French is one of the world’s most spoken, consumed, and learned languages. It is commonly associated with culture, history, and romance, making it famous across the globe.
As one of the most consumed languages in existence, dating back hundreds of years, it’s not surprising that it has its own special world of intricacies and peculiarities.
Whether you’re fluent in French or know no French at all, these 19 fun facts about the French language will surely impress and interest you. And, you may even want to give learning French a go yourself after hearing more about this captivating language.
So, allons-y (let’s go)!
Fun facts about the French language
1. French is spoken by around 300 million speakers worldwide
A whole load of people around the globe speaks French, or an estimated 300 million to be more precise. Around 76 million of these people are native speakers, while around 235 million are fluent speakers who use French every day.
This makes French the fifth most spoken language on the planet in terms of total speakers.
2. French descended from Latin
Due to the Roman Empire’s control over what is now France for more than 500 years, Latin became the main language of administration and culture in the region. When the Roman Empire fell, the language continued to develop, becoming what we now know as French.
But it’s not just French that is a descendant of Latin. Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian all developed from Latin too, meaning there are large similarities between them. If you know one Romance language already, it will give you a great head start in learning French.
3. About 45% of English words are of French origin
After the Normans conquered England in 1066, French became the language of the aristocracy and those in powerful positions. Eventually, this French made its way into the general population and the modern English language.
And this is also why words of French and Latin origin are often more formal in English, because they were once associated with the aristocracy and ruling classes.
4. French is the official language of 29 countries
This is the language with the second highest number of official countries in the world, after English’s 59 countries.
In a large number of other countries, French is not an official language but is spoken by a large proportion of the population. Such countries include Algeria, Morocco, Mauritius, and Tunisia.
There also exist a number of French islands, especially in the Caribbean, where French is spoken. These islands, such as Guadeloupe and Martinique, remain part of the country of France today.
5. No genuine French words contain “w”
“W” only appears in letters that have arrived from other languages, and was not originally a part of the French alphabet. Words that include “w” and have origins in other languages include “week-end” (from English), Walloon (from Belgium), and “wagon” (from English).
6. There’s a French novel written completely without the letter “e”
In 1969, Georges Perec published his novel La Disparition, which is written without using the letter “e” at all. This is especially difficult in French as “e” is the most common letter, and appears in basic words such as “le” (the), “et” (and), and “elle” (her).
Across over 300 pages, Perec tells the story of different characters who go missing, in the same way as the disappearance of the letter “e” from the novel’s words.
7. French is one of only six official UN languages
The UN has six official languages, and French is one of them. The others are Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, English, and Russian. This means that all UN documents are produced in these six languages, and anyone who works in a desk role in the UN normally has to be fluent in two of these languages.
The working languages of the UN secretariat are French and English, meaning that they are used in the day-to-day workings of the UN.
8. French is spoken on all six inhabited continents
French is spoken on every inhabited continent on the planet. It is the only language other than English that can claim this impressive fact. It shows the true worldwide spread of French, due to the extent of the French Empire.
9. The number of French speakers has tripled since 1945
The number of French speakers has grown rapidly over the past 75 years, largely due to the large population growth in Africa.
For example, the Democratic Republic of Congo, where French is the official language, has increased from a population of around 15 million people in 1960 to 90 million in 2022. It is now the largest French-speaking country in the world.
10. 20,000 new French words are created every year
The official French language is overseen by the Académie Française, which holds authority over its usage, grammar, and vocabulary. All new words must be approved by the Académie.
The Académie itself is nearly 500 years old, having been established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, King Louis XIII’s first minister.
11. The longest French word is 25 letters long
The longest French word recognized by the Académie Française is “anticonstitutionnellement”, which means “unconstitutionally” in English.
“Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobie” is recognized by some people as the longest French word, but it is not recognized by the Académie Française. Ironically, its meaning is the fear of long words.
