La langue française est une femme. Et cette femme est si belle, si fière, si modeste, si hardie, touchante, voluptueuse, chaste, noble, familière, folle, sage, qu’on l’aime de toute son âme, et qu’on n’est jamais tenté de lui être infidèle.* – Anatole France
Quotations occupy an interesting place in language learning. Even native speakers can’t possibly be familiar with all of the famous quotations spoken in their language, but studying them can help you gain insight into French culture while also practicing reading and learning new vocabulary and grammar. Plus being able to recognize or, even better, quote Hugo or Voltaire will definitely earn you a round of compliments from your amis français.
French Quotation Websites
- 1 000 citations – odd name, since this site actually includes 40,000 quotations and proverbs
- Belles citations – themed, humoristic, in images, and more
- Citation du jour – from LeParisien.fr
- Citations – "Phrases, proverbes ou sentences matérialisées graphiquement"
- Citations – “Si justes, si émouvantes, si troublantes…”
- Citations françaises – search by keyword, theme, author …
- Citations on Pinterest
- Dictionnaire des citations – from Le Monde
French Quotation Apps
- Citations célèbres (Android)
- Citations classées par thème (Android)
- Citations de grands hommes (Android)
- Citation du jour (Android)
- Citations de films, séries et musique (iTunes)
- Citations et proverbes (iTunes)
- Citations motivantes (Android)
- Citations philosophiques (Android)
- French love quotes (Android)
- Le mot perdu – proverbes (iTunes)
- Proverbes et citations (iTunes)
If you have a favorite French quotation site or app, please share it in the comments.
*Translation: "The French language is a woman. And this woman is so beautiful, so proud, so modest, so bold, touching, voluptuous, chaste, noble, familiar, crazy, wise, that we love her with our hearts and souls, and we’re never tempted to be unfaithful to her."
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Author info
Laura is a French expert and Kwiziq's Head of Quality Control. Online educator since '99, Laura is passionate about language, travel, and cooking. She's American by birth and a permanent ex-pat by choice - freelancing made it possible for her to travel extensively and live in several countries before settling permanently in Guadeloupe. Laura is the author of Lawless French, Lawless Spanish, and other websites and books on French, Spanish, Italian, English, and vegetarianism. She spends most of her spare time reading, playing with food, and enjoying water sports.