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Professions
Métiers
Put your French to work by learning the French names for
various crafts and trades.
In France, many professions have only a masculine
form, even if the person in question is female. Other
Frenchspeaking countries have some feminine forms
which are not recognized in France.*
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butcher un boucher —
carpenter un charpentier —
un
civil servant une fonctionnaire
fonctionnaire
doctor un médecin —
electrician un électricien —
engineer un ingénieur —
fireman un pompier —
lawyer
un avocat une avocate
(barrister)
une femme de
maid —
chambre
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5/26/2017 Professions French Vocabulary
manager un gérant —
mechanic un mécanicien —
painter un peintre —
plumber un plombier —
police officer un policier —
un
receptionist une réceptionniste
réceptionniste
un professeur —
teacher
un prof une prof
waiter /
un serveur une serveuse
waitress
writer un écrivain —
Unlike English, French does not use an indefinite article in the following construction:
Noun / Name / Subject pronoun + être + profession
Par exemple…
Mon frère est pompier. My brother is a fireman.
Francine va être dentiste. Francine is going to be a dentist.
Je suis écrivain. I’m a writer.
But you do need an article in other constructions:
Je cherche un charpentier. I’m looking for a carpenter.
Connaissezvous un mécanicien ? Do you know a mechanic?
C’est un avocat. He’s a lawyer.
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One of the first questions Americans are likely to ask of new acquaintances is "What do you do?" In
France, however, this is a personal question on par with "What religion are you?" So don’t ask, unless it’s
relevant to your conversation – and even then, first say si ce n’est pas indiscret.
Quiz: Professions
* The socalled femininization of job titles is an ongoing process/debate.
La féminisation des noms, une querelle francofrançaise – La Croix
«Madame la présidente» ou «le président» : quelle est la règle ? – Le Figaro
Related lessons
Introduction to nouns
Indefinite articles
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