Uploaded November 2023 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago

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💡 Are the words you’re using actually used by French people? Let’s find out, so you can improve your fluency (and sound less like a tourist.)

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0:00 - Intro
0:30 - 1) Real words that we never use: Sacrebleu and more
3:56 - 2) Words and expressions that don’t exist: Jour de la Bastille
5:35 - 3) Words and expressions that aren’t used this way: “Bien fait.”
7:23 - 4) False friends (“les faux amis”): La chair
9:04 - 5) Fake “French” stuff: “French doors”
11:00 - Recap & Practice

Many of my students want to learn more and more French vocabulary. And it’s true that expanding your vocabulary will help you better express yourself, improve your comprehension, and even be better understood when speaking French. But what happens if the words you’re learning aren’t used by French people?

Using fake French words, or words that aren’t really used, is a sure way to sound more like a tourist and less like a sophisticated, knowledgeable French speaker. In today’s lesson, I’ll introduce you to 5 types of words that you should scrap from your vocabulary if you want to sound more authentically French in your everyday conversations.

Take care and stay safe.
😘 from Grenoble, France.

Géraldine