As you meander through the streets of Louisiana, French words and phrases are carried through the air and interspersed in the conversations of the locals. Eateries tempt you with French-sounding dishes, promising to be seasoned with a unique heritage in addition to familiar spices. Signs on local businesses proudly declare, Ici on parle français (Here, we speak French). It is a realm where cultural roots run deep, and the echoes of the past harmonize with the present.
Home to its own dialect of the French language, Louisiana is a unique US state that boasts membership in the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (International Organization of the Francophones). It is here where Cajun French phrases are most at home.
Dive into the origins of Cajun French, and take a closer look at how it differs from Standard European French. Plus, we have a full list of Cajun French phrases for you to lean on, whether you’re planning a trip to Louisiana or wanting to add some flair to your French lessons. Laissez les bon temps rouler ! (Let the good times roll!) and start learning this French dialect today.
Table of Contents
What is Cajun French?
Cajun French, also known by the more inclusive term Louisiana French, is a dialect spoken almost exclusively in the south of Louisiana. It emerged as a distinct dialect due to the historical French colonization of the region, and with the passage of time, has been influenced by various languages and ethnicities. Most notably, it was influenced by the Acadians (“Cajuns”) who were separated long ago from their northern family in what is now French-speaking Canada.
While Cajun French has maintained a degree of mutual intelligibility that typically allows speakers of Metropolitan or Standard French to comprehend it, the dialect has a unique character, enriched by fingerprints of:
- English
- Spanish
- African languages
- Native American languages
- archaic French words
- other French dialects, such as Haitian Creole
So many languages are woven into this linguistic tapestry, which is part of what makes learning Cajun French so fun!
What does a Cajun French accent sound like?
Speakers and learners of Standard French will notice a few distinguishing characteristics of Cajun French, though the majority of the differences will come from differences in vocabulary and grammar.
You may hear:
- An “r” sound that is more similar to Spanish or Italian coming from the front of the mouth rather than the Standard French “r” from the back of the throat.
- Less emphasis on the final consonant in words such as arbre (tree) or possible (possible).
- Vowels that are pronounced differently than in Standard French, particularly nasal vowel sounds.
It is important to note that all people have an accent that is influenced by the region where they learned to speak the language, their age, or even their level of education. Even between speakers from different cities, subtle differences exist, which is evidence of the linguistic diversity that defines this dialect. The distinguishing features of Cajun French might remind you of the difference between the English spoken in the South of the US as compared to its overseas cousins. Variety truly is the spice of life!
>>Practice your pronunciation to say it like a local with Rosetta Stone’s TruAccent speech recognition engine!
Must-know Cajun French words and phrases
If you want to fit in as you visit Louisiana, try out some of these common Cajun French phrases and vocabulary words.
| Cajun French | English Meaning |
| l’agniappe | a little something extra |
| cher | my dear / darling (term of endearment) |
| nonc | uncle |
| Comment ça s’plume ? | How’s it going? (literally “How’s it plucking?”) |
| C’est tout un sucre. | It’s all good! (literally “It’s all sugar.”) |
| C’est en sirop ! | It’s going really well! (literally “It’s all syrup!”) |
| Tracasse-toi pas. | Don’t worry. |
| Pauve ti bete! | Poor thing! |
| Qui c’est ton nom ? | What’s your name? |
| Quel âge t’as? | How old are you? |
| Qui tu fais pour la vie ? | What do you do for a living? |
| Passe un bon temps. | Have a good time. |
| À r’oir. | Goodbye. |
| un bayou | a slow moving stream, a bayou |
| une pirogue | a Cajun canoe |
| le Zydeco | a Creole dance music, combining traditional Cajun music, R&B, and African blues |
| gris-gris | to put a curse on someone |
| Lache pas la patate ! | Don’t give up! (literally “Don’t let go of the potato!”) |
| Ça c’est bon ! | That’s good! |
| Laissez les bon temps rouler ! | Let the good times roll! |
Cajun French phrases for foods
There’s no better way to experience the Cajun language and culture than by participating in some culinary delights. Try Louisiana gumbo and other traditional Cajun foods!
