Honey, sweetie, darling, sweetheart are all terms of endearment that ring sweet on anyone’s ears in English. French speakers have their own terms of endearment, too. You might hear some of them in friendly and intimate conversations and wonder what they mean. For example, you might hear the words mon chou, mon amour, ma chérie, ma puce, mon cœur. They all mean something sweet to be sure, but what are their equivalents in English? Let’s find out!

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In our series Mère & Fille, you are likely to come across a few of the pet names mentioned above. Isabelle likes to show affection toward her daughter using one of her favorite expressions, mon cœur ("sweetheart," literally “my heart"):

Tu perds ton temps, mon cœur.

You're wasting your time, sweetheart.

Caption 10, Mère & Fille Plan B

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In a different mother-daughter series, Elisa’s mom calls her daughter ma petite chérie, which can also translate as “sweetheart” ("my little sweetheart"): 

Salut ma petite chérie. -Salut maman.

Hello my little sweetheart. -Hi Mom.

Caption 1, Elisa et sa maman Comment vas-tu?

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Most of the time, though, ma chérie means “my darling," which is what Isabelle calls her daughter Barbara frequently:

Alors là ma chérie

So then, my darling

Caption 36, Mère & Fille Danse pas si classique

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In another Mère & Fille episode, Barbara goes over the top and calls her mother mon chéri d’amour (my darling love) in hopes that she will allow her to get her hair dyed:

Ah chérie. -Ça va mon chéri d'amour que j'aime ?

Ah, darling. -How is my darling love that I love?

Caption 24, Mère & Fille Tout en couleur

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Note how Isabelle uses the feminine chérie to refer to her daughter, while Barbara uses the masculine mon chéri to agree with the masculine amour. 

Similar to chéri/chérie is cher/chère (dear). In the following video, we have a conversation between two scientists where one addresses the other as mon cher (my dear friend). Since it is strictly a work friendship, “my dear friend” sounds more appropriate than “my dear":

Vous vous rendez compte, mon cher, qu'ils se trouvent des savants pour prétendre que la Terre n'est pas le centre de l'univers !

You realize, my dear friend, that there are scientists claiming that the earth is not the center of the universe!

Captions 22-23, Il était une fois: Les découvreurs 9. Galilée - Part 4

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In more casual circumstances between good friends, you might come across this cute expression, mon chou, which does not have a direct translation, unless you want to call your friend “my cabbage” or “my cream puff” (referring to un chou à la crème). In the comedy series Extr@, this tight group of friends use cute pet names frequently but in different ways. In this episode, Sacha introduces some bad news to Sam (who lost his lottery ticket), so she calls him mon chou to soften the blow:

Sam, mon chou. Tu as un ticket, mais tu n'as pas le ticket...

Sam, my dear. You have a ticket, but you don't have the ticket...

Captions 25-27, Extr@ Ep. 6 - Le jour du loto - Part 5

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On the other hand, Sacha, who is in love with Nico, uses mon chou in a more affectionate way, which is reflected in the translation “my darling”:

Oh, Nico, mon chou

Oh, Nico, my darling

Caption 32, Extr@ Ep. 7 - La jumelle - Part 5

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And what affectionate term does Nico use? He calls Sacha ma biche (literally, "my doe"), but in a sarcastic way, as he is annoyed with her:

Ma biche, qu'est-ce que tu fais cet après-midi ?

My doe [my darling], what are you doing this afternoon?

Captions 44-45, Extr@ Ep. 1 - L'arrivée de Sam - Part 2

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As for Annie, who has a soft spot for Sam, she likes to call him chouchou (sweetie pie). This is a cute colloquial term of endearment that is only used in very casual intimate settings or around children. In this video, it’s also used for humorous effect: 

Chouchou.

Sweetie pie.

