How to Say 'USA' in French?

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March 17, 2022 10:11pm EDT

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Matte tone:

Olivier, Leyla and I have dual citizenship: we are both French and American. We thought it could be interesting for you as well to know how to translate 'USA' in French. It's actually a bit more complicated than it seems!

1 – Les États-Unis D’Amérique = United States Of America

“Les États-Unis d’Amérique” is the most precise translation used for ‘United States of America’.
But it’s long, and we’re lazy… So most of the time, the French will only say “Les États-Unis”, just like you’d say “The United States” in English.

2 – Pronunciation Of “Les États-Unis”

“Les États-Unis” is a great example of liaison in French: there are two strong liaisons in “z”, one after “les” (or “des” or “aux”…) and the other one after the “s” of “états” (note that the t is silent though). So…

“Les États-Unis” is pronounced [lé zéta zuni]
“Des États-Unis” is pronounced [dé zéta zuni]
“Aux États-Unis” is pronounced [o zéta zuni]

Confused about when you would use “les”, “des” or “aux”? Check out my article about French prepositions of place.

3 – Do We Use The Acronym “US” Or “USA” Or “EU” For United States In French?

The answer is a bit complicated.
In French, “ÉU” is short for “États-Unis”. The French acronym for “United States” can be spelled with or without accent “ÉU” or “EU”, with or without periods “É.U.” or “E.U.”
But the French also often use “USA” and “US” (“U.S.A”, “U.S.”)… It’s not technically French, but we use it nonetheless.
You will sometimes see “ÉUA” for “États-Unis d’Amérique”, like it was used in the Olympics.

4 – “EU” And “UE” In French

Now, in French “EU” is always for “États-Unis”, whereas in English “EU” is for ‘European Union’… You see the possible confusion!
So, if you want to talk about Europe, I suggest you either write “L’Union Européenne”, or “L’Europe” or be extra careful and write “UE”… Because if you wrote “EU” like in English, the French will understand “États-Unis” = ‘United States’…

5 – L’Amérique = America

Technically, “L’Amérique” (feminine noun) meaning ‘America’ is used for the whole American continent in French. But we often use it to just refer to the USA.

6 – Les Amériques = Americas

It’s quite old-fashioned to talk about ‘The Americas’… But the French still do sometimes...

7 – Do The French Ever Say “Les États” For “The US”?

In English, it’s common to refer to the US by just saying “the States”. In French, “Les États” is not used like that at all, but John H., a follower, sent me a message to say he hears it in Canada.

However in France, it’s quite hip to speak “franglish” and say something like : “et toi… tu connais les States”? – what about you, have you been to the States? Showing off your impeccable American accent (LOL!)…

À bientôt !

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How to Say 'USA' in French?

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