You know French, at least a few words of it. Before you start to protest that fact, it should be noted that nearly thirty percent of the words that we commonly use are French in nature. Those common words and phrases which are simply French words to English, often with very little change in pronunciation and no change in spelling at all, are so ingrained in our lexicon, we forget that they had a different origination.

Of that nearly thirty percent of French words to English usage, there are some that are used so often that we don’t even stop to think about them at all. Then there are those that we could possibly learn to love in ways that we had not already thought of. Take for instance, the French word, “brioche”. Now, we all know that as a sweet and tasty pastry treat made from a yeasty dough, but there are other ways to use it as well. Think of how often it has been depicted: French words to English as romantic terms of endearment. You could whisper to your loved one, that they are your delicious little brioche. It sounds romantic. It sounds sweet. It sounds downright delicious.

Take that same French word, and you can use it to be less harsh to yourself as well. While brioche does indeed mean a pastry, it is often used to poke gentle fun at someone who has a bit of a doughy belly, much like we use the term “muffin top”. be a little kinder to yourself and use brioche instead. For some reason, your Buddha belly might be easier to take and deal with if you use the French words to English instead.

What would your morning be like without a quick trip for coffee? And while most of us go wherever is most conveniently located, there are many of us who go for our liquid sanity at the local café. That little, four letter word, the salvation of many a very hectic and crazy morning, is one of the more common of the French words to English that we all take kind of for granted.

You may remember when the attempt was made to eliminate the word “French” from some common English terms, most notably “French fries”. There were those who wanted to call them “Freedom Fries” instead, which is kind of funny because the French don’t call their version of fried potatoes “French fries” anyway.

And yes, if you had gone to the local fast food place and ordered the pomme frites during that time you might have had a problem, it is not like the other French words were in any danger. No one was demanding that we call our police by another name... no one had a fit if you spoke of making a collage or if you had to use force for anything. They probably didn’t pat an eye if you ordered your all-American apple pie, a la mode either. They are all very common French words to English, but we probably wouldn’t notice or remember unless it was pointed out!