Caption 2, Extr@ Ep. 11 - Les vacances - Part 2

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Un chouchou (someone’s pet or favorite), however, is not always a complimentary term. In fact, quite the opposite. It refers to someone getting preferential treatment, often eliciting some jealousy on the part of the speaker. In the following video, the two tigers, who happen to be identical twins, don’t see eye to eye:

Ce voyou, cet infâme chouchou de maman

This rogue, this infamous mama's pet

Caption 12, Les zooriginaux 6. Tiger Minor - Part 1

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There's also the similar word choupinou, which is another way of saying “cute” or "too cute" in very casual language. In the following video, Barbara uses that term to express her admiration:

C'est choupinou ça !

That's too cute!

Caption 50, Mère & Fille Fête des mères

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When combined with a possessive adjective, mon choupinou means “my darling” or “my sweetie.” We can easily imagine Isabelle calling her daughter Barbara mon choupinou (sweetie):

Barbara, mon choupinou, viens ici !

Barbara, sweetie, come here!

Mon choupinou is reserved mainly for children. For adult romantic relationships, you will often hear the phrase mon amour (my love). In Serge Gainsbourg’s romantic song "La Javanaise," presented by Nelly, the term mon amour comes up several times: 

J'avoue, j'en ai bavé, pas vous, mon amour

I confess, I had a hard time, didn't you, my love

Caption 75, Français avec Nelly 12 Songs to Improve Your French - Part 2

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Another romantic term is ma belle ("my beautiful" or "gorgeous"):

Près de moi, ma belle, tu viendras

Near me, my beautiful, you will come

Caption 16, Zaz Belle

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In another era, a man would call his beloved sa tendre (his sweetheart), a term which is rather old-fashioned today. In one of her videos, Patricia mentions this quaint word that hearkens back to the days of chivalry:

Il souhaitait épouser sa tendre.

He wanted to marry his sweetheart.

Caption 83, Le saviez-vous? Le dernier duel à l'épée pour l'honneur en France

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You're more likely to hear a more modern expression that applies to all genders: bien-aimé/bien-aimée (beloved). In her video on phrases expressing romantic love, Nelly mentions the terms votre bien-aimé and votre chéri (your darling) in her list of examples:

Je vais vous donner quelques phrases pour déclarer votre amour à votre bien-aimé, votre chéri.

I'm going to give you a few phrases to declare your love to your beloved, your darling.

Captions 41-43, Français avec Nelly Les expressions de l'amour

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There you have it! You now have many formal, casual, and endearing terms at your disposal to express love and affection in various settings. Look out for examples in our Yabla videos to guide you as to which expression is most appropriate for the circumstance, so you will know not to call your boss mon choupinou! For more endearing terms, click here. Thank you for reading!

In our previous lesson, we learned that the indefinite pronoun on is quite versatile and easy to use, as it always takes a verb in the third person singular regardless of whether on means “one," "we," "you," "they," or "people." What is not so simple, however, is how we should apply agreements when on refers to more than one person. Grammarians still have conflicting views on the matter. In any case, let's find out what happens with on in everyday speech. 

When on is used as an indefinite pronoun, in the sense of “one” or “people,” it usually does not trigger agreement with adjectives or past participles. In other words, it doesn't trigger agreement when it's being used to make generalizations—for example, when talking about traditions. In her video on the ancient custom of duals for honor, Patricia uses the construction on (one) + past participles vexé (offended) and blessé (hurt), which remain singular:

Quand on était vexé, quand on était blessé dans son honneur, on provoquait le coupable en duel à l'épée.

When one was offended, when one's honor was hurt, one would challenge the culprit to a sword duel.

Captions 3-5, Le saviez-vous? Le dernier duel à l'épée pour l'honneur en France

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The same is true when on is used in a proverb or set expression. Although on translates as “we” in this example, “we” is meant in a general sense:

On n'est pas sorti de l'auberge !

We aren't out of the inn [out of the woods]!

Caption 2, Le saviez-vous? "On est pas sorti de l'auberge!"

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Likewise, when on represents a collective entity, as in “we as a nation," the subject is not readily definable and therefore no agreement is necessary:

On a des racines françaises, mais on était marqué par l'Amérique.

