{"id":606,"date":"2022-01-03T13:15:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-03T13:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yabla.com\/yabla-blog\/?p=606"},"modified":"2026-01-19T10:28:58","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T10:28:58","slug":"we-in-french","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yabla.com\/yabla-blog\/we-in-french\/","title":{"rendered":"Exactly How to Say ‘We’ in French – It Might Not Be What You Think"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Wondering how to say we in French? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe you first learned French at an American high school. If so, the French word for “we” was probably one of the first things you learned: “nous.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nous sommes am\u00e9ricains. Nous allons au cin\u00e9ma. Nous voyons le chien. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easy, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sure, things become a little more complicated when the reflexive gets involved \u2014 nous nous amusons bien<\/em><\/a>? \u2014 but it’s pretty straightforward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until you arrive in France, and you stop hearing “nous” \u2014 and hear, in its place, “on.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Want to try Yabla’s award-winning tools for understanding spoken French? Your first 15 days are free<\/a>!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here’s a scene familiar to fans of the Netflix show, Call My Agent \u2014 in this scene from the third season, Matthias is meeting at a caf\u00e9 with the C\u00e9sar-winning actor G\u00e9rard Lanvin<\/a>. And G\u00e9rard is asking his agent: On est en o\u00f9<\/em>? Or: Where are we? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But as you see, he’s saying “on,” not “nous.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The situation becomes even more pointed in Julien Dor\u00e9’s song, “Nous.” If you aren’t already familiar with the French artist’s work as a musician and filmmaker, you might remember him from Call My Agent<\/em> as well \u2014 he’s Gabriel’s competition for Sofia’s attention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the video for his song “Nous,” we can see how quickly he moves from “Nous” (the title) to actually discussing the subject of what “we” are \u2014 he moves immediately to “on”:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In fact, it’s even easier to see in the official lyrics for the song, which renders the phrases like this: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nous
On ira voir la mer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then there’s always the famed English expression “On Wednesdays, we wear pink<\/a>” \u2014 translated by francophone crafters as “Le mercredi on porte du rose<\/a>.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We in French: A Complicated Matter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So what’s happening here? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite what you might have learned in high school, “nous” isn’t always the only, or the best, way to say we in French \u2014 especially in spoken French, or in casual conversation, whether oral or written. In practice, French speakers will use “on,” which is conjugated like “il” or “elle.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On va au cin\u00e9ma. On voit le soleil. Chez nous, on s’amuse<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s easier to understand when you consider that “on” might translate more fully as “one” \u2014 as in:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"we<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here’s that same moment from Lord of the Rings <\/em>in French meme: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"we<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And indeed, “on” is used both in that general sense of “one” and the more specific sense of “we.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One more thing: The English usage of a non-specific “one” and the similar usage of “you” have some overlap. (Consider: “You don’t simply walk into Mordor.”) In French, both cases would use “on.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You’ll definitely see “nous” used for we in French in more formal situations and speech. For example, here’s a typical tweet from French President Emmanuel Macron: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Si nous voulons r\u00e9ussir le d\u00e9fi climatique, nous devons acc\u00e9l\u00e9rer sur la protection de la biodiversit\u00e9. Le combat est le m\u00eame. Nous avons engag\u00e9 l\u2019action au #OnePlanetSummit<\/a> en janvier. Les rendez-vous sont fix\u00e9s. Nous devons le faire. https:\/\/t.co\/PJY3p6lv9v<\/a><\/p>\u2014 Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) April 22, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote>