Acronyms and Initialisms

French acronyms and initialisms
Acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations created by stringing together the first initial of each word in a phrase. Learning some common French acronyms and initialisms can help you make sense of news, political discussions, administration, and more.

   

Aphereses

French aphereses
A few dozen French words have a shortened form called an apheresis or aphaeresis, which is created by dropping one or more syllables at the beginning of the word. Some of these are further modified by adding an extra sound to the end.

   

Apocopes

French apocopes
Many French nouns and adjectives have shortened forms called apocopes, which are created by dropping one or more syllables at the end of the word. Some of these are further modified by adding o to the end.

   

BCBG

BCBG
Bring out your inner chic with the French abbreviation BCBG.

   

   

   

   

Fractions

French fractions
In both French and English, there's a lot of overlap between fractions and ordinals: the vast majority of these two types of numbers share the same word. In English, they are identical from "third" on up, while in French they're the same starting with cinquième.