French War and Military Vocabulary

Lists of French war vocabulary, the correct pronunciation of war in French, the names of French armies, weapon in French, how to say WW1 and WW2 in French.

1 – How to say War in French

La guerre – war.

Watch out for the pronunciation since I hear many students mistake “la gare” (A sound = the train station) with “la guerre” (ay sound).

2 – How to Say Peace in French

This weird French word ends in a silent X, and is pronounced like “pay”.

We talk about “des pourparlers de paix”, “des négociations de paix” = peace talks.

3 – French War Vocabulary

1. Un conflit armé – an armed conflict
2. Une déclaration de guerre – a war declaration
3. Un traité de paix – a peace treaty
4. Un armistice – an armistice
5. Un cessez-le-feu – a cease fire
6. Un soldat – a soldier
7. S’engager – to enrol
8. Recruter – to recruit
9. Un ennemi – an enemy
10. Une super puissance – a superpower
11. Un empire – an empire
12. Un combat – a combat
13. Un génocide – a genocide
14. Un massacre – a massacre
15. Un combattant – a fighter
16. Un tirailleur – a rifleman / marksman
17. Envahir – to invade
18. Une invasion – an invasion
19. Une attaque – an attack
20. Un bombardement – a bombing
21. Une bombe – a bomb
22. Une victime – a victim
23. Un blessé – a wounded
24. Un tué – a person who was killed
25. Un mort – a dead person
26. Un amputé – an amputee
27. Une tranchée – a trench
28. Un espion – a spy
29. Un traitre – a traitor
30. Un allié – an ally
31. S’allier avec quelqu’un – to be allied with someone
32. Une alliance – an alliance
33. La victoire – the victory
34. Les vainqueurs, les gagnants – winners
35. Gagner la guerre – to win the war
36. La défaite – the defeat
37. Les perdants – losers
38. Perdre la guerre – to lose the war
39. Se rendre – to surrender
40. Fuir – to flee
41. Une dette de guerre – a war debt

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4 – How to say Weapon in French

1. Une arme à feu = a firearm
2. Un revolver, un pistolet = a handgun
3. Une mitrailleuse = a machine gun
4. Une mitraillette = an automatic handgun, a Tommy gun
5. Un fusil = a rifle

5 – Other French Weapon Vocabulary

1. Une balle = a bullet
2. Tirer sur quelqu’un = to shoot at someone
3. Se faire tirer dessus = to be shot at
4. Tuer quelqu’un = to kill someone
5. Abattre quelqu’un = To intentionally kill someone with a weapon / to strike someone down
6. Blesser quelqu’un = to wound someone

6 – Military French Vocabulary

1. Un tank – a tank
2. Un camion – a truck
3. Un hélicoptère – a helicopter
4. Un avion – a plane
5. Un missile – a missile
6. Un bateau – a boat
7. Un sous-marin – a submarine

7 – Different French Armies

1. L’armée – the army (general term)
2. L’armée de terre – the army (the ground division)
3. L’armée de l’air – the Air Force
4. La Marine nationale – the Navy (not the Marines, which would be translated as “les troupes de marines”… Note as well that “la marine marchande” is the ensemble of commercial ships.

8 – How do You Say World War I and World War II in French?

We have several ways to talk about WWI and WWII in French.

1. La Première Guerre mondiale, La Guerre de 14 (quatorze) = WWI
2. La Deuxième Guerre mondiale, La Guerre de 40 (quarante) = WWII

9 – The War Against Terror in French

I wrote a whole article to talk about the French Terrorism Vocabulary – you’ll find more war-related terms there.

You may also be interested in D-Day – Le Débarquement and Vive la France – How to Express Patriotism in French.

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