The Many Ways To Say United States in French & Pronunciation 🗽

Most of you know that “Les États-Unis” is how we say “United States” in French.

However, there are other options, and translating won’t always work.

How do you Say United States of America in French?

“Les États-Unis d’Amérique” is the most precise translation used for ‘United States of America’ in French.

But it’s long, and we’re lazy… So most of the time, the French will only say “Les États-Unis“,  just like you’d say “The United States” in English.

What’s the French Pronunciation of “Les États-Unis”?

“Les États-Unis” is a great example of liaison in French: there are two strong liaisons in “z”, one after “les” (or “des” or “aux”…) and the other one after the “s” of “états” (note that the t is silent though).

Click to hear the French pronunciation.

1. “Les États-Unis” is pronounced [lé zéta zuni]
2. “Des États-Unis” is pronounced [dé zéta zuni]
3. “Aux États-Unis” is pronounced [o zéta zuni]

Confused about when you would use “les”, “des” or “aux”? Check out my article about French prepositions of place.

Do we use the Acronym “US” or “USA” or “EU” for United States in French

The answer is a bit complicated.

In French, “ÉU” is short for “États-Unis”. The French acronym for “United States” can be spelled with or without accent “ÉU” or “EU”, with or without periods “É.U.” or “E.U.”

But the French also often use “USA” and “US” (“U.S.A”, “U.S.”)… It’s not technically French, but we use it nonetheless.

You will sometimes see “ÉUA” for “États-Unis d’Amérique”, like it was used in the Olympics.

What are “EU” and “UE” in French?

Now, in French “EU” is always for “États-Unis”, whereas in English “EU” is for ‘European Union’… You see the possible confusion!

So, if you want to talk about Europe, I suggest you either write “L’Union Européenne”, or “L’Europe” or be extra careful and write “UE”… Because if you wrote “EU” like in English, the French will understand “États-Unis” = ‘United States’…

How do you say America in French?

Technically, “L’Amérique” (feminine noun) meaning ‘America’ is used for the whole American continent in French. But we often use it to just refer to the USA.

What is Americas in French?

It’s quite old-fashioned to talk about ‘The Americas’… But the French still do: the other day (November 2018) I was interviewing people in the streets of Paimpol, Brittany, France, to ask them if they knew what this “Black Friday” sale, now popular in France was about, and where it came from.

A girl in her… I don’t think she was even 20 years-old answered “Les Amériques”… I almost burst out laughing because it sounded so weird coming from such a young girl!

So, “Les Amériques” should be used to talk about North and South América (“L’Amérique du Nord” et “L’Amérique du Sud”), so again, the continents, but the French sometimes use it to refer to the USA.

Do the French Ever Say “Les États” for “The US”?

In English, it’s common to refer to the US by just saying “the States”. In French, “Les États” is not used like that at all, but John H., a follower, sent me a message to say he hears it in Canada.

However in France, it’s quite hip to speak “franglish” and say something like : “et toi… tu connais les States”? – what about you, have you been to the States? Showing off your impeccable American accent (LOL!)…

How to Translate American in French

Let me go on a tangent a bit…

To say “American” in French, you’d say:

• américain (nasal “in” sound) for something/someone masculine
• américaine (rhymes with the letter “N”) for something/someone feminine

Names of the US States in French

If there is nothing, the state is masculine. If there is a “la” or (f), it’s feminine (also in bold).

1. L’Alabama
2. L’Alaska
3. L’Arizona
4. L’Arkansas
5. La Californie
6. La Caroline du Nord
7. La Caroline du Sud
8. Le Colorado
9. Le Connecticut
10. Le Dakota du Nord
11. Le Dakota du Sud
12. Le Delaware
13. La Floride
14. La Géorgie
15. Hawaï (Note: no article. As for the gender… long debate… masculine if you are referring to the state “l’état d’Hawaï est beau”, feminine if you are referring to the island “l’île d’Hawaï est belle”)
16. L’Idaho
17. L’Illinois
18. L’Indiana
19. L’Iowa
20. Le Kansas
21. Le Kentucky
22. La Louisiane
23. Le Maine
24. Le Maryland
25. Le Massachusetts
26. Le Michigan
27. Le Minnesota
28. Le Mississippi
29. Le Missouri
30. Le Montana
31. Le Nebraska
32. Le Nevada
33. Le New Hampshire
34. Le New Jersey
35. l’État de New York
36. Le Nouveau-Mexique
37. L’Ohio
38. L’Oklahoma
39. L’Orégon
40. La Pennsylvanie
41. Le Rhode Island
42. Le Tennessee
43. Le Texas
44. L’Utah
45. Le Vermont
46. La Virginie
47. La Virginie-Occidentale
48. L’État de Washington
49. Le Wisconsin
50. Le Wyoming

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