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Clothes in French: Vocabulary for Wearing and Shopping

Clothing vocabulary in French by category - tops, bottoms, shoes, accessories - plus shopping phrases like trying something on and asking for a size.

LexiFr Editorial Published 6 min read
Clothes in French: Vocabulary for Wearing and Shopping - article illustration

Core clothing vocabulary in French: un t-shirt, une chemise (shirt), un pantalon (pants), une robe (dress), des chaussures (shoes). For shopping, key phrases are je peux l’essayer ? (can I try it on?) and avez-vous une taille plus grande ? (a bigger size?).

Quick answer

Core clothing vocabulary in French: un t-shirt, une chemise (shirt), un pantalon (pants), une robe (dress), des chaussures (shoes). For shopping, key phrases are je peux l’essayer ? (can I try it on?) and avez-vous une taille plus grande ? (a bigger size?).

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Tops

FrenchEnglish
un t-shirtt-shirt
une chemiseshirt (button-up)
un pullsweater
une vestejacket

Bottoms and dresses

FrenchEnglish
un pantalonpants (singular in French)
une jupeskirt
une robedress
un shortshorts

Footwear and accessories

Des chaussures (shoes), des baskets (sneakers), un sac (bag), une ceinture (belt), un chapeau (hat).

[Visual - infographic] A labeled figure wearing simple clothing, with gold vocabulary labels pointing to each item. ALT: « Labeled diagram of clothing vocabulary in French ».

Shopping phrases

Je peux l’essayer ? (can I try it on?), avez-vous une taille plus grande/petite ? (a bigger/smaller size?), ça me va ? (does it suit me?). For the fuller shopping scenario, see French vocabulary for shopping.

Colors and fit

Combine clothing nouns with colors and adjectives for full descriptions - see colors in French and French adjectives for agreement rules.

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Frequently asked

Questions about this note

How do you say shirt in French?

Une chemise (button-up) or un t-shirt.

How do you say pants in French?

Un pantalon (singular in French, unlike English "pants").

How do you ask to try something on?

Je peux l'essayer ?

How do you ask for a different size?

Avez-vous une taille plus grande/petite ?

How do you say shoes in French?

Des chaussures.

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