How do you say happy Thanksgiving in French?
Joyeux Thanksgiving. That is the whole answer for France. Joyeux means happy or merry, as in Joyeux Noël, and Thanksgiving stays in English because there is no French holiday for the word to attach to. You will also hear Bon Thanksgiving, which is more casual and just as correct.
A French person will pronounce it something like “sanks-geeving”. Do not correct this. It is being offered kindly, about a holiday they do not celebrate.
What is Action de grâce?
It is the French name for Thanksgiving in Canada. L’Action de grâce means the giving of thanks, and it is an official Canadian holiday on the second Monday of October. If you are writing to someone in Quebec, Joyeuse Action de grâce is the right greeting, with joyeuse in the feminine because action is a feminine noun.
In France the phrase exists but sounds religious, like something said in church. Nobody there would use it for the American holiday. Use it for Canada, and use Thanksgiving for the United States.
What are the Thanksgiving food words in French?
Most of the table translates easily, with two interesting exceptions. The full list is in the table below.
The first exception is the cranberry. The proper French word is la canneberge, and it is what Quebec says. In France the fruit is so unfamiliar that most people just say cranberry, and you mostly meet it dried or as juice.
The second is the pumpkin. French has several words where English has one: la citrouille is the big orange Halloween kind, le potiron is the flatter one people actually cook, and la courge is squash in general. A pumpkin pie is une tarte à la citrouille, and a French person will want to know why it is a dessert.
How do you say what you are thankful for?
The going-round-the-table sentence is Je suis reconnaissant pour…, I am grateful for, or reconnaissante if you are a woman. For example: Je suis reconnaissante pour ma famille, I am grateful for my family.
It is correct, and it is also more formal than anything a French family would say out loud at dinner. The natural French version is shorter: Merci d’être là, thank you for being here. To give thanks in the old sense is rendre grâce.
How do you explain Thanksgiving to a French person?
Try this: C’est une fête américaine, le quatrième jeudi de novembre. On se retrouve en famille autour d’une dinde. It is an American holiday, the fourth Thursday of November. The family gets together around a turkey.
Then be ready for the follow-up questions, which are about why dinner is in the afternoon and where the cheese is. I have covered both in explaining Thanksgiving to a Frenchman.
Thanksgiving words in French
| English | French | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| Happy Thanksgiving | Joyeux Thanksgiving | zhwah-YUH |
| Thanksgiving (Canada) | l’Action de grâce | lak-SYOHN duh GRAHSS |
| Turkey | la dinde | la DAND |
| Stuffing | la farce | la FARSS |
| Gravy | la sauce, le jus | la SOHSS, luh ZHOO |
| Cranberry | la canneberge | la kan-BAIRZH |
| Mashed potatoes | la purée | la pew-RAY |
| Sweet potato | la patate douce | la pa-TAT DOOSS |
| Green beans | les haricots verts | lay ah-ree-koh VAIR |
| Corn | le maïs | luh mah-EESS |
| Pumpkin pie | la tarte à la citrouille | la TART ah la see-TROO-yuh |
| Leftovers | les restes | lay REST |
| Grateful | reconnaissant, reconnaissante | ruh-koh-nay-SAHN(T) |
| The Pilgrims | les Pères pèlerins | lay PAIR pel-RAN |
Questions, answered
How do you say happy Thanksgiving in French?
Say “Joyeux Thanksgiving”. In France the holiday keeps its English name. In French-speaking Canada, say “Joyeuse Action de grâce”.
Is there a French word for Thanksgiving?
Not in France, where it is simply called Thanksgiving. In Canada the French name is l’Action de grâce, which refers to the Canadian holiday in October.
What is turkey in French?
La dinde. A male turkey is un dindon, but the bird on the table is always la dinde.
How do you say “I am thankful” in French?
“Je suis reconnaissant” for a man and “Je suis reconnaissante” for a woman. To be thankful for something, add “pour”: “Je suis reconnaissante pour ma famille.”
What is cranberry in French?
La canneberge. In France many people simply use the English word cranberry, because the fruit is not common there.
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