shops and businesses

By • September 16, 2020 • Updated November 18, 2020

les magasins et les commerçants

If you’re traveling in France it will be very likely that you’ll have to go to the store. On this page you’ll find an extensive list of vocabulary covering different kinds of shops and businesses. The French take great pride in their little shops so it’s worth going in and practicing your French! Towards the bottom of the page you’ll find a note on prepositions for shops.

bakeryune boulangerie, une pâtisserie
bankune banque
barberun coiffeur (pour hommes)
bike shopun magasin de cycles
bookstoreune librairie
butcher's shopune boucherie
café/barun bistro
candy storeune confiserie
car dealershipune concessionnaire
clothing storeun magasin de vêtements
dairy shopune crémerie
deli, delicatessenune charcuterie
department storeun grand magasin
drugstoreune droguerie
dry cleaner'sun pressing
farmer's marketmarché fermier
fishmonger's, fish shop une poissonnerie
floristune fleuriste
furniture storeun magasin de meubles
gas stationune station-service, une station essence
hairdresser's un salon de coiffure
hardware storeune quincaillerie
hypermarket, big-box store, superstoreun hypermarché
ice-cream parlorun glacier
laundromatlaverie automatique, une avomatique
laundryune blanchisserie,
liquor store, off-licenseune magasin de vins et spiritueux nm
newsstandun kiosque
perfume shopune parfumerie
pharmacyune pharmacie
pizzeriaune pizzeria
post officeune poste
produce shopun magasin de primeurs, un magasin de fruits et légumes
restaurantun restaurant
second-hand bookshopun bouquiniste
shoe storeun magasin de chaussures
small grocery storeune épicerie
sports shopun magasin de sport
stationery store
une papeterie
supermarketune grande surface, un supermarché
tailor shopun tailleur
toy storemagasin de jouets
un tabactobacco shop
wine shopun marchand de vins

prepositions for stores

Getting the right preposition before a store name can be an issue. The reason is that you can use à + store name as well as the preposition chez. Some examples are in the table below. It would also help to review the verb aller (to go) here. Generally speaking, you use chez when there’s a professional individual who most likely owns the given shop and works there.

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I to to the hairdresser.Je vais au coiffeur. / Je vais chez le coiffeur.
I go to the bakery.Je vais à la pâtisserie. / Je vais chez la pâtisserie.
I go the pharmacy.Je vais à la pharmacie. / Je vais chez le pharmacien.
I go to the butcher shop.Je vais à la boucherie. / Je vais chez le boucher.
I go to the store.Je vais au magasin.
I go the the supermarket.Je vais au supermarché.
I go the the bank.Je vais à la banque.
I to the the department store.Je vais au grand magasin.

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