A couple of weeks after ‘cornichon‘, let’s have a look at ‘chou’, another vegetable-themed word. 

Word of the Week:

Chou. 

How to pronounce it:

Shoo. 

What it means in English:

While ‘chou’ commonly translates into English as ‘cabbage’, it can also mean ‘cute’ or it can be used as a term of endearment,  like ‘sweetheart’ or ‘darling’ (as well as being a slang word for ‘head’, something like ‘loaf’ or ‘noggin’ in English). 

Incidentally, it’s also given its name to a type of pastry – choux pastry – which is used to make profiteroles and éclairs, and can often be found reducing contestants to tears on the Great British Bake Off. 

Where does it come from?

Related to the Latin word ‘caulis’, the word ‘chou’ started to be used in French for ‘cabbage’ around the twelfth century. 

It was only at the beginning of the nineteenth century that ‘chou’ was used as a term of endearment. Have a look here for more information in French.  

How to use it in a sentence:

1. ‘Regarde le chat, il est trop chou!’

2. ‘Je t’aime, mon chou!’ 

English translation:

1. ‘Look at the cat, it’s really sweet!’ 

2. ‘I love you, darling/sweetie/[insert pet name of your choice]!’

Similar words:

Mignon = Sweet/cute

Adorable = Adorable/cute

How about you? What are your favourite French words? 

And have a look here if you’re interested in reading more French language posts!