Updated January 28, 2026 with newly added audio — Lesson written by French teacher David Issokson for students who want to learn French online, with native audio by Marie Assel Cambier, a voice artist from France.
Learning how to talk about jobs and professions in French (les métiers et professions) is essential whether you’re studying, working abroad, or just expanding your vocabulary. This guide lists over 80 French job titles with their English meanings. Where possible, both masculine and feminine forms are included.
les métiers (jobs), les professions (professions), un professeur (teacher), un médecin (doctor), un avocat (lawyer), un ingénieur (engineer), un pompier (firefighter), un policier (police officer), un vendeur (salesperson), un cuisinier (cook / chef)
✅ Arts & Entertainment
✅ Business & Offices
✅ Construction & Trade
✅ Food & Restaurants
✅ Medical
💡 Quick Tip: Saying Your Profession in French
In French, you usually say Je suis + profession (for example, Je suis dentiste — I am a dentist) — without un or une.
You only use un or une when you add an adjective, like this: Je suis un bon dentiste — I am a good dentist.
Complete French Jobs Vocabulary
🎭 Arts & Entertainment
- acteur / actrice — actor / actress
- comédien / comédienne — actor, comedian
- humoriste / comique — comedian (stand-up)
- compositeur / compositrice — composer
- danseur / danseuse — dancer
- dessinateur / dessinatrice — designer, draughtsman
- producteur / productrice — film producer
- peintre — painter, artist
- photographe — photographer
- dramaturge — playwright
- chanteur / chanteuse — singer
- présentateur / présentatrice — TV anchor
🏢 Business & Offices
- homme d’affaires / femme d’affaires — businessman / businesswoman
- comptable — accountant
- réceptionniste — receptionist
- vendeur / vendeuse — salesperson
- secrétaire — secretary
- employé / employée — staff member
- agent de change / agente de change — stockbroker
- directeur / directrice — manager, director
- gérant / gérante — manager
- marchand / marchande — merchant
- stagiaire — trainee, intern
🛠️ Construction & Trade
- dépanneur — appliance repair man
- charpentier / charpentière — carpenter
- électricien / électricienne — electrician
- ingénieur / ingénieure — engineer
- homme à tout faire / bricoleur — handyman
- maçon — mason
- mécanicien / mécanicienne — mechanic
- peintre en bâtiment — house painter
- plombier — plumber
📚 Education & Publications
- rédacteur / rédactrice — editor
- illustrateur / illustratrice — illustrator
- interprète — interpreter
- journaliste — journalist, reporter
- romancier / romancière — novelist
- étudiant / étudiante — student
- professeur / institutrice / enseignant(e) — teacher, professor
- écrivain / écrivaine or auteur(e) — writer, author
🍽️ Food & Restaurants
- boulanger / boulangère — baker
- boucher / bouchère — butcher
- brasseur / brasseuse — brewer
- chef — chef
- cuisinier / cuisinière — cook
- agriculteur / agricultrice — farmer
- pâtissier / pâtissière — pastry chef
- charcutier / charcutière — pork butcher
- serveur / serveuse — waiter / waitress
🏛️ Government & Town Services
- fonctionnaire — civil servant
- diplomate — diplomat
- pompier — fireman
- juge — judge
- policier / policière, agent de police — police officer
- homme politique / femme politique — politician
- procureur — prosecutor
- soldat — soldier
- facteur / factrice — mail carrier
🏡 Homes & Real Estate
- jardinier / jardinière — gardener
- femme de chambre / femme de ménage / domestique — maid, house cleaner
- agent immobilier / agente immobilière — real-estate agent
🩺 Medical
- dentiste — dentist
- médecin / docteur — doctor
- infirmier / infirmière — nurse
- opticien / opticienne — optician
- pharmacien / pharmacienne — pharmacist
- nutritionniste — nutritionist
- psychiatre — psychiatrist
- psychologue — psychologist
- vétérinaire — veterinarian
🛍️ Retail
- ensacheur / ensacheuse, aide de caisse — bagger (Canada only)
- caissier / caissière — cashier
- vendeur / vendeuse — sales clerk
- magasinier — stock boy
⛪ Religion
- évêque — bishop
- moine — monk
- religieuse / sœur — nun
- révérend — reverend
- prêtre — priest
- rabbin — rabbi
🔬 Science & Exploration
- astronaute — astronaut
- chimiste — chemist
- informaticien / informaticienne — computer engineer
- documentaliste — information specialist
- physicien / physicienne — physicist
- chercheur / chercheuse — researcher
- scientifique — scientist
💇 Service
- esthéticienne — beautician
- coiffeur / coiffeuse — hairdresser, barber
- homme / femme de ménage — house cleaner
- gardien / gardienne — janitor
- ouvrier / ouvrière — laborer, worker
- avocat / avocate — lawyer
- géomètre-expert — surveyor
🏅 Sports
- entraîneur — coach
- maître-nageur / surveillant(e) de baignade — lifeguard
- kinésithérapeute — physical therapist
- athlète professionnel / professionnelle — professional athlete
- arbitre — referee
✈️ Transportation
- conducteur / conductrice d’autobus — bus driver
- conducteur / conductrice (de train) — engineer (train)
- steward / hôtesse de l’air — flight attendant
- pilote — pilot
- chauffeur de taxi — taxi driver
Need more help?
If you’d like more guided listening practice, I also recommend À Moi Paris, an online French course I’ve personally reviewed and used with students. The lessons focus on real spoken French with clear, natural audio recorded at multiple speeds.
👉 Learn more about À Moi Paris »
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French Jobs Vocabulary — Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
What are common job words in French?
Common French job words include les métiers (jobs), les professions (professions), un professeur (teacher), un médecin (doctor), un avocat (lawyer), un ingénieur (engineer), un pompier (firefighter), un policier (police officer), un vendeur (salesperson), and un cuisinier (cook / chef).
How is French jobs vocabulary organized?
French jobs vocabulary is organized by category, such as Arts & Entertainment, Business & Offices, Construction & Trade, Education & Publications, Food & Restaurants, Government & Town Services, Medical, Retail, Science, Sports, Transportation, and more. This makes it easier to study related professions together.
How do you say your profession in French?
In French, you usually say Je suis + profession without un or une.
For example: Je suis dentiste.
You only use un or une if you add an adjective, such as: Je suis un bon dentiste.
Are there masculine and feminine forms for French professions?
Yes. Many French professions have masculine and feminine forms, such as acteur / actrice, vendeur / vendeuse, infirmier / infirmière, and ingénieur / ingénieure. Where possible, both forms are included in this lesson.
Who wrote this lesson and does it include audio?
This lesson was written by French teacher David Issokson for students who want to learn French online, and includes native-speaker audio recorded by Marie Assel Cambier, a professional voice artist from France.
