As you meander through the streets, French words and phrases are carried through the air, interspersed in the conversation 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. Where might you be?
Louisiana. Home to its own dialect of the French language, it is an area of the United States that boasts membership in the International Organization of La Francophonie (French-speaking parts of the world). It is here where Cajun French is most at home.
In this post, we’ll 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 phrases for you to lean on, whether you’re planning a trip to Louisiana or wanting to add some flair to your French knowledge.
If you’re ready to take your French a step further, Rosetta Stone has everything you need to get conversation-ready in no time. Our Dynamic Immersion method will have you practicing your French in natural settings so you can pick up on everything that Louisiana’s French-speaking culture has to offer. Laissez les bon temps rouler! (Let the good times roll!) and start your first lesson today.
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, notably the Acadians (“Cajuns”) who were long ago separated 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, and
- 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!
Where is Cajun French spoken now?
Cajun French is a very localized dialect. Some of the key areas include the Acadiana Region of Louisiana, including the cities of Lafayette, Opuelousas, and Eunice. While New Orleans is very well-known for its French as well, 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 today. There are pockets of Cajun French speakers in Texas and throughout the Southern United States, but signs point to the decline of the dialect in those areas in recent decades.
How many people speak Cajun French?
It’s difficult to say with precision, but there are clues from the U.S. Census records, which indicate that around seven percent of Louisiana residents speak French at home, concentrated in the southern parishes. This figure is complicated, as there’s a spectrum of people that speak a more Standard French, a more Creole French, and a more Cajun French, and crossover is common. Whether a speaker falls more into one category or another will depend on which communities they regularly interact with.
These figures do not account for degree of fluency, with some speakers managing a conversational level with ease, and others knowing only basic 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. Organizations such as CODOFIL, le Conseil pour le développement du français en Louisiane (Council for the Development of French in Louisiana) are hoping to revitalize this important dialect by offering bourses (scholarships), networks of events and opportunities to practice, such as the Table Français (French Table), and incentives to teach the French language.
According to CODOFIL, approximately 100,000 students in Louisiana currently study French, and there are currently 26 French immersion schools, breaking the decades-long status quo in which English was the required language of primary instruction in schools.
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 not from pronunciation, but 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 United States as compared to its overseas cousins. Variety truly is the spice of life!
>>Practice your pronunciation to say it like a local! TruAccent can help!
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 to 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 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 |
Breaking 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 are 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, and
- tu es contracts to t’es and tu as contracts to t’as.
Members of the younger generation don’t hear French as often as the older generation did, so they may have a limited ability to express themselves. 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
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
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 period plural | they |
Verb forms
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.
Other 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.
Must-know Cajun French words and phrases
Check out this video for a head start on enriching your vocabulary with Cajun French phrases and to hear them pronounced like a local!
Cajun words and phrases
| 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 (lit: How’s it plucking?) |
| C’est tout un sucre. | It’s all good! (lit: It’s all sugar.) |
| C’est en sirop! | It’s going really well! (lit: 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! (Lit: Don’t let go of the potato!) |
| Ça c’est bon! | That’s good! |
| Laissez les bon temps rouler! | Let the good times roll! |
Cuisine
There’s no better way to experience the Cajun language and culture than by participating in some culinary delights. Try gumbo and beyond!
| 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 | breakfast dish of fried cornmeal topped with milk or syrup |
| le courtbouillon | rich, spicy tomato soup with fish, onions, and vegetables |
| l’étouffée | Cajun/Creole seafood stew served over rice |
| le filé | ground sassafras leaves that flavor gumbo |
| la fricassee | 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 | 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 |
Other common vocabulary
| 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 |
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.
Written by Jamie Edwards
Jamie is a learner and teacher of Spanish and French. When she’s not learning new words, you’ll find her on the soccer sidelines, ski slopes, and track and field bleachers enjoying the four seasons of Western New York.
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