin», «currency» or «change». So beware: «money» and «monnaie» are false friends, even though they are related.
There are many slang words for cash: «de l’oseille«, «du fric«, «du pognon«, etc. The English word «cash» has also slipped into the French dictionary!
A bit of pronunciation
In North America, they use dollars and cents. These are also called «dollar» and «cent» in French, but are pronounced in French like this:
• Dollar: [do-lar] with a contracted O followed by an open A, so basically the opposite of the English way. If it sounds like [dah-lur], you are doing it wrong.
• Cent:[senn] with no T and a long N for good measure. This is particularly true in Québec. Cents can be called «sous» [soo] as well.
Canadian dollars and American dollars may share the same names, but they are different. American dollars are a dull grey green, whereas Canadian ones come in different shades: blue for fivers, purple for $10, green for $20, red for $50 and brown for $100. By the way, in French, we put the dollar sign at the end like this «100$», which is the right order if you think about it when you read!
If dollars can be called «bucks» in English, they can be called «piastres» in Québec. Pronounce it [pee-ass]. Sorry if it sounds rude; «piastre» is a very old word and it got a bit mangled over time.
In Europe, they have euros and cents, which are called «euro» and «centimes» in French. Make sure you pronounce them right:
• Euro: [euh-ro] not [yu-ro]. Make sure you bridge it with the word before if the latter finished with a consonant. For example: «un euro» is [un Neuh-ro], «deux euros» is [deuh Zeuh-ro], etc.
• Centimes: [sen-teem]
Euros come in several shades and various sizes. In Great-Britain, they still have the British pound, which is called «la livre sterling» (usually shortened to, simply, «livre«). It’s funny because in French, «livre» means either “book” (if it’s masculine) or the units of weight and currency (if it’s feminine).
Grammar
Now, let’s put those differences aside and talk about the word «argent» and how to it use properly. I’m afraid it’s trickier than it may appear. I’ve noticed that most people don’t even know it should be used—it can be used with three different articles, depending on the context!
Let’s proceed by elimination. Of all the available articles (un, une, des, le, la, les, l’, du, de la, d’), we won’t use «la», «une» or «de la» with «argent» because «argent» is masculine. We can’t use «le» either because «argent» starts with a vowel, and when speaking French, putting two vowels in a row (one at the end of a word followed by one at the beginning of the next word) is not tidy. Also, «argent» should normally be singular as it’s impossible to count it—you can count «notes», but not «money» itself. Therefore «un argent» and «des argents» are to be avoided. That leaves us with three usable articles: l’, de l’, and d’.
• «L’argent» means «all the money», as in «all the money available» or «all the money needed» or «all the money discussed».
• «De l’argent» means «some money». This is probably the most widely used combination. So if you can’t remember all the rules in this article, try to remember this form «de l’argent» and it should be right more often than not.
• «D’argent» is used in negative sentences (for example, «pas d’argent», which means “no money”) or when the word is quantified with an adverb such as «peu», «assez», «beaucoup», «trop»or«plus» (which mean, in order, «a little», «enough», «a lot», «too much» or «more»). It’s logical if you think about it, because those adverbs are always followed by the word «de», like how in English you say “a lot of money,” not “a lot money”. Because «argent» starts with a vowel, however we clip the E, and «de» becomes d’.
| un peu d’argent |
| beaucoup d’argent |
| assez d’argent |
| trop d’argent |
| plus d’argent |
| pas d’argent |
• «Argent» can be used without any article if you use the word «sans» (without).
Let’s analyse these rules. If, for example, you say «As-tu apporté… argent?» (Did you bring…money?) using the «wrong» article, it will change the meaning of your sentence like this:
(Personal Image)
• As-tu apporté l’argent? (Did you bring all the money?) – This is correct, but if you meant to ask, «Did you bring some money?», by saying «l’argent» (meaning «the money needed/discussed/available»), the person you are talking to is likely to think, «Yikes! Which money was I supposed to bring? I only have few notes in my pockets!»
• As-tu apporté de l’argent? (Did you bring some money?) — This is also correct. However, if you meant to say, «Did you bring the money we need?», by saying «de l’argent» it will sound as though you know deep down that the person you’re talking to failed to bring the entire sum of money. Asking this way could imply that you are ready to accept less than what you asked for.
• As-tu apporté assez d’argent ? (Did you bring enough money?) is correct. But be careful not to instead say «assez de l’argent», «assez des argents» or «assez l’argent», because those are rookie mistakes that will ruin your Godfather impersonation! Sorry!
Some words related to money in French
Here are some useful words related to money in French and English:
English French
| a bank | une banque |
| a loan | un prêt |
| a mortgage | une hypothèque |
| an interest rate | un taux d’intérêts |
| to pay | cash payer: comptant / en espèce / en liquide / cash |
| an account | un compte bancaire |
| a withdrawal | un retrait |
| a deposit | un dépôt |
| a cash machine / a cash point | un distributeur de billets (France) / un guichet automatique (Québec) |
| a checkbook / a chequebook | un carnet de chèques / un chéquier |
Common expressions and sayings
Here are some French sayings about money, with their English counterparts.
• Argent de poche: pocket money
• Le temps c’est de l’argent:Time is money.
• L’argent ne pousse pas dans les arbres!: Money doesn’t grown on trees!
• L’argent ne fait pas le bonheur: Money can’t buy you happiness.
• L’argent attire l’argent:Money breeds money.
• L’argent n’a pas d’odeur: Money has no smell – its origin is not important.
A bit of culture
If you are interested by the culture from Québec, I suggest you watch a film called «Séraphin; un homme et son péché». It’s a terribly sad tale about a miser called Séraphin. His story started as a novel by Claude-Henri Grignon in 1933 and was adapted for a radio dramatization that ran from 1939 to 1962, then made into a TV series called «Les belles histoires des pays d’en haut» that ran from 1956 to 1970. I remember watching reruns in the 80’s and trust me, those stories are not «belles«; in fact, quite the opposite! Finally, it was turned into a major motion picture in 2002. It’s therefore fair to say that everyone in Québec knows about Séraphin. The main character’s name is used as an adjective in my country: «être séraphin» is to be stingy and mean.
One last suggestion for today. Even though we say «L’argent ne fait pas le bonheur», a band called Les Respectables wrote a cheeky «L’argent fait le bonheur». You can hear it here, but please note that Québécois don’t really speak like that! The accent the singer adopts is just to bring a light hearted and Reggae style to the song. If you’re curious about the lyrics, you can find them on my blog.
That’s it for me for today! Don’t forget to hit the «like» button if you enjoyed it. Bye for now!
I don’t know Quebecois French but I have found this post on Projet Babel confirming the use of pièce as slang for money in Quebec:
Ici au Québec on dit des pièces (pas très original), et certaines personnes disent des bidous.
There is an incredible number of slang words for money in French (I suppose it must be the case in most languages). On that page on Projet Babel you will probably find most of them, even those used in Belgium and Switzerland. And for some of them they give the origin of the term.
In France I expect thune is probably the most common. Une thune originally was slang for a 5 franc coin (when we still had francs), but it has come to be used as a generic slang word for money, file moi de la thune1, t’as pas de la thune?2 are probably common phrases among French young people. Blé, oseille, pognon are also quite common and used as also as generic terms for money in slang.
Balle which was originally used for a franc, is sometimes still used with euros but it can only be used with a numeral in front of it.
1 «gimme some dough»
2 «got any dough?»