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Valentine’s Day In France: Vocabulary, phrases & traditions

Valentine’s Day In France: Vocabulary, phrases & traditions

Valentine’s Day In France is called la Saint-Valentin or la Fête des Amoureux (Lover’s Day). Here’s a complete list of fun words you can use on le 14 février!

Valentine's Day in France: Vocabulary list, traditions and phrases for cards.

Valentine’s Day In France – vocabulary list

Vocabulaire pour la saint-Valentin

  • un cadeau gift
  • le parfum perfume
  • le chocolat chocolate
  • une boîte de chocolats box of chocolate
  • les bonbons candy
  • une bague ring
  • une bague de fiançailles engagement ring
  • une alliance wedding ring
  • une rose rose
  • les fleures (f) flowers
  • un bouquet de fleurs flower bouquet
  • un coeur heart
  • une carte card
  • les bijoux jewelery
  • un dîner romantique romantic dinner
Vocabulaire pour la Saint-Valentin

Do the French celebrate Valentine’s Day?

Do the French celebrate Valentine’s Day? Bonne question! The answer is yes!

However, unlike in the United States of Canada where it is common for kids to exchange Valentine’s Day greetings, Valentine’s day in France is a day for couples to celebrate their love for each other.

Thus, the holiday in France is often called le jour de la Fête des Amoreux, or “Lovers’ Day”. Similar to other English-speaking countries, Valentine’s Day is celebrated on February 14th in France.

Phrases for Valentine’s Day cards in French

To say, “my dear” when addressing a Valentine’s Day card to a man, say, mon chéri. To say “my dear” when addressing a woman, say, ma chérie. The word “cher” in French means “dear”.

There are lots of ways to sign a Valentine’s Day card in French.

One thing you can write is: “Tu me manques“. This means “I miss you”. This lesson covers the verb manquer in detail.

Something fun you can write is “Je t’aime de tout mon coeur!“. This means, “I love you with all my heart!”.

A very common line to write is: “Je t’embrasse très fort!“. This means “I embrace you strongly!”.

Finally, two other ways to end your card are: “Affectueusement” (fondly) and “Avec toute mon affection” (with all my affection).

Conclusion

Et voilà ! You now know all about Valentine’s Day in France! Now check our our lesson covering the phrase je t’aime (I love you) in French! French Today also does a great job covering la Saint-Valentin in this post!

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David Issokson

David Issokson is a lifelong language enthusiast. His head is swimming with words and sounds as he speaks over six languages. Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private online lessons. When procrastinating working on his site, FrenchLearner.com, David enjoys his time skiing and hiking in Teton Valley, Idaho.

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