New Year’s Vocabulary

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New French Vocabulary

New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are holidays in much of the world – here’s the French vocabulary you need to celebrate on December 31 and January 1st.

December 31		le 31 décembre
New Year’s Eve		la Saint-Sylvestre*
New Year’s Eve party/feast		le Réveillon de Saint-Sylvestre
midnight		minuit
January 1st		le premier janvier
New Year’s Day		le jour de l’An, le Nouvel An
New Year’s resolution		une bonne résolution
New Year’s gifts		des étrennes
fireworks		les feux d’artifice
mistletoe		le gui
champagne		le champagne
hangover		la gueule de bois
truffles		les truffes
Happy New Year!		Bonne Année ! Bonne année et bonne santé
Happy holidays!		Joyeuses fêtes !
Season’s greetings!		Meilleurs vœux !
to celebrate		fêter, célébrer
to drink		boire
to eat		manger
to get drunk		se soûler
to kiss		faire la bise
to propose a toast		porter un toast

*Though there’s no association between New Year’s Eve and Saint Sylvestre, who was Pope from 314 to 335 A.D., his name is given to the celebration because December 31 is his feast day. And it’s called la Saint-Sylvestre because it’s short for la fête de Saint-Sylvestre.

 Vocabulary Quiz

Think you’ve got it? Test yourself French vocabulary for the new year with this fill-in-the-blanks exercise: Fête du Nouvel An

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

 French listening practice

• L’Avent
• Nouvel An en France
• La Saint-Sylvestre et le jour de l’An

 Related features

• French-themed New Year’s resolutions
• À la vôtre !
• Dates
• Drinks
• Food

More from LKL

• Italian New Year’s vocabulary
• Spanish New Year’s vocabulary
• Vegetarian New Year’s recipes

French vocabulary for other holidays

• Christmas
• Hanukkah
• Kwanzaa
• Thanksgiving
• Valentine’s Day
• Mardi Gras
   

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