The French language seems to be having a hard time keeping up with all the new English technology-related terms. Thankfully we have the "office québécois de la langue française"(OQFL).
Its core objective: to "Frenchify" English jargon and terminology.
Sometimes their translation actually comes across as more accurate than the original English term and conveys the real meaning behind a word.
Here in this article, we'll take a look at French social media terms. You can also download the list if you're pressed for time now. When you subscribe to the weekly newsletter, this vocabulary list is just one of the many freebies you'll get.
Time to go through the list of useful words for social media in French!
The good
Selfies = Ego-portrait
Ego-portrait---can it be even better? Epic win for Quebeckers!
to unfriend = amiradier
The verb "radier" in French means to ‘strike off / cross-off’. It sounds like "get-off of my list" in French. Very funny, no ? (yeah, I don't have a life).
The bad
But sometimes the translation of English terms misses the mark (in my opinion).
OQFL is not the only one trying to come up with a French alternative for English terms, L'académie française is involved too. Unfortunately, the institutes cannot come up with creative ideas every time and often just translate the word directly without undue consideration, often resulting in words that sound a bit weird.
I’m referring to words like gazouillis = tweet or mot-dièse = hash-tag, which do not sound right in French. Indeed, I am not sure if these two words would be considered acceptable by a French native speaker.
The ugly
However, sometimes we have no choice other than to translate some English words. If we do not do it, it can be very awkward. "Pinner", such as (to pin) would be a big no-no. « Pinner » has a sexual meaning in French (pinner = to fxxx). So we have to use the French alternative "épingler".
But enough of this short introduction to the complexities of translating today’s fashionable jargon, let's learn some new French words related to social media.
Note: (CA)= Words used in Canada not in France.
| Abonnée | Subscriptions |
| abonnement (n.m.) | subscription |
| Actualisation de statut | Status Update |
| Ajouter | Add |
| ajouter à sa liste d’ami(e)s un(e) ami(e) | to “friend” |
| ajouter ami ( e ) (fb terms) | Add Friend |
| amiradier; désamicaliser; décopiner (CA) | unfriend |
| amis en commun | Mutual Friends |
| annuaire (n.m.); répertoire (n.m.) | directory |
| application mobile (n.f.); appli mobile (n.f.) | mobile application; mobile app |
| bloquer | Block |
| clavardage (n.m.) (CA) / chatter | chatting |
| commentaire | Comment |
| compte Facebook | Facebook account |
| confidentialité | Privacy |
| connecté | Connected |
| connexion | Log in |
| contenu (n.m.) | content (n.) |
| contributeur (n.m.), contributrice (n.f.) | contributor |
| copier coller | to copy and past |
| créer | Create |
| de pointe | state of the art |
| Déconnecté | Disconnected |
| Déconnexion | Log out |
| Demandes d’ajout à la liste d’amis | Friend Requests |
| démodé | outdated |
| devenir viral | go viral |
| disponible | available, free, flexible |
| égo-portraits (CA) | selfies |
| en temps réel | real time (adj.) |
| envoyer un message | to send a message |
| Envoyer un Poke à… | To Poke |
| épingler ("pinner" has a different meaning in French) | pin |
| être connecté | to be online |
| être en évolution constante/ permanente | to be changing all the time |
| Exprimez-vous (“Express yourself”) (FB) | What’s in your mind? |
| faire face à | to confront, face up to |
| faire gagner du temps | to save time |
| faire parler de soi | to get onesself talked about |
| FAQ (n.f.); foire aux questions (n.f.) | frequently asked questions; FAQ |
| fermer (une) session | to logout |
| fil (n.m.); fil de discussion (n.m.) | discussion thread; thread (n) |
| flux d’activités (n.m.) | activity stream |
| foodographie | food porn |
| fouiner | creep |
| gazouillage (n.m.) (CA); tweetage (n.m.) | tweeting |
| gazouiller (CA); tweeter | tweet 2 |
| gazouillis (CA.); tweet (n.m.) | tweet 1 |
| Groupes | Groups |
| historique personnel (n.m.) | activity log |
| Identification | Tag |
| Identifier une photo | To tag a picture |
| J'aime | Like |
| Je n’aime plus | Unlike |
| la chance | oppurtunity |
| la compétence en informatique | computer literacy |
| la couverture médiatique | media coverage |
| la disponibilité | flexibility, availability |
| la messagerie | computerised mail |
| la page d'accueil | homepage |
| la toile / le web | the Web |
| la vie privée des personalités | private lives of celebrities |
| l'achat en ligne | online shopping |
| l'appartenance | belonging, being a member of |
| le bloggeur | blogger |
| le fichier | file |
