1 â How to say War in French
La guerre â war.
Watch out for the pronunciation since I hear many students mistake âla gareâ (A sound = the train station) with âla guerreâ (ay sound).
2 â How to Say Peace in French
This weird French word ends in a silent X, and is pronounced like âpayâ.
We talk about âdes pourparlers de paixâ, âdes nĂ©gociations de paixâ = peace talks.
3 â French War Vocabulary
- Un conflit armĂ© â an armed conflict
- Une dĂ©claration de guerre â a war declaration
- Un traitĂ© de paix â a peace treaty
- Un armistice â an armistice
- Un cessez-le-feu â a cease fire
- Un soldat â a soldier
- Sâengager â to enrol
- Recruter â to recruit
- Un ennemi â an enemy
- Une super puissance â a superpower
- Un empire â an empire
- Un combat â a combat
- Un gĂ©nocide â a genocide
- Un massacre â a massacre
- Un combattant â a fighter
- Un tirailleur â a rifleman / marksman
- Envahir â to invade
- Une invasion â an invasion
- Une attaque â an attack
- Un bombardement â a bombing
- Une bombe â a bomb
- Une victime â a victim
- Un blessĂ© â a wounded
- Un tuĂ© â a person who was killed
- Un mort â a dead person
- Un amputĂ© â an amputee
- Une tranchĂ©e â a trench
- Un espion â a spy
- Un traitre â a traitor
- Un alliĂ© â an ally
- Sâallier avec quelquâun â to be allied with someone
- Une alliance â an alliance
- La victoire â the victory
- Les vainqueurs, les gagnants â winners
- Gagner la guerre â to win the war
- La dĂ©faite â the defeat
- Les perdants â losers
- Perdre la guerre â to lose the war
- Se rendre â to surrender
- Fuir â to flee
- Une dette de guerre â a war debt

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4 â How to say Weapon in French
- Une arme Ă feu = a firearm
- Un revolver, un pistolet = a handgun
- Une mitrailleuse = a machine gun
- Une mitraillette = an automatic handgun, a Tommy gun
- Un fusil = a rifle
5 â Other French Weapon Vocabulary
- Une balle = a bullet
- Tirer sur quelquâun = to shoot at someone
- Se faire tirer dessus = to be shot at
- Tuer quelquâun = to kill someone
- Abattre quelquâun = To intentionally kill someone with a weapon / to strike someone down
- Blesser quelquâun = to wound someone
6 â Military French Vocabulary
- Un tank â a tank
- Un camion â a truck
- Un hĂ©licoptĂšre â a helicopter
- Un avion â a plane
- Un missile â a missile
- Un bateau â a boat
- Un sous-marin â a submarine
7 â Different French Armies
- LâarmĂ©e â the army (general term)
- LâarmĂ©e de terre â the army (the ground division)
- LâarmĂ©e de lâair â the Air Force
- La Marine nationale â the Navy (not the Marines, which would be translated as âles troupes de marinesâ⊠Note as well that âla marine marchandeâ is the ensemble of commercial ships.
8 â 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.
- La PremiĂšre Guerre mondiale, La Guerre de 14 (quatorze) = WWI
- La DeuxiĂšme Guerre mondiale, La Guerre de 40 (quarante) = WWII
9 â The War Against Terror in French
I wrote a whole article to talk about the French Terrorism Vocabulary â youâll find more war-related terms there.
You may also be interested in D-Day â Le DĂ©barquement and Vive la France â How to Express Patriotism in French.
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