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Maladies contagieuses
Essential French vocabulary related to statistics, symptoms, prevention, and treatment of infectious diseases.
Note: I am not a health professional and this is not intended as advice or any sort of official information.
This vocabulary is provided as-is to help French learners who may be impacted by or interested in infectious diseases in general and novel coronavirus / COVID-19 in particular.
| crisis | une crise | |
| disease | une maladie | |
| epicenter | épicentre (masc) | |
| epidemic | une épidémie | |
| health crisis | une crise sanitaire | |
| infection | une infection | |
| outbreak | un accès | |
| pandemic | une pandémie | |
| public health | la santé publique | |
| diagnostic test | un test diagnostic | |
| screening test | un test de dépistage | |
| swab | un prélèvement | |
| test results | le résultat des tests | |
| positive | positif | |
| negative | négatif | |
| inconclusive | non concluant pas conculant peu conclant |
|
| asymptomatic | asymptomatique | |
| carrier | un porteur une porteuse |
|
| confirmed case | un cas confirmé | |
| incubation period | la période d’incubation | |
| isolated case | un cas isolé | |
| patient zero | le patient zéro la patiente zéro |
|
| presumed case | un cas présumé | |
| probable case | un cas probable | |
| serious case | un cas grave | |
| suspected case | un cas suspect | |
| spreading | la contagion la diffusion la propagation |
|
| compromised immune system | un système immunitaire compromis | |
| elderly people | les personnes âgées | |
| immunocompromised | immunodéprimé | |
| pre-existing condition | une maladie préexistante une pathologie antérieure |
|
| underlying condition | une condition sous-jacente | |
| vulnerable people | les personnes fragiles | |
| symptom | un symptôme un indice |
|
| bacteria | la bactérie | |
| body aches | des courbatures (fem) | |
| breathing difficulties | difficultés respiratoires | |
| cough | une toux | |
| fever | une fièvre | |
| flu | la grippe | |
| headache | un mal de tête | |
| infected | infecté contaminé |
|
| respiratory illness | une maladie respiratoire | |
| shortness of breath | essoufflement | |
| sick | malade | |
| virus | le virus | |
| blockade | le barrage | |
| curfew | un couvre-feu | |
| forbidden | interdit | |
| gathering | un rassemblement | |
| gloves | les gants (masc) | |
| hand sanitizer | le désinfectant pour les mains le gel assainissant pour les mains |
|
| health certification | le pass sanitaire | |
| herd immunity | immunité collective | |
| indefinitely | pour une durée indéterminée | |
| isolation | isolement (masc) | |
| lockdown | le confinement total | |
| mask | un masque | |
| panic buying | les achats de précaution | |
| physical contact | le contact physique | |
| pneumonia | la pneumonie | |
| quarantine | la quarantaine | |
| quarantine line | le cordon sanitaire | |
| risk area | une zone à risque | |
| self-isolation | auto-isolement | |
| social distancing | la distanciation sociale | |
| surgical mask | un masque chirurgical | |
| vaccine | un vaccin | |
| critical care | les soins critiques | |
| a death | un décès | |
| death rate | le taux de mortalité | |
| ICU | USI | |
| intensive care | les soins intensifs la réanimation |
|
| recovery | la guérison | |
| treatment | le traitement | |
| ventilator | un respirateur | |
| Verbs | Verbes (click for conjugations) | |
| to affect | toucher | |
| to authorize | autoriser | |
| to avoid | éviter | |
| to be on a ventilator | être en ventilation assistée être ventilé (informal) |
|
| to be sick | être malade | |
| to breathe | respirer | |
| to close | fermer | |
| to close the borders | fermer les frontières | |
| to climb | grimper monter |
|
| to cough | tousser | |
| to die | mourir décéder |
|
| to disinfect | désinfecter | |
| to feel sick | se sentir malade | |
| to flatten the curve | aplatir la courbe | |
| to greet | saluer | |
| to hospitalize | hospitaliser | |
| to infect | infecter | |
| to kiss cheeks | faire la bise | |
| to postpone | reporter décaler |
|
| to protect | protéger | |
| to screen, test | dépister | |
| to shake hands | se serrer la main | |
| to slow down | freiner ralentir |
|
| to sneeze (response: bless you) |
éternuer (à tes souhaits / à vos souhaits) |
|
| to spread | propager disséminer |
|
| to stay home | rester chez soi ne pas se déplacer |
|
| to stock up | s’approvisionner faire ses provisions |
|
| to supply | approvisionner | |
| to threaten | menacer | |
| to vaccinate | vacciner | |
| to wash hands | se laver les mains |
French Quizzes
Get some useful info while testing yourself on French grammar with these fill-in-the-blanks exercises:
Conseils de prévention contre le coronavirus (imperative) Pendant le confinement (passé composé vs imparfait) Recette de gel hydro-alcoolique (imperative)
Note: You must be logged into your Progress with Lawless French account to take these tests. If you don’t have one, sign up – it’s free!
More vocabulary
Related features
- Attestation de déplacement dérogatoire (French document with English translation)
- « Nous sommes en guerre » (Adresse aux Français)
- Free books: Coronavirus explained to kids
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Verb conjugation tables for more than 1,600 French verbs in all the simple and compound tenses and moods.
In English, we say that the vowels are “a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y.” The last couple of words hint at one of the keys to understanding pronunciation: a vowel is not so much a letter as the sound represented by a letter or combination of letters.