| le fournisseur d'accès | service provider |
| le mel, le mél | |
| le mot de passe | password |
| le moteur de recherche | search engine |
| le piratage | illegal downloading |
| le pirate informatique | hacker |
| le réseau | network |
| le vecteur d'information | vehicle for information |
| l'ère informatique (f) | information age |
| les amateurs de bonne cuisine/ foodies | foodies |
| les données (f) | data |
| les ragots, les potins | gossip |
| l'essor | growth |
| l'internaute (m) | web user, surfer |
| médias sociaux (n.m.) | social media |
| Membres | Members |
| Mot de passe | Password |
| Mot-dièse | Hash-tag |
| Mur | Wall |
| navigeur, surfer | to browse, surf |
| ne plus suivre | unfollow |
| Nom d’utilisateur | Username |
| Nom du groupe | Group Name |
| nouveau (nouvelle) | new |
| partager | to share |
| Photos de profil | Profile Pictures |
| poster quelquechose sur le mur de quelqu’un | to post something on somebody’s wall |
| Publier | Publish |
| Rechercher des amis | Find Friends |
| rechercher la gloire | to seek fame |
| rédiger | to compose (post) |
| Rédiger un commentaire | Add a description |
| réépingler | repin |
| répondre au courrier | to reply to emails |
| réseau social | social network |
| réseautage social (barely use) | social networking |
| Retirer de la liste d’amis | Unfriend |
| retweet (n.m.); gazouillis partagé (CA) | retweet; RT |
| retweeter | to retweet |
| reviné | revined |
| s’abonner | subscribe |
| s'abonner | to subscribe |
| Sans filtre (instagram) | NoFilter |
| sauvegarder | to save |
| se connecter | to login |
| s'identifier | to login |
| Signaler/bloquer | Report/Block |
| simplifier la vie | to make life easier |
| s'inscrire | to sign up, to register |
| Suggérer des amis | Suggest friends |
| suivre le mouvement | to jump on the bandwagon |
| suivre | to follow |
| Supprimer | Remove |
| taguer quelqu’un sur une photo | to tag somebody in a photo |
| tenir au courant | to keep informed |
| un abonné, une abonnée (for twitter/instagram...) | a follower |
| un blog | a blog |
| un commentaire | a comment |
| un compte | account, username |
| un contact | a contact |
| un fil d’alimentation en nouvelles RSS | an RSS feed |
| un fil de discussion | a discussion thread |
| un forum | a forum |
| un hashtag | a hashtag (keyword for searching, following a conversation or marking a topic) |
| un lecteur | a reader |
| un lien permanent | a permalink |
| un mot de passe | password |
| un news feed, une alimentation en nouvelles (quebec), un flux | a news feed |
| un profil | profile |
| un réseau social | social network |
| un suiveur, une suiveuse (CA) | a follower |
| un sujet tendance | a trending topic |
| un tableau de bord | a dashboard |
| un utilisateur | user |
| un(e) abonné(e) | a subscriber |
| une communauté | community |
| une mise à jour du statut | a status update |
| une photo du profil | a profile photo |
| utiliser à des fins mercantiles | to make use of for a profit |
| Voir les liens d’amitié | See Friendship |
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Hopefully, after reading this you'll master social media in French!
Was it useful? If it is the case, do not hesitate to share with your friends on the different social media sites.
Gazouille (tweet), Aime (like), Epingle (pin).... Merci!
Here are some FAQs about French Social Media Terms
How do you say “social media” in French?
Les médias sociaux !
Do people in France use social media?
But of course! While certain francophone institutions are working to create French vocabulary for social media, millions of people in France use social media!
How do you say “like” in French on social media?
J’aime !
How do you say “account” in French?
Un compte !
N’oubliez pas “le courriel” pour email au Québec.
Je l’ai mis dans cet article 🙂
À titre de curiosité, au Québec on utilise plutôt courriel (courrier électronique, e-mail), pourriel (poubelle électronique, spam) et cellulaire (téléphone portable).
Oui j’ai entendu. On utilise aussi courriel en France de temps en temps. Pour pourriel c’est plus rare. Merci de partager cette information 🙂
Merci beaucoup Frédéric! Je vais utiliser cette liste aujourd’hui pour ma classe de français au lycée.
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J’y rajouterais mél (message électronique), comme c’est aussi officiellement approuvé par l’Académie Française.
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Quel mot employé pour «inbox»?
La boite de réception.
Merci, Frédéric! “le couriel” dans quel article s.v.p.?
Ici https://www.talkinfrench.com/office-computing/
Dans l’expression “Je t’aime plus qu’hier mais moins que demain” – Est-que le “s” de “plus” est prononcé ou non?
Oui on doit le prononcer. Merci