This French word can help you avoid coming off as inappropriate at a formal event.
Why do I need to know familier?
Because this word has another meaning in French that might help you navigate a fancy dinner party or work event.
What does it mean?
Familier – roughly pronounced fah-me-lee-ay – is an adjective with a couple of meanings in French, but the most common one is ‘informal’.
If your French friend teaches you a new word or phrase and describes it as familier, then they are telling you it is casual or informal. For example, langage familier translates as ‘colloquial language’.
Familier does not necessarily mean the word is offensive, but you probably want to avoid using this type of language in formal settings, as it could be seen as unprofessional or inappropriate.
If you look up a word in the dictionary, you might see an italicised familier, argot or populaire next to it. These three words all broadly refer to casual language. Argot means ‘slang’, while populaire is more class-specific, referring to language used by the working class.
The dictionary ought to indicate if a word is pejorative or vulgar (péjoratif, vulgaire). In spoken language, your French friends might warn you if the word or phrase is a gros mot (swear word).
As for the English word ‘familiar’, used to describe something recognisable or well-known, in French you could use the word familier. Technically, they do carry the same meaning, and you need context clues to differentiate from the other definition of familier.
For example – take the phrase être familier avec les femmes, this can mean ‘to be familiar with/ know women’, but it can also mean ‘to be disrespectful or impolite toward women’.
To avoid misunderstandings, you can also opt for the verb connaitre (to know).
For example, if you want to say “I saw some familiar faces at the museum”, you could translate this as J’ai vu quelques visages connus au musée.
Similarly, if you want to say “I am familiar with him. We met twice”, you would translate as Je le connais. Nous nous sommes rencontrés deux fois.
And to make matters more confusing: familier has a third meaning in French to describe birds or animals that live in close proximity to humans. It is not quite the same as ‘domesticated’ (domestique), but these animals would not be considered sauvage (wild).
Use it like this
J’éviterais d’utiliser le mot « gueule » dans un contexte formel. Il est trop familier. – I would avoid using the word gueule [informal word for face or mouth] in formal settings. It’s too informal.
J’ai beaucoup appris le français en regardant la télévision, mais malheureusement, il s’agissait principalement d’un langage familier. – I learned a lot of French by watching television, but unfortunately, it was mostly colloquial language.
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