Canadian French→English

Translate Canadian French to English the way locals mean it.

Canadian French often uses familiar softeners, Québec idioms, and question forms that a textbook reader could mistake for literal statements.

Going the other way? English to Canadian French

474 local dialects

AIRTranslate on iPhone choosing between French varieties

What locals actually say

Ben voyons donc, tu me niaises-tu?

Come on, are you kidding me?

Ben voyons donc signals disbelief, while niaiser means to kid or tease and the final -tu is an emphatic question marker, not the pronoun you.

J'arrive dans pas long.

I'll be there soon.

Dans pas long is a Québec colloquial expression meaning soon, not literally in not long.

On se reprend en fin de semaine?

Can we try again this weekend?

Se reprendre often means reschedule or give something another try, while fin de semaine is the usual Canadian French term for weekend.

Ça coûte combien? J'ai juste un vingt sur moi.

How much is it? I only have a twenty on me.

Un vingt is Québec colloquial shorthand for a twenty-dollar bill, signaling Canadian French money vocabulary.

Tu prends la 20 jusqu'à la sortie pour Saint-Hyacinthe, après ça tu tournes à droite.

Take Highway 20 to the Saint-Hyacinthe exit, then turn right.

La 20 is the Québec way of referring to Autoroute 20, while après ça is a common colloquial connector in Québec French.

On va se prendre une poutine au casse-croûte?

Want to grab some poutine at the snack bar?

Casse-croûte is a Québec term for a casual snack bar or roadside diner, and se prendre is a familiar Québec construction for getting or having something.

Ma blonde vient souper chez nous ce soir.

My girlfriend is coming over for dinner tonight.

Blonde means girlfriend in informal Canadian French, and souper is the Québec term for the evening meal.

Je vais t'envoyer ça par courriel avant la fin de la journée.

I'll email that to you before the end of the day.

Courriel is the standard Québec French word for email, distinguishing Canadian usage from the France-French term e-mail.

Notes like these come with every AIRTranslate translation, so you learn why locals phrase it that way as you go.

How Canadian French differs

Québec French. Tu widely used, vous formal; courriel, magasiner, fin de semaine, char (informal for car), blonde/chum for girlfriend/boyfriend informally, présentement; avoid France-only slang (mec → gars). Anglicisms differ from France — dépanneur, c'est correct.

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Every one of 474 dialects, with voice, camera, a keyboard for any app, and offline packs.

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Localization Notes explaining why locals say it that way