French Vocabulary: Jewelry and Accessories

A great beginner's lesson in French, the words used for jewelry and accessories are easy to master. You can even practice every time you put on a necklace or see a piece of jewelry on the people around you.

This French vocabulary lesson is very simple and if you practice the words daily, you should have no trouble committing them to memory. By the end of this lesson, you will learn the basic French words for common pieces of jewelry (bijoux) and accessories (accessoires) for both men and women.

You can also take comfort in the fact that many pieces of jewelry are almost identical in French and English. This is due to France's influence over the fashion industry and the fact that English likes to 'borrow' French words and phrases. This means that you already know a few of these words and all you need to do is add a French accent.

Note: Many of the words below are linked to .wav files. Simply click on the link to listen to the pronunciation.

Types of Rings

Rings are a popular piece of jewelry and the French words are very easy. Once you learn that une bague means ring, you will often just add a modifier to further define it. The exception is the wedding ring (une alliance), but that's easy enough to remember. Just think of marriage as an 'alliance' (which it is).

• Ring - une bague
• Engagement ring - une bague de fiançailles
• Friendship ring - une bague d'amitié
• Diamond ring - une bague de diamant
• Wedding ring - une alliance

Earrings and Necklaces

You will often wear a pair of earrings so it is useful to know the French for both the singular and the plural. They are very similar and a perfect example of how that transition is often made.

• Earring - une boucle d'oreille 
• Earrings - des boucles d'oreilles

The French word for a pendant is very similar to English and necklace is easy if you associate it with a collar.

• Necklace - un collier
• Pendant - un pendentif

Wrist Jewelry

Bracelet is one of the French words that migrated to the English language, so cross that one off your list right now! To describe a charm bracelet, the word for charm (breloques) is added to the end.

• Bracelet - un bracelet
• Charm Bracelet - un bracelet à breloques

A watch (une montre) is another piece of jewelry that you will want to know. By adding a descriptive word to the end, you can speak about specific types of watches.

• Pocket watch - une montre de poche
• Diver watch - une montre de plongée
• Military watch - une montre de miltaire
• Lady's watch - une montre dame

Men's Jewelry and Accessories

Men enjoy a few specific accessories and these should be easy to memorize. 

• Cufflink - un bouton de manchette 
• Pair of cufflinks - un paire de boutons de manchette
• Handkerchief - un mouchoir
• Tie Clip - un fixe-cravate (cravate means neck tie)

Clothing Accessories and Jewelry

Even our clothes need a piece of jewelry or an accessory and these three words are easy additions to your French vocabulary.

• Brooch - une broche
• Pin - une épingle
• Belt - une ceinture

Hair and Head Accessories

The English and French words for barrette are the same and ribbon is similar as well, so all you really have to memorize in these accessories is the French word for hat.

• Barrette - une barrette 
• Hat - un chapeau
• Ribbon - un ruban

Eyeglasses

When you are speaking of glasses (des lunettes), you can add a descriptive word to the end to further define a style of glasses.

• Sunglasses - des lunettes de soleil (f) 
• Reading glasses - des lunettes pour lire (f)

Cold Weather Accessories

When the temperature drops, we get an entirely new set of accessories. Within this entire lesson, this list of words may be the most difficult to memorize, but keep trying and you'll get it.

• Scarf - un foulard
• Muffler - un cache-nez
• Shawl - un châle
• Gloves - des gants(m) 
• Mittens - des moufles(f) 
• Umbrella - un parapluie

Bags and Totes

The common factor in these totes is the word sac (bag). The descriptive words, à main (by hand) and à dos (by back or for the back) make perfect sense when the phrase comes together.

• Purse - un sac à main
• Backpack - un sac à dos

You may have already learned the porte means door, but the porte found in these nouns refers to the verb porter (to carry).

• Wallet - un portefeuille
• Briefcase - un porte-documents