Sorry, Social Class Matters in France šŸ§

Author: Camille Chevalier-Karfis

How do you say white and blue collar in French? The various French social classes and class pertinent vocabulary and expressions. Tips and mistakes to avoid.

There is no way around the importance of social classes in France. Some expressions will tend to categorize you as belonging to one class or another, so you may want to avoid them.

Writing about social class is risquĆ©ā€¦ I donā€™t mean to offend anybody or to pass a judgment: Iā€™m just trying to inform learners of French of something that may be different in France from their country. So take this article as an opinion piece if you want :-)

How do You Say Blue Collar in French?

There are several ways of translating blue collar in French:

  1. un ouvrier/ une ouvriĆØre ā€“ factory worker
  2. un employĆ©, une employĆ©e ā€“ an employee
  3. un travailleur / une travailleuse ā€“ a worker as a union may call them
  4. un/une prolĆ©taire ā€“ a proletarian, a worker

How do you Say White Collar in French?

Again, itā€™s difficult to translate the notion of white collar in French.

  1. un/une cadre ā€“ someone in managment
  2. un/une cadre supĆ©rieur(e) ā€“ upper management
  3. un/une employĆ© (e) de bureau ā€“ office worker
  4. un/une fonctionnaire ā€“ someone working for the French government ā€“ I listed them in white collar but could be blue collar depending on the job.
  5. un/une boss ā€“ a boss
  6. un patron / une patronne ā€“ a boss
  7. un/une chef ā€“ a boss

How do you call the Various Social Classes in France?

Writing about the different social classes in France is a touchy subject. It is not set in stone: a farmer can be really rich and belong to the upper class. So can a storekeeperā€¦ Where would ā€œla bourgeoisieā€ fit? But this may help students of French get an idea of the picture.

  1. la classe ouvriĆØre, le prolĆ©tariat, les dĆ©favorisĆ©s ā€“ the workers
  2. les paysans, la paysannerie ā€“ farmers (who can be really rich or really poor in Franceā€¦ so itā€™s kind of a class of its own)
  3. la classe moyenne, la petite bourgeoisie ā€“ some office employees, artisans, shopkeepers ā€“ middle income class
  4. la classe supĆ©rieure, la haute bourgeoisie, lā€™aristocratie financiĆØre, les privilĆ©giĆ©s ā€“ upper class.

More about this in French on wikipedia.

French Social Class Related Vocabulary Expressions

Whatā€™s amazing about French is that some expressions will automatically categorise you as belonging to one class or another.

A good example: many students have learned to say ā€œDe rienā€ (ā€œItā€™s nothing, youā€™re welcomeā€ ) as an answer to ā€œmerciā€ ā€“ thank you in French.

De rien is indeed very used in France, but more so in the working class environment.

French people who fancy themselves as upper class would favor ā€œJe vous en prieā€ (pronounced shvoo zan pree), and ā€œJe tā€™en prieā€ (shtan pree).

The same goes with saying ā€œau plaisirā€ at the end of a conversation to say something like ā€œIā€™m looking forward to the pleasure of seeing you againā€ ā€“ except that saying that in English would be quite circumvoluted, whereas in French, saying ā€œau plaisirā€œ- although very commonly used ā€“ will be frowned upon in upper classes.

So, get a feel for your surroundings, and talk freely in a relaxed setting, but watch the vocabulary you use in a more formal setting, and of course, use ā€œvousā€ with people you donā€™t know: upper class will stick with ā€œvousā€ longer, whereas working class may use ā€œtuā€ more freely. But it is also a question of age, region, personal habitā€¦

You will find more expressions of politeness with their proper pronunciation and cultural notes on when to use them, as well as a in depth explanation of ā€œtu versus vousā€ in my audio lesson French greetings and politeness.

French Greetings & Politeness

Master French politeness without hesitation and avoid embarrassing faux-pas.

(15 Reviews)

More Details & Audio Samples

French Social Class Related Grammar Mistakes

Common mistakes among the French themselves include ā€œla copine Ć  ma soeur,ā€ which should be ā€œla copine DE ma soeur.ā€

Pronouns, Subjunctive and Past participle agreements (such as ā€œelle les a miSES) are also markers of a higher education, and therefore social class.

However the French are really aware that these are tough for students of French, so they would not be surprised if you stumbled upon these! They may offer unsolicited correction thoughā€¦ I explain this in my article: think twice before asking French people to correct your French.

French Social Class And Slang

Be extremely cautious with slang.

French students love to use slang words, it makes them feel ā€œinā€. Unfortunately, slang is much stronger in the mouth of a foreigner.

Furthermore, students tend to just translate slang into the foreign language, and use it like that. Itā€™s a huge mistake since some words that are acceptable in one language may not be acceptable in another.

For example, if the ā€œf..kā€ word is quite common in US English (bad, but common), its literal translation involving the French verb ā€œfoutreā€ is extremely strong in French.

In the US, I have many friends from all classes who use swear words regularly. In France, swearing is not as widespread, and tends to be more common in working class environment. I donā€™t have numbers to support this affirmation: it comes from personal experience and movies. Still I believe this kind of information is worth sharing with an audience of French learners. Itā€™s certainly not information you find in books!

I now encourage you to read my article about ā€œla bourgeoisie franƧaiseā€ and what we call ā€œla bonne Ć©ducationā€ to have a deeper understanding of the French social classes.

The very best way to learn French expressions is to learn them within the context of a story. I encourage you to check out French Todayā€™s downloadable French audiobooks: French Todayā€™s level adapted bilingual novels are recorded at different speeds and enunciation, and focus on todayā€™s modern glided pronunciation. 

Author: Camille Chevalier-Karfis

Camille Chevalier-Karfis

Born and raised in Paris, I have been teaching today's French to adults for 25+ years in the US and France. Based on my students' goals and needs, I've created unique downloadable French audiobooks focussing on French like it's spoken today, for all levels. Come to Paimpol and enjoy an exclusive French immersion homestay with me in Brittany.

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