| Cajun French | English Meaning |
| l’andouille | a spicy sausage often used in Cajun dishes |
| un beignet | a donut, often covered in powdered sugar (and usually lacking a hole) |
| le boudin | Cajun sausage |
| le cassoulet | a french bean stew made with sausage and other meats |
| le couche-couche | a breakfast dish of fried cornmeal topped with milk or syrup |
| le courtbouillon | a rich, spicy tomato soup with fish, onions, and vegetables |
| l’étouffée | a Cajun / Creole seafood stew served over rice |
| le filé | ground sassafras leaves that flavor gumbo |
| la fricassee | a meat stew simmered in thick gravy |
| le gumbo | a thick seafood or game soup often thickened with okra |
| la jambalaya | a rice dish with meat, celery, and green peppers |
| la maque-choux | stewed corn with tomato, peppers, onion, and spices |
| le po’boy | a sandwich made with french bread and stuffed with fried seafood or other filling |
| la sauce piquante | a spicy sauce |
| le tasso | strips of spiced jerky used as flavoring |
Common Cajun French words
By learning just a few Cajun French words, you’ll easily start incorporating them into your conversations.
| Cajun French | Standard European French | English Meaning |
| une pelote | un ballon | a ball |
| une barbue | un poisson-chat | a catfish |
| une galette | un biscuit | a cookie |
| un piastre | un dollar | a dollar |
| une brème | une aubergine | an eggplant |
| une cocodrie | un alligator | an alligator |
| du train | du bruit | noise |
| drette-là / asteur | maintenant / tout de suite | now / right now |
| un soulier | une chaussure | a shoe |
| une tcheu | une queue | a tail (of an animal) |
| garder / guetter | regarder | to look at |
| icitte | ici | here |
| fais do do | s’endormir | to go to sleep |
Where is Cajun French spoken now?
Cajun French is a very localized dialect. Some of the key areas include the Acadiana Region of Louisiana and the cities of Lafayette, Opelousas, and Eunice. While New Orleans is very well-known for its French, it may have more ties to Standard French, as the upper-class population was closely linked to Europe through the port.
Rural areas of Louisiana and areas where older generations have remained are the primary places you will hear Cajun French phrases today. There are also pockets of Cajun French speakers in Texas and throughout the Southern US.
How many people speak Cajun French?
It’s difficult to say with precision how many people speak French or Cajun French in Louisiana. But there are clues from the US Census records, which indicate that around 7% of Louisiana residents speak a language other than English at home, especially in the southern parishes. While that figure isn’t just for French or Cajun French, some portion of it is likely one or both languages given the area’s history.
These figures do not account for degree of fluency, with some speakers managing a conversational level with ease and others knowing only basic Cajun French phrases and a smattering of words that their native-speaking parents would use at home, such as ferme la porte (close the door) or viens manger (come and eat). They would not recognize or use French in contexts outside of home life.
Given these gray areas, rough estimates range from 100,000-300,000 speakers of Cajun French.
What are the differences between Cajun French and Standard French?
It’s encouraging to know that the vast majority of grammatical structures and common French words would be easily understood by fluent speakers of other French dialects. Learners will find a lot of similarity with what they have studied in Standard French! Still, several differences do exist that make Cajun French phrases and vocabulary unique.
Influence of other languages and archaic French
Any dialect of a language today will have evolved from its former version by borrowing words from other languages, inventing words for new concepts, and including region-specific vocabulary.
