Useful French Technology Vocabulary for Learners
Whether you prefer snail mail or are very much into the electronic way of life, technology is here to stay. From emails to social media, the French technology words below are incredibly common. Sometimes French does use words that are carried over from English–like e-mail and cookie–but you’ll still have to learn unique French vocabulary for a lot of technology-related topics.
Contents
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
French Internet Words
| French | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Un compte | Account | J'ai un compte Facebook. (I have a Facebook account.) |
| Se connecter | To log in | Je me connecte sur Instagram tous les jours. (I log on to Instagram every day.) |
| S'inscrire | To register or to sign up | Alexandre ne veut pas s'inscrire à ce cours en ligne. (Alexandre does not want to sign up for this online course.) |
| Internet / La toile / Le net | The Internet | Elle passe beaucoup de temps sur Internet. (She spends a lot of time on the Internet.) |
| Le lien | Link | Cliquez sur ce lien pour accéder à la vidéo. (Click on this link to access the video.) |
| Le mot de passe | Password | J'ai oublié mon mot de passe. (I forgot my password.) |
| Le moteur de recherche | Search engine | Le moteur de recherche a remplacé l'encyclopédie. (The search engine has replaced the encyclopedia.) |
| Le navigateur | Browser | Vous pouvez télécharger des extensions pour personnaliser votre navigateur. (You can download extensions to customize your browser.) |
| Le nom d'utilisateur | Username | J'ai choisi un nom d'utilisateur très simple. (I chose a very simple username.) |
| La page d'accueil | Home page | La page d'accueil est très simple. (The home page is very simple.) |
| Le site web | Web site | La société a un nouveau site web. (The company has a new website.) |
| Surfer | To surf (the Internet) | Antoine surfe sur Internet pendant son cours d'anglais. (Antoine surfs the Internet during his English class.) |
| Télécharger | To download or upload | J'ai téléchargé le nouvel album de Christine and the Queens. (I downloaded Christine and the Queens' new album.) |
Social Media and Blogging
| French | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Bloquer | To block | Sandrine a bloqué son ex sur Facebook. (Sandrine blocked her ex on Facebook.) |
| L'abonné(e) | Subscriber | Le bulletin électronique a 2 000 abonnés. (The newsletter has 2,000 subscribers.) |
| S'abonner | To subscribe | Je m'abonne au blog de Michel. (I subscribe to Michel's blog.) |
| Le blog | Blog | Michel tient un blog de musique. (Michel runs a music blog.) |
| Le blogueur / la blogueuse | Blogger | Ce blogueur voyage partout dans le monde. (This blogger travels all over the world.) |
| Le commentaire | Comment | J'ai laissé un commentaire sur le blog de Michel. (I left a comment on Michel's blog.) |
| Le fil d'actualité | Newsfeed | Mon fil d'actualité contient des articles intéressants. (My newsfeed contains interesting articles.) |
| Le lecteur | Reader | Le blog de Michel a beaucoup de lecteurs. (Michel's blog has a lot of readers.) |
| Le like | A (Facebook) like | La photo de Caroline a reçu beaucoup de likes. (Caroline's picture got a lot of likes.) |
| Le message privé (MP) | Private Message (PM) | Pourriez-vous m'envoyer les détails par MP (message privé), s'il vous plaît ? (Could you please send me the details via PM?) |
| Mettre à jour | To update | J'ai mis à jour mon profil. (I updated my profile.) |
| La mise à jour | Update | J'ai effectué une mise à jour de logiciel sur mon ordinateur. (I did a program update on my computer.) |
| Le mot-dièse (official translation but the English word "hashtag" is more common) | Hashtag | Sur Twitter, les sujets de discussion sont classés grâce à des mots-dièse. (On Twitter, discussion topics are organized by hashtags.) |
| Partager | To share | Carine a partagé un article intéressant sur Facebook. (Carine shared an interesting article on Facebook.) |
| La photo de profil | Profile picture | Marie change souvent sa photo de profil. (Marie changes her profile picture often.) |
| Le profil | Profile | Le profil de Sarah est très détaillé. (Sarah's profile is very detailed.) |
| Publier | To publish | Michel a publié un article intéressant sur son blog. (Michel published an interesting article on his blog.) |
| Le réseau social | Social network | Les adolescents passent beaucoup de temps sur les réseaux sociaux. (Teenagers spend a lot of time on social networks.) |
| Le selfie | Selfie | Carole prend beaucoup de selfies. (Carole takes a lot of selfies.) |
