Wolters World

Honest Travel Advice

Menu
  • Destinations
  • Don’ts of Traveling
  • Travel Tips
  • Shop
  • About
  • Work with Us
Menu

A Few Ways That France & French Speaking Canada Are Different

Posted on August 23, 2018May 9, 2019 by admin

Quebec vs France: Differences in French Vocabulary

 

Greetings from Quebec City in Quebec, Canada. Today we’re sharing some of the differences between French Canadian vs French French. We’ll take a look at the main differences and similarities between the French spoken in the two countries. In Quebec, the people and culture do feel more European than North American, even the architecture feels European, but there are still some big differences between the two.

Canadian French vs French in France

 

There is a different accent in the French spoken in France vs the French spoken in Quebec. It’s pretty similar to how British English varies from American English. Written French is the same in both places, so if you learned French in school, you’ll be able to read French in France and French in Quebec. Even if you speak Spanish, Portuguese or Italian, you’ll be able to work out some words. Both places also have many English tourists, so you can often get by with only English.

 

To French residents, Canadian French sounds very old to them. That’s because the French spoken in Quebec comes from a dialect in the Northwest of France from 300 years ago, so it has evolved independently of the language in France. When you consider the French spoken in France, they have many dialects and accents as well, from Paris to more far-flung regions of France, just how some Americans have a southern accent while others have a northern accent.

 

If you have trouble understanding French in the south of France, or in Quebec, you can always ask them to speak a little more “Parisian” and they will usually oblige.

 

French Vocabulary

 

In addition to accents, there are also a few French vocabulary differences between Quebec and France. In some instances, a few word might mean one thing in France but another thing entirely in Quebec.

 

French Grammar

 

There are also some difference in grammar between Candian French and French in Franc. French Canadians shorten or abbreviate a lot more words than the French do. You see this a lot in the article, for example instead of le they might just use l’ but in general, you can get by with basic French in both areas.

Other Differences between Quebec and France

 

Another difference between Quebec and France that you will notice is the food. When it comes to food, both Quebec and France have amazing food! Whether you prefer escargot and frog legs, or poutine and duck, you will find excellent food in France and in Quebec.

 

Check out some of our other videos about France and Quebec!

  • Five Things You’ll Love and Hate About France
  • Five Things You’ll Love and Hate About Quebec
  • Top Ten Places in Paris

 

 

 

Tweets by @woltersworld

Hey There Fellow Travelers

If you want HONEST Travel Advice from travelers who have been there, this is the Travel site for you. We focus on giving you the best & the worst parts of traveling, the cultural differences, the do's and don'ts and so much more. Please join us on our journey to help other travelers. Happy Travels!

Wolters World is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program that is set up to help us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

©2025 Wolters World
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT