Halloween

French Halloween vocabulary
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Spooky French Vocabulary

Halloween is not a French holiday, though each passing year sees a few more bits and pieces of it imported to France.

Nevertheless, learning the French translations for Halloween vocabulary can be fun, especially for younger students. ‘Appy ‘Alloween!  🙂

 Is it le Halloween or l’Halloween? The "H" is silent either way, and I see / hear it both ways. I guess because it’s a foreign word, the French haven’t come to a consensus on whether the H should be aspiré or muet.

Trick or treat bag October octobre  
October 31 le 31 octobre  
fall, autumn automne  
All Saints’ Day la Toussaint  
  November 1st le 1er novembre  
      Black cat
  costume un déguisement
  bat une chauve-souris
  black cat un chat noir
  devil un diable  
  ghost un fantôme  
  goblin un lutin  
Skeleton Grim Reaper la Faucheuse  
mask un masque  
monster un monstre  
mummy une momie  
  scarecrow un épouvantail  
  skeleton un squelette  
  spider une araignée Witch's hat
  vampire un vampire
  werewolf un loup-garou
  witch une sorcière
  witch’s hat un chapeau de sorcière, un chapeau pointu
  zombie un zombie  
       
Jack o'lantern Halloween Decorations Décorations de Halloween
broom un balai  
candle une bougie  
cemetery un cimetière  
  full moon une pleine lune  
  haunted house une maison hantée Spider web
  horror movie un film d’horreur
  jack-o’-lantern une citrouille-lanterne
  leaf une feuille
  pumpkin une citrouille, un potiron
  skull un crâne  
  spider web une toile d’araignée  
Bat tombstone une tombe, une pierre tombale  
     
Halloween Verbs Verbes pour Halloween
to ask for demander  
  to be afraid (of) avoir peur (de)  
  to carve a pumpkin sculpter une citrouille/un potiron
  to dress up as ___ se déguiser en ___ Ghost
  to give donner
  to haunt hanter
  to knock on the door frapper à la porte
Witch to play a trick (on someone) jouer un tour (à qqun)  
to ring the doorbell sonner à la porte  
to scare, frighten (someone) faire peur (à qqun)  
to yell crier  

 Because it’s not a well-established French activity, there’s no single translation for the exclamatory "Trick or treat!" The most common ones are Friandises ou bêtises ! and Des bonbons ou un sort !, but there are numerous other possibilities.

French Halloween quiz More French for Halloween

Dictée: Le soir d’Halloween*

Fill-in-the-blanks exercises*

* Note: You must be logged into your Progress with Lawless French account to do these exercises. If you don’t have one, sign up – it’s free!

Halloween-themed grammar quizzes

French listening comprehension

Listening practice

French lesson plans French lesson plans

 Related lessons

More from LKL

French vocabulary for other holidays

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French Halloween vocabulary

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2 Responses

  1. Savannah 20 October 2014 / 20:21

    I wonder if Halloween is celebrated in Quebec (since it’s celebrated in English Canada)? And if so, if they have a standard translation for “Trick or Treat!”?

    • Claudia 22 October 2014 / 12:05

      I’ve lived in Montreal for a little more than a year, and yes, Halloween is celebrated in Quebec! Kids say Trick or Treat, or « trique ou traite » here. There are a lot of Anglicisms throughout the province, as well as the rich (and tricky!) québécois dialect, but Quebecers are extremely proud of their francophone heritage and culture.

      Here is a link that will give you more information, plus give you a chance to practice your French 😉

      http://grandquebec.com/misteres-du-quebec/halloween/

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