Published September 11, 2012 · Updated June 6, 2026 — Lesson written by French teacher David Issokson. Pronunciation audio recorded by Marie Assel Cambier, a professional voice artist and native French speaker.
📘 La Marseillaise Meaning and Pronunciation
La Marseillaise is the national anthem of France. The title means “The song from Marseille” because volunteers from the city of Marseille sang the song while marching to Paris during the French Revolution, helping to make it famous throughout the country.
The pronunciation of La Marseillaise is /la maʁ.sɛ.jɛz/ (IPA), which sounds like “lah mar-say-yez”.
🎙️ Listen to the song
🔊 Lyrics and audio
✏️ Vocabulary and grammar
🎙️ Listen to “La Marseillaise”
Watch the video and listen to La Marseillaise while following along with the lyrics. Then explore the translation, vocabulary, and grammar notes below.
🔊 La Marseillaise Lyrics & Audio
Listen to native French speaker Marie Assel Cambier, the official voice of FrenchLearner, read famous lines from La Marseillaise. Follow along with the lyrics below to improve your pronunciation, listening comprehension, and understanding of the national anthem of France.
Allons enfants de la patrie
Le jour de gloire est arrivé
Contre nous de la tyrannie
L’étendard sanglant est levé
L’étendard sanglant est levé
Entendez-vous dans les campagnes
Mugir ces féroces soldats ?
Ils viennent jusque dans vos bras
Égorger vos fils, vos compagnes
Arise, children of the fatherland. The day of glory has arrived. Against us, tyranny’s bloody banner has been raised. Do you hear those fierce soldiers roaring across the countryside? They are coming into your homes to slaughter your sons and wives.
Aux armes, citoyens !
Formez vos bataillons !
Marchons, marchons !
Qu’un sang impur
Abreuve nos sillons !
To arms, citizens! Form your battalions! Let us march, let us march! May impure blood water our furrows.
✏️ La Marseillaise vocabulary and grammar notes
The following section highlights selected lyrics that reveal useful French vocabulary, expressions, and grammar structures from La Marseillaise, with clear explanations to help you understand how they’re used.
🎼 Song Title
La Marseillaise → literal translation: The Song from Marseille
- The anthem takes its name from volunteers from Marseille who sang it while marching to Paris during the French Revolution.
- The suffix -aise indicates association with Marseille.
- Today, La Marseillaise is the national anthem of France.
🧩 Sentence Structures & Grammar
Allons enfants de la patrie
👉 “Let us go, children of the fatherland”
- Allons = aller (to go) in the first-person plural imperative
- enfants means “children”
- la patrie means “the fatherland” or “homeland”
- A patriotic call to the citizens of France
Le jour de gloire est arrivé
👉 “The day of glory has arrived”
- est arrivé = arriver (to arrive) in the passé composé
- le jour means “the day”
- la gloire means “glory”
- Announces the arrival of a historic moment
Contre nous de la tyrannie
👉 “Against us, of tyranny”
- contre nous means “against us”
- la tyrannie means “tyranny”
- Part of a poetic sentence continued in the following line
L’étendard sanglant est levé
👉 “The bloody banner has been raised”
- est levé = lever (to raise) in the passive voice
- l’étendard means “banner” or “standard”
- sanglant means “bloody”
- Refers to the enemy’s threatening flag
L’étendard sanglant est levé
👉 “The bloody banner has been raised”
- Repetition emphasizes urgency and danger
- Common poetic device in songs and anthems
Entendez-vous dans les campagnes
👉 “Do you hear in the countryside”
- entendez-vous = entendre (to hear) in the second-person plural
- Inverted word order forms a question
- les campagnes means “the countryside”
Mugir ces féroces soldats ?
👉 “These fierce soldiers roaring?”
- mugir means “to roar” or “to bellow”
- féroces means “fierce” or “savage”
- The infinitive follows entendez-vous
- Creates vivid military imagery
Ils viennent jusque dans vos bras
👉 “They come right into your arms”
- viennent = venir (to come) in the present tense
- jusque dans means “right into” or “as far as”
- vos bras literally means “your arms”
Égorger vos fils, vos compagnes
👉 “To slaughter your sons and wives”
- égorger means “to slaughter” or “to slit the throat of”
- vos fils means “your sons”
- vos compagnes means “your wives” or “female companions”
- Describes the threat posed by invading forces
Aux armes, citoyens !
👉 “To arms, citizens!”
- aux armes is a call to take up weapons
- citoyens means “citizens”
- One of the most famous lines in French history
Formez vos bataillons !
👉 “Form your battalions!”
- formez = former (to form) in the imperative
- les bataillons are military units
- Continues the call to action
Marchons, marchons !
👉 “Let us march, let us march!”
- marchons = marcher (to march) in the first-person plural imperative
- Repetition creates rhythm and determination
- Encourages collective action
Qu’un sang impur
👉 “May impure blood”
- qu’un is a contraction of que + un
- sang means “blood”
- impur means “impure”
- Introduces a subjunctive-style expression of wish or desire
Abreuve nos sillons !
👉 “Water our furrows!”
- abreuve = abreuver (to water or soak)
- les sillons are furrows in a field
- Agricultural imagery symbolizes defending the homeland
🔤 Verb Forms & Tenses
- Imperative forms: allons, formez, marchons
- Present tense: viennent, entendez
- Passé composé: est arrivé
- Passive construction: est levé
- Key infinitives: mugir, égorger, abreuver
💬 Expressions & Historical Vocabulary
- la patrie → the homeland, fatherland
- le jour de gloire → the day of glory
- la tyrannie → tyranny
- l’étendard sanglant → the bloody banner
- aux armes → to arms
- les bataillons → battalions
- un sang impur → impure blood
- les sillons → furrows
📘 Vocabulary
- la patrie — homeland, fatherland
- le jour — day
- la gloire — glory
- la tyrannie — tyranny
- l’étendard — banner, standard
- sanglant — bloody
- la campagne — countryside
- un soldat — soldier
- un bras — arm
- un fils — son
- une compagne — wife, companion
- une arme — weapon
- un citoyen — citizen
- un bataillon — battalion
- un sang — blood
- un sillon — furrow
- impur — impure
- féroce — fierce, savage
🇫🇷 Continue exploring France
👉 What is Bastille Day? »
👉 French Flag meaning, symbolism and history »
👉 Famous French people in history »
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