Message, courriel or texto: choose the channel in French

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated 22 September 2026 · About the library

Ask for an email, send an arrival text and mention an attachment in French. Practise message, courriel, mail, texto and répondre à in three short exchanges.

A2
10 phrases
3 situations
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In short

Un message is the broad word: it may be an email, a text or a voice message. Un courriel, un mail and un e-mail mean an email. For a text message, say un SMS or un texto; for a voice message, say un message vocal.

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn

A traveller with a suitcase sends an arrival text from a plain smartphone outside a French station, blank screen and no written signs. — An arrival prompts je t’envoie un texto. Illustration: Atelier

Name the channel when it matters

French	What it tells you	Example
un message	general message	J’ai reçu ton message.
un courriel / un mail / un e-mail	email	Je vous réponds par courriel.
un SMS / un texto	text message	Envoie-moi un texto.
un message vocal	recorded voice message	J’ai écouté ton message vocal.

All these message nouns are masculine: un message, un courriel, un texto. Courriel is a clear French term, and mail and e-mail are also used. Choose the wording that fits the person or organisation you are writing to. In the exchanges below, the channel is explicit.

What is the difference between message, courriel and texto?

A CV by email

Friend or colleagueVous pouvez m’envoyer votre CV par courriel ?Can you send me your CV by email?

YouOui. À quelle adresse électronique ?Yes. To which email address?

Friend or colleagueÀ l’adresse indiquée sur l’annonce.To the address shown in the advert.

YouD’accord. Je joins aussi ma lettre de motivation.All right. I’m attaching my cover letter too.

An arrival text

YouJe t’envoie un SMS quand j’arrive ?Shall I text you when I arrive?

Friend or colleagueOui, comme ça, je viens te chercher.Yes, then I’ll come and pick you up.

YouD’accord. Je répondrai à ton message avant de partir.All right. I’ll reply to your message before leaving.

A missing attachment

YouJ’ai bien reçu votre courriel, mais il manque la pièce jointe.I received your email, but the attachment is missing.

Friend or colleagueMerci de me l’avoir signalé. Je vous renvoie le document.Thank you for letting me know. I’ll send you the document again.

YouMerci, le fichier est bien arrivé.Thank you, the file has arrived.

What are the parts of an email in French?

Email fields and files

French	Meaning	Useful sentence
l’adresse électronique	email address	Quelle est votre adresse électronique ?
l’objet	subject line	Quel objet dois-je mettre ?
la pièce jointe	attachment	Le CV est en pièce jointe.
la boîte de réception	inbox	Le courriel est dans ma boîte de réception.

Le document est joint à ce courriel. Les photos sont jointes aussi.

The document is attached to this email. The photos are attached too.

Joint agrees with document; jointes agrees with photos.

Je réponds le message.Je réponds au message.
Use répondre à. Before le message, à + le becomes au.
J’ai écouté ton message vocale.J’ai écouté ton message vocal.
Message is masculine, so the adjective is vocal.