| Signaler | To report | J'ai signalé le contenu offensant du site. (I reported the site's offensive content.) |
| Le statut | Status | Mon statut actuel est "occupé" car je travaille sur un projet important. (My current status is "busy" because I'm working on an important project.) |
| Suivre | To follow | Je suis Leonardo DiCaprio sur Twitter. (I follow Leonardo DiCaprio on Twitter.) |
| Taguer | To tag, as in to identify someone in a picture | Marc m'a tagué(e) dans une photo. (Marc tagged me in a picture.) |
| Le tchat | Chat | Vous pouvez utiliser le tchat pour poser vos questions. (You can use the chat to ask your questions.) |
| Le tweet | A tweet | Les tweets de Rémy sont drôles. (Rémy's tweets are funny.) |
| Tweeter | To tweet | Caroline tweete souvent. (Caroline tweets often.) |
| L'utilisateur | User | Ce réseau social a beaucoup d'utilisateurs. (This social network has a lot of users.) |
Email in French
| French | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| L'arobase | @ | Mon adresse e-mail est Frenchy arobase mail point com. [Frenchy@mail.com] (My email is Frenchy at mail dot com.) |
| La boîte de réception | Inbox | La boîte de réception doit être pleine après tes vacances. (Your inbox must be full after your vacation.) |
| Le brouillon | Draft | Je vais sauvegarder cet email dans les brouillons et le revoir plus tard. (I will save this email in the drafts and review it later.) |
| Le courriel / L'e-mail / Le mél | Peux-tu lire un mél que j'ai rédigé avant que je ne l'envoie ? (Can you read an email I drafted before I send it?) | |
| La pièce jointe | Attachment | Je n'arrive pas à ouvrir la pièce jointe, pouvez-vous la convertir dans un format différent ? (I can't open the attachment, could you convert it to a different format?) |
| La réponse | Reply | Merci pour votre message, j'y donnerai une réponse sous peu. (Thank you for your message, I will reply to it shortly.) |
| Le transfert | Forward | Je vais transmettre cet e-mail à notre équipe technique. (I will forward this email to our technical team.) |
Software and Apps in French
| French | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| L'application | Application | Cette application de dictionnaire me facilite la vie. (This dictionary application makes my life easier.) |
| La base de données | Database | La base de données aide l'entreprise à trouver les meilleurs clients. (The database helps the company find the best clients.) |
| Curseur | Cursor | Le curseur clignote mais je ne peux pas taper. (The cursor is blinking but I can't type.) |
| Les données | Data | Les données sont sur le serveur. (The data is on the server.) |
| Le dossier | Folder | J'ai créé un dossier pour chaque matière sur mon ordinateur. (I made a folder for each subject on my computer.) |
| Le fichier | File or document | Toutes les informations sont dans ce fichier. (All of the information is in this file.) |
| Enregistrer | To save | J'enregistre le fichier tout de suite. (I am saving the file right away.) |
| Logiciel | Computer program | Peux-tu recommander un bon logiciel de montage vidéo ? (Can you recommend a good video editing software?) |
| Mémoire | Memory | Combien de mémoire a ton ordinateur ? (How much memory does your computer have?) |
| Saisir | To enter or to input | Elle va saisir les notes dans le tableau Excel. (She is going to input the notes into the Excel spreadsheet.) |
| Sauvegarder | To backup | N'oublie pas de sauvegarder ton travail régulièrement. (Don't forget to backup your work regularly.) |
| Supprimer | To delete | J'ai supprimé quelques fichiers. (I deleted some files.) |
| Traitement de texte | Word processing | J’utilise un logiciel de traitement de texte pour prendre des notes. (I use a word processing program to take notes.) |
Physical Devices
| French | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Le bureau | Computer desktop | Il y a trop de fichiers sur mon bureau. (There are too many files on my desktop.) |
| Le clavier | Keyboard | Les ordinateurs fabriqués en France ont des claviers AZERTY. (Computers made in France have AZERTY keyboards.) |
| La clé USB | USB stick | J'ai toujours une clé USB sur moi. (I always have a USB stick with me.) |
| Le disque dur | Hard drive | Mon disque dur externe a beaucoup de stockage. (My external hard drive has a lot of space.) |
| L'écran | Screen | L'écran est sale. (The screen is dirty.) |
| L'écran tactile | Touch screen | Mon téléphone portable a un écran tactile. (My phone has a touch screen.) |
| L'imprimante | Printer | Mon imprimante n'a plus d'encre. (My printer is out of ink.) |
| L'ordinateur | Computer | L'ordinateur de Sarah a un grand écran. (Sarah's computer has a big screen.) |
| L'ordinateur portable | Laptop | Le professeur a demandé à la classe d'apporter l'ordinateur portable. (The teacher asked the class to bring their laptops.) |
| Le portable | Phone or laptop | J'ai oublié mon portable à la maison ce matin. (I forgot my phone at home this morning.) |
| La souris | Mouse | Il a acheté une souris sans fil. (He bought a wireless mouse.) |
| La tablette | Tablet | Ma tablette a une grande autonomie de batterie. (My tablet has a long battery life.) |
Emerging Technology
| French | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| L'intelligence artificielle (IA) | Artificial Intelligence (AI) | J'utilise cette app qui utilise l'IA pour recommander des films. (I'm using this app that uses AI to recommend movies.) |
| L'internet des objets (IoT) | Internet of Things (IoT) | Grâce à l'Internet des Objets, je peux allumer les lumières de ma maison avant même d'y entrer. (Thanks to the Internet of Things, I can turn on the lights in my house before I even enter.) |
| La réalité augmentée (RA) | Augmented Reality (AR) | As-tu vu cette nouvelle app de réalité augmentée ? On peut essayer des vêtements virtuellement ! (Have you seen this new augmented reality app? We can try on clothes virtually!) |
| La réalité virtuelle (RV) | Virtual Reality (VR) | Pour mon anniversaire, j'aimerais vraiment avoir un casque de réalité virtuelle. (For my birthday, I'd really love to have a virtual reality headset.) |
French Resources for Technology Lovers
Reading blogs and listening to podcasts is a great way to see and hear French technology vocabulary in action. Here are some suggestions to get you started:
- Begeek. Begeek is the one-stop shop for you gadget lovers out there. Begeek contains a variety of articles pertaining to the tech world, product reviews and promotional codes.
- FluentU. This platform has a full library of clips that show French in different contexts, such as social gatherings, the workplace and tech settings.
FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.
You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.
P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)
- Presse-Citron. Think of Presse-Citron, founded by Eric Dupin, as an online lifestyle magazine for the startup-launching set. On this site you’ll find posts on subjects ranging from e-books and environmentalism to smartphones and startups.
- Soft Power: Le magazine des Internets. This one-hour France Culture podcast hosted by Frédéric Martel revolves around the creative industry, with a special emphasis on mass media and the Internet. Each week Martel interviews journalists and researchers who discuss the stakes of living in “The Information Age.”
- Ubergizmo. Ubergizmo is a frequently updated website containing no-nonsense reviews of “the electronics you love and the ones that you love to hate.”
Whew! I hope your memory’s not full! Once you pick a method that fits your fancy (I recommend the memory palace) and you learn these words, your journey through French cyberspace will be smooth sailing. Keep me updated!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
And one more thing...
If you like learning French vocabulary on your own time and from the comfort of your smart device, then I'd be remiss to not tell you about FluentU.
Other sites use scripted content. FluentU uses a natural approach that helps you ease into the French language and culture over time. You’ll learn French as it’s actually spoken by real people.
FluentU has a wide variety of great content, like interviews and web series, as you can see here:
FluentU brings native videos within reach with interactive subtitles.
You can tap on any word to look it up instantly. Every definition has examples that have been written to help you understand how the word is used.
For example, if you tap on the word "crois," you'll see this:
Practice and reinforce all the vocabulary you've learned in a given video with FluentU's adaptive quizzes. Swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you’re learning and play the mini-games found in the dynamic flashcards, like "fill in the blank."
As you study, FluentU tracks the vocabulary that you’re learning and uses this information to give you a 100% personalized experience.
It gives you extra practice with difficult words—and reminds you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned.
Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)
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