Interjections are invariable words or expressions used to give an emotive value (feeling, mood, command, etc.) in the stream of speech. Some words imitate sounds (onomatopoeias); others may be modifications of blasphemous expressions (oaths). Interjections should be used sparingly and properly with sensitivity to their social and linguistic context.
In print, they are followed by an exclamation mark.
Common French interjections grouped by the feeling they may convey:
Appreciation:
Bon! (Good!), Chic! (great!), Enfin! (at last!), Hip hip hourra! (hip hip hooray!)
Disappointment:
Bah! (too bad!), Bof! (what the heck!), Flûte! (darn!), Zut! (darn!)
Encouragement:
Vas-y!/Allez! (Go on!), Courage! (courage!)
Greeting:
Salut! (hi!), Adieu! (Good-bye!), Allô! (hello there!), etc.
Relief:
Enfin! (at last!), Ouf! (phew!)
Sadness/Pain:
Aïe! Ouïlle! (ouch!), Oh là là! (oh dear!)
Surprise:
Ah! (Oh!), Bonté divine! (good gracious!), Sapristi! (gosh!), Tiens! (well!), etc.
Warning:
Attention/Gare! (careful!/watch out!), Au secours! (help!), Chut! (quiet!), Ho! (hey!), Holà! (watch out!), Zut alors! (blast!), Bonté divine! (Good gracious!)
Some common oaths:
Nom de
Dieu!/Sacrebleu!/Ventrebleu! (by God!),
Parbleu! (of course!)
(Most oaths containing bleu, a deformation of
Dieu (God) are now old fashioned.)
Some modern
versions include:
Nom de nom! (in the name of a name! = Good
God)
Nom d'une pipe! (in the name of a pipe! = Good
God)
Nom d'un chien! (in the name of a dog! = Good
God/Damn!)
Some common onomatopoeias:
badaboum, boum, boum... noisy and spectacular fall, clac... sharp noise or slap, drelin-drelin... small bell, toc-toc... knock on the door, tic-tac... clock, Vlan!... bang, etc.
Some French animals sounds:
cui-cui... chirping bird, miaou... cat, cocorico... cock crowing, hi-han... donkey, meuh... cow, ouah ouah... dog, etc.
Dans la maison silencieuse, on entendait seulement
le tic-tac de l'horloge.
(In the silent house, one could only hear the tick-tock of the
clock.)
See Also: