Shopping for Clothes in French: Vocabulary and Phrases

Shopping for clothes in French involves more than knowing the names of different items. You also need to understand sizes and colors, ask about prices, find something that fits, and talk to people working in the store.

This lesson gives you the vocabulary and phrases you need for a typical clothes-shopping trip.

Common clothes

Start with some common items you might look for in a clothing store.

French	English
un pantalon	pants / trousers
un jean	jeans
un short	shorts
une jupe	skirt
une robe	dress
une chemise	shirt
un chemisier	blouse
un t-shirt	T-shirt
un pull	sweater / jumper
une veste	jacket
un manteau	coat
des chaussures	shoes
des bottes	boots
des baskets	sneakers / trainers

When you are looking for something, you can use chercher:

French	English
Je cherche une veste.	I'm looking for a jacket.
Je cherche un pantalon noir.	I'm looking for black pants.
Je cherche des chaussures.	I'm looking for shoes.

Asking for an item

If you already know what you want, there are several simple ways to ask for it.

French	English
Vous avez des robes ?	Do you have any dresses?
Vous avez cette veste en noir ?	Do you have this jacket in black?
Je voudrais essayer ce pantalon.	I'd like to try on these pants.
Je cherche quelque chose de plus léger.	I'm looking for something lighter.

In a store, vous is a useful default when speaking to an employee you do not know.

Talking about colors

Colors help you describe what you want and distinguish between different versions of the same item.

French	English
noir / noire	black
blanc / blanche	white
bleu / bleue	blue
rouge	red
vert / verte	green
jaune	yellow
gris / grise	gray
marron	brown
rose	pink

You will often hear en when asking whether an item is available in a particular color:

French	English
Vous l'avez en noir ?	Do you have it in black?
Vous l'avez en bleu ?	Do you have it in blue?
Est-ce que vous avez cette robe en rouge ?	Do you have this dress in red?

The form of some color adjectives changes with the noun they describe, while others behave differently. The examples here give you useful forms to recognize while shopping.

Finding the right size

The word taille means "size" when you are talking about clothing.

Useful questions include:

French	English
Quelle taille faites-vous ?	What size are you?
Vous faites quelle taille ?	What size are you?
Vous avez cette chemise en taille M ?	Do you have this shirt in size M?
Vous l'avez dans une autre taille ?	Do you have it in another size?
Vous l'avez en plus grand ?	Do you have it in a larger size?
Vous l'avez en plus petit ?	Do you have it in a smaller size?

You may see letter sizes such as S, M, and L, as well as numerical French or European sizes.

If you do not know which size you need, you can simply ask:

Je peux essayer ?

This means "Can I try it on?"

Trying clothes on

The verb essayer means "to try" or "to try on." You may also need to ask where the fitting rooms are.

French	English
Je peux essayer cette veste ?	Can I try on this jacket?
Je voudrais essayer cette robe.	I'd like to try on this dress.
Où sont les cabines d'essayage ?	Where are the fitting rooms?
La cabine d'essayage est où ?	Where is the fitting room?

After trying something on, you may need to explain how it fits.

French	English
C'est trop grand.	It's too big.
C'est trop petit.	It's too small.
C'est trop long.	It's too long.
C'est trop court.	It's too short.
Ça me va bien.	It fits me well.
Ça ne me va pas.	It doesn't fit / suit me.

The pattern trop + adjective is especially useful when something is the wrong size or fit.

Asking about the price

Prices are often displayed, but you may still need to ask how much something costs.

French	English
C'est combien ?	How much is it?
Ça coûte combien ?	How much does it cost?
Combien coûte cette veste ?	How much does this jacket cost?
Quel est le prix de cette robe ?	What is the price of this dress?

You may also see vocabulary related to sales and discounts:

French	English
le prix	price
une réduction	discount
les soldes	sales
en solde	on sale
moins cher / moins chère	cheaper
plus cher / plus chère	more expensive

For example:

Cette veste est en solde.

This jacket is on sale.

Deciding what to buy

Once you have found something you want, a few short phrases can take you from the fitting room to the checkout.

French	English
Je prends celui-ci.	I'll take this one.
Je prends celle-ci.	I'll take this one.
Je vais prendre cette robe.	I'll take this dress.
Je vais réfléchir.	I'll think about it.
Je ne vais pas le prendre.	I'm not going to take it.

At the checkout, you may hear or use phrases such as:

French	English
Vous payez comment ?	How are you paying?
Par carte.	By card.
En espèces.	In cash.
Vous voulez un sac ?	Would you like a bag?
Oui, s'il vous plaît.	Yes, please.
Non, merci.	No, thank you.

Putting it together

A short exchange in a clothing store might sound like this:

French	English
Bonjour, je cherche une veste noire.	Hello, I'm looking for a black jacket.
Vous faites quelle taille ?	What size are you?
Du M. Je peux essayer celle-ci ?	M. Can I try this one on?
Oui, bien sûr. Les cabines sont là-bas.	Yes, of course. The fitting rooms are over there.
Elle est un peu trop grande. Vous l'avez en plus petit ?	It's a little too big. Do you have it in a smaller size?
Oui, voilà.	Yes, here you are.
Merci. Celle-ci me va bien. C'est combien ?	Thanks. This one fits me well. How much is it?
Elle coûte 60 euros.	It costs 60 euros.
D'accord, je la prends.	Okay, I'll take it.

You do not need a complicated sentence for every part of a shopping trip. Short questions such as C'est combien ?, Je peux essayer ?, and Vous l'avez en plus petit ? can handle many common situations.

From learning to practice

When you practice shopping vocabulary, combine the item you want with details that matter to you. Instead of learning une veste by itself, practice phrases such as une veste noire, une veste en taille M, and Je peux essayer cette veste ?

This makes it easier to move from recognizing individual words to asking for what you need in a store.