We have French roots, but we were marked by America.

Caption 1, Le Québec parle aux Français - Part 5

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So far so good. We have learned that adjectives and past participles do not take agreements in the presence of on as an indefinite pronoun. Now let's find out what happens when on stands for more than one specific person. 

Although purists are still debating the matter, the consensus is that adjectives and past participles can agree in gender and number with the person(s) that on represents, as long as the implied subjects are identifiable. (Read this article to learn more.) In this case, on is synonymous with nous (we), which generally is only used as a definite pronoun, with identifiable subjects.

In fact, in casual speech it's common to combine the two in the same sentence: Nous, on + verb. In this case, there is no doubt that on is synonymous with nous:

Nous, on a bloqué le R.E.R., les moyens de transports, les nationales.

We, we blocked the R.E.R. [regional train], the means of transport, the main roads.

Caption 29, Interviews à Central Park Discussion politique

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Since auxiliary avoir does not trigger agreement, let's see what happens with auxiliary être (to be), which does:

Nous, on était bloqués dans le R.E.R.

We were stuck in the R.E.R.

In this case, the past participle agrees with nous, so we add an s to bloqué to make it plural.

Here is another example where on means nous. In this example, on and nous refer to two singers who are proud to be nominated for the Grammy Awards. Hence, the adjective fières takes the feminine plural as it agrees with the implied subject, the female singers:

Nous vivions tous les deux ensemble... Alors on est quand même très, très fières, en tant que Françaises, très, très fières  d'avoir été nominées au Grammy Awards

We were both living together... So anyway we are very, very proud, as French people, very, very, proud  to have have been nominated for the Grammy Awards

Captions 24-26, Les Nubians Présentation

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Sometimes it is not always easy to identify who on stands for. Here are two similar examples with the phrase on serait capable(s) (we’d be capable) to illustrate the difficulty. In the first video, Elisa and Mashal are talking about what the two of them would be capable of, such as daring to show up in an evening dress at a job interview: 

T'imagines! -On serait capables.

Can you imagine! -We could do that.

Caption 69, Elisa et Mashal CV

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Capable takes an s here because it's referring to the two speakers—and only them. In the second example, however, the person is speaking on behalf of all Spanish speakers, including herself. This on is a collective plural in a general statement, so no agreement is necessary:

On serait tout à fait capable de le parler très correctement.

We would be totally able to speak it very correctly.

Caption 19, Les Nubians Les langues

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Now let's discuss on combined with a possessive adjective. How do you decide which pronoun you should use? First you will need to see if on is acting as an indefinite pronoun or whether it stands for more than one specific person. You need to rely on context to help you. In the following video, the speaker does not include himself in the statement. He is talking about what other “people” (winemakers) are doing, so he uses the singular possessive adjective son. 

À Paris, on fait son vin et on a ses propres productions.

In Paris, people make their wine and they have their own productions.

Caption 25, Lea & Lionel L Le parc de Bercy - Part 2

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But sometimes you'll even see on used with the possessive form of nous, notre:

On force ainsi notre cerveau à être plus attentif et plus actif.

Thus we force our brains to be more attentive and more active.

Caption 41, Le saviez-vous? Les bénéfices de la dictée

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Though Patricia is making a general statement, thus using on instead of nous, she may have chosen notre over son to sound more informal (just as "we force our brains" sounds more informal than "one forces ones brain").

Here is an example with on + nos (the plural of notre) in which on refers to a group of specific people. Victoria, the proud owner of one of the last herbalist’s shops in France, talks about what she and her staff have on offer: 

Ensuite on a tous nos bonbons.

Then we have all our sweets.

Caption 80, Victoria dirigeante de Millymenthe

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On a fini notre leçon sur « on ». On espère que vous avez tout compris ! (We've finished our lesson on on. We hope you understood everything!) If you need more help, fear not. Des « on », on en trouve partout dans nos videos sur Yabla. (You'll find lots of ons in our Yabla videos.)