Below, we’ve noted several commonly used Cajun French words with a wide variety of origins.
| Cajun French | Origin | English Meaning |
| un chaoui | Choctaw | raccoon |
| une choupique | Choctaw | a bowfin (fish) |
| une pacane | Algonquin (via Mobilian) | a pecan |
| un tchoc | possibly Atakapa | a blackbird |
| driver | English | to drive |
| freezer | English | to freeze |
| un truck | English | a truck |
| un char | antiquated French | a car |
| une chevrette | antiquated French | a shrimp |
| une canique | Spanish | a marble |
| platicar | Spanish | to chat |
| un ouaouaron | possibly Wyandot | a bullfrog |
Cajun French breaks all the rules
This dialect adapted to the proximity of other languages and dialects and evolved apart from the written standardization of the Académie Française, which codified grammar rules and use of the language. Lacking this formality, Cajun French is prone to more variation. For example:
- Qui (who) can be used in place of quoi (what).
- Some speakers will fluctuate between multiple pronouns that can mean “they.”
- De le or de les is often used in a spoken sentence, ignoring the required Standard French contractions du or des.
- Je changes to j’ in front of consonants as well as vowels.
- Tu es contracts to t’es and tu as contracts to t’as.
Members of younger generations don’t hear French as often as the older generations did in Louisiana, so they may have a limited ability to express themselves in this language. This may explain why errors aren’t just tolerated in Cajun French but accepted into the everyday vernacular. On the other hand, it’s possible that students are learning more standardized French in school or online—variations like those above may simply be learned from conversing with more confident speakers.
Forming questions in Cajun French
The use of different interrogatives can vary. Forming yes / no questions in spoken Cajun French is quite often a statement inflected to sound like a question at the end. There are many regional variants of question words.
| Cajun French | Metropolitan French | English Meaning |
| áyoù, etyoù, éyoù | où | where |
| quoi faire | pourquoi | why |
| qui ce qui / qui ce qui | qui | who |
| ce que | est-ce que | (used in forming questions, often, not always) |
| é-quand | quand | when |
Subject pronouns differ in Cajun French
The subject pronouns differ in Cajun French, though there is a lot of variability in how speakers will employ them.
| Cajun French Subject Pronoun | Use / Part of Speech | English Meaning |
| je / j’ | 1st person singular | I |
| tu / t’ | 2nd person singular, informal | you |
| vous | 2nd person singular, formal | you |
| il / i’ / y | 3rd person singular | he |
| elle / e’ / alle / a’ | 3rd person singular | she |
| ça | 3rd person singular | it |
| on | 1st person plural | we |
| nous | 1st person plural (formal) | we |
| vous-autres | 2nd person plural | you all |
| ils / eux-autres / ça / eusse | 3rd person plural | they |
Cajun French verb conjugation is simpler
Conjugation is different but simpler in Cajun French since on (we) is used in place of nous, and both on and vous forms use the same conjugations as il / elle.
| Manger (to eat) | Être (to be) | Avoir (to have) | Aller (to go) | |
| Je / j’ I | mange | sus | ai | vas |
| Tu / t’ You, informal | manges | es | as | vas |
| Il, Elle He, She | mange | est | a | va |
| On We | mange | est | a | va |
| Vous-autres You, formal | mange | est | a | va |
| Ils, Elles They | mangent / mangeont | sont | ont | vont |
There’s no subjunctive mood in informal Cajun French (feel free to breathe a sigh of relief), and speakers often employ more basic structures, such as venir de + infinitive and aller + infinitive to express past and future French verb tenses.
To use the “-ing” form to tell what is currently happening, Cajun French uses être + après + infinitive.
- J’sus après étudier. = I am studying.
- Alle est après manger. = She is eating.
Standard French would use être en train de to express this timeframe, but in Cajun French, this means, “to be about to do something,” much like the expression “fixing to” do something in English.
- T’es en train de commencer? = You are about to start.
Explore French in every region with Rosetta Stone
Whether you’re planning a trip or connecting with Cajun culture online, learning about the French in Louisiana will enrich your language learning experience. Just a bit of awareness of regional language differences helps us stay curious and ask questions to avoid too much confusion.
With Rosetta Stone, you can learn French in a fun, immersive environment—no textbooks required. Whether you’re starting from the basics or ready to conquer l’imparfait, Rosetta Stone has the tools you need to master grammar, vocabulary, and more in real-life contexts, so you can be conversation ready in no time.
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