12. French has a type of backwards slang called verlan
French has a type of slang that involves inverting the syllables in a word. Cool right?
Common words in verlan include “meuf”, which is the backwards version of “femme” (woman), “teuf”, which is the backwards version of “fête” (party), and “vénère”, which is the backwards form of “énervé” (angry)”.
When I first got to Paris, verlan was incredibly confusing! I would often ask what a new word meant, to be told that it was just verlan of a word I already knew.
And how cool that verlan is literally the backwards version of the word “l’envers”, which in French means “backwards”. So clever!
Also read: 12 Cool French Words and Phrases to Add to Your Vocabulary
13. French has its own special keyboard
In France and French-speaking countries, they commonly use the AZERTY keyboard rather than the QWERTY keyboard. Though many of the characters remain in the same place, a few completely move positions, such as “a”, “z”, “q”, “w”, and “m”.
This is to suit the intricacies of the French language, which has some common combinations of letters that are different from English, as well as to make room for important accents on the keyboard. The ù key exists on the AZERTY keyboard even though it only appears in one French word: où (where).
14. On Duolingo, French is the 3rd most studied language
French is the third most studied language on the language-learning platform after English and Spanish. It is the most studied language in Canada and Australia, as well as in a number of countries in Africa.
15. French speech marks are different from English speech marks
The French language has its own form of speech marks, which look completely different from those in English. Instead of “…”, French uses «…». These are known as guillemets.
Guillemets also work differently from English speech marks. Where English speech marks will only include the spoken text, guillemets include a larger chunk of text until the last word is spoken. For example, you would write «oui, il dit, bien sûr” (“yes”, he says, “of course”).
16. French has a large number of homophones
You may have seen a lot of TikToks or YouTube videos about French homophones recently, as it became a popular joke online.
A homophone is a word that sounds the same as another word with a completely different meaning. An example in English is “to”, “two”, and “too”.
A popular example in French is “le vert ver va vers le verre vert”, where “vert”, “ver”, “vers” and “verre” are all pronounced in the same way.
17. Counting in French doesn’t follow the same logic as English
If you’re familiar with French or have tried to learn it at any point, you’ll be aware that French numbers can be quite tricky.
All is okay up until the number 70, with quarante (40), cinquante (50) and soixante (60) following the same logic. However, from the number 70 onwards is when things get weird.
Instead of saying septante, the French say “soixante-dix” (sixty-ten). Eighty is “quatre-vingts” (four-twenty), and ninety is “quatre-vingt-dix-neuf” (four-twenty-ten-nine).
Interestingly, other French-speaking countries don’t always follow this rule. In Belgium and Switzerland, they follow a more regular counting system with the use of “septante” and “nonante”, but still the use of “quatre-vingts”.
18. French has a number of words that cannot be translated into other languages
One of the most famous untranslatable French words is “élan”. It refers to a sort of enthusiastic spirit or momentum. There is no English equivalent, and “momentum” is often used where a translation is needed.
Others include “voilà” and “flâner”. “Voilà” is such a famous untranslatable word that it is often not translated at all, used in English simply as it exists in French. Most native speakers of English will understand the use of this word in context and recognize it as unmistakably French.
“Flâner” refers to a sort of aimless wandering through the city. There is no English equivalent, and the word encapsulates the Frenchness of cities such as Paris, which are so easy to aimlessly explore for hours and hours.
19. French isn’t the only language native to France
France also has a large number of regional languages, and French wasn’t the dominant language in the country until at least the French Revolution.
Though the French constitution states that French is the sole official language in the country, this doesn’t mean that others aren’t spoken or used.
Roughly 1.4% of the population speak Alsatian, in the region of Alsace, and 0.6% speak Breton, in the region of Brittany. Basque is an important language in the Basque region, which is found on the French-Spanish border.
Conclusion
So, there you have it — 19 fun facts about the French language! If this doesn’t make you want to learn French, I don’t know what will!