Passover

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Celebratory French Vocabulary

The Jewish festival of Passover lasts for seven or eight days sometime in March or April. The dates vary because this holiday is not based on the Gregorian calendar, aka solar calendar. Passover begins on the 15th of Nisan, the first month in the Hebrew calendar.

In 2020, Passover began on 8 April; in 2021, it will begin on 27 March. Here’s some French vocabulary to help you celebrate this Jewish celebration of freedom.*

Passover		la Pâque
Easter		le Pâques, les Pâques (f)
spring		le printemps

exodus		l’exode
freedom		la liberté
Messiah		le Messie
prayer		la prière
prophet		le prophète
rabbi		le rabbin
slavery		l’esclavage, la servitude
story		une histoire
yarmulke		la kippa

bitter herbs		les herbes amères
brisket		la poitrine de bœuf
carrot		une carotte
charoset		le charoset (une pâte sucrée qui symbolise le mortier)
Gefilte fish		une boulette de poisson
grape juice		le jus de raisin
horseradish		le raifort
kosher		casher, kasher
lettuce		la laitue, la salade
matzoh ball		une boulette de pain azyme
nuts		les fruits secs
orange		une orange
parsley		le persil
potato		une pomme de terre
prune		un pruneau
roast chicken		le poulet rôti
roasted egg		un œuf rôti
shankbone		un os du jarret d’agneau
spices		les épices
sweet potato		une patate douce
unleavened bread		le pain azyme le pain sans levain
wine		le vin

to bless		bénir
to eat		manger
to pray		prier
to symbolize		symboliser
to tell (a story)		raconter (une histoire)

* I am not Jewish, so I’ve collected this information from various resources. If there are any mistakes or major omissions, please let me know and I’ll be happy to fix them.