Hear the sounds in French (opens with QuickTime Player and Windows Media Player)
You may already know that some animals make different noises in French (frogs go: côa côa; duck go: coin coin), but do you know that objects also make different sounds in French? Even you make different noises in French.
Rather than going “achoo” for a sneeze, you say “atchoum” in French. (And yes, please remember to add the “m” when sneezing in Paris!)
10 Things that Make Different Noises in French
| Thing / Situation | English Sound | French Sound |
|---|---|---|
| Sneeze | Achoo | Atchoum |
| Drinking | Glub glub | Glou glou |
| Telling someone to be quiet | Shhh | Chut |
| Rooster | Cock-a-doodle-doo | Cocorico |
| Clock | Tick tock | Tic-tac |
| Doorbell | Ding-dong | Dring |
| Stubbed toe / pain | Ow | Aie |
| Peek-a-boo (baby game) | Peek-a-boo | Coucou |
| Something falling | Boom | Bada boum |
| Car horn | Beep beep | Tut tut |
| Fire truck | Nee-naw / Woo-woo | Pin-pon |
Here are ten more sounds that are different in French!
- To make a drinking sound, it’s not “glub, glub” in French but “glou glou.”
- To say “quiet” or “shhh”, it’s: “chut”
- Roosters say: “ Cocorico” not “cock-a-doodle-doo!”
- Clocks: Forget “tick tock” it’s “tic-tac.”
- Doorbells don’t go “ding-dong” but “dring!”
- If you stub your toe, you wouldn’t yell “Ow!” but “Aie.”
- Babies don’t play peek-a-boo, they play “coucou.”
- When something falls, it doesn’t just go “boom” but “bada boum.”
- Car horns don’t go “beep beep” but “tut tut.”
- Fire trucks go “pin-pon,” (but this is because they do make a unique sound in France).
Plus, here are two silly jokes in French about sounds:
• Quel bruit fait un singe qui sonne a une porte ?
King kong
• Les pompiers fait “pin-pon, pin-pon.” Les policiers fait “pin-pon-pin, pin-pon-pin.” Et les boulangères fait “pain, pain, pain, pain.”
Hahaha, right? Or rather: héhéhé!
Interested in learning more about French culture and traditions while improving your language skills? Call or contact us to organise a private French lesson in Paris with a French tutor.
(Photo of the clock at the Musee D’Orsay by Lorena Montrose.)