Matching game

Québec French vs France French: match the everyday words

Un char or une voiture? Magasiner or faire du shopping? Match ten everyday words from Québec French to their equivalents in France.

In short

Québec French shares its grammar with France but has its own everyday vocabulary: un char (a car, une voiture in France), magasiner (to go shopping), la fin de semaine (the weekend), le déjeuner (breakfast, le petit-déjeuner in France), une blonde (a girlfriend).

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learnRed watch out

Friends share a midday meal at a Montreal café.
In Québec, the midday meal is le dîner. Illustration: Atelier

Match Québec to France

Tap one on the left, then its partner on the right.

Go further

Meal names
MealQuébecFrance
breakfastle déjeunerle petit-déjeuner
lunchle dînerle déjeuner
dinnerle souperle dîner

The meal names are the biggest trap: in Montréal on dîne at noon. Québec also avoids many English words that France uses: le stationnement instead of le parking, la fin de semaine instead of le week-end, courriel instead of email. Both are correct French in their country.

On magasine en fin de semaine ?

Shall we go shopping at the weekend? (Québec)

Mon chum m'attend dans le char.

My boyfriend is waiting for me in the car. (Québec)

À Montréal
  1. Ami québécois

    On se voit pour dîner demain ?

    Shall we meet for dinner tomorrow?

  2. Toi (de France)

    Avec plaisir ! À vingt heures ?

    With pleasure! At eight pm?

  3. Ami québécois

    Ben non, dîner, c'est le midi ici ! Le soir, c'est le souper.

    No, dinner is at noon here! In the evening it's souper.

  • En France : « On soupe à 20 h. »En France : « On dîne à 20 h. »

    Souper is the Québec word.

  • « Bienvenue » (in France, after merci)« De rien » / « Je vous en prie »

    Bienvenue as a reply is Québec usage.

Question 1No account needed
In Québec, le dîner is…

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

lunch. Midday meal in Québec. Check it in the text above.

Question 2No account needed
In France, un char would be understood as…

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

a tank or a float (not a car). In France un char is a tank or parade float.