Chez le Coiffeur — French hairdresser vocabulary | French Vocabulary Chart
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French hairdresser vocabulary. Nowhere does one wrong word cost you more than in the hairdresser’s chair — ten centimetres, sometimes. Learn “les pointes” (the ends) and you can ask for a trim before the scissors get ambitious. Use it to build the French words you need, then test yourself with the games below.
Chez le Coiffeur
French hairdresser vocabulary
Les essentiels ⭐
Pour aller plus loin 📚
Les phrases 💬
🎬 The 20-second version
5 quick questions on « Chez le Coiffeur » — guess before the reveal. Practise with the free games → Open this short as a page — transcript included →
📘 Good to know
- Hair is always plural in French: les cheveux. A single strand is un cheveu — so it’s j’ai les cheveux courts, never ‘mon cheveu’.
- Un brushing is a false friend: it means a blow-dry, not brushing. Ask for une coupe et un brushing and you’ll sound like a regular.
- Say le shampooing the French way: ‘shan-pwan’, rhyming with loin. The English ‘-ooing’ will earn you a puzzled look.
- Un dégradé means layers on longer hair, but at the barber’s it’s a fade. Same word, very different clippers — context decides.
🔊 Example sentences
✍️ Practice
hair = le ___ (fill the blank)
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s cheveux
a haircut = un ___ (fill the blank)
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e coupe
the ends (of the hair) = le ___ (fill the blank)
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s pointes
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🎯 More practice — vocabulary recall — both directions
How do you say « hair »? (recall)
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les cheveux
What does « une coupe » mean? (recall)
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a haircut
How do you say « the ends (of the hair) »? (recall)
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les pointes
What does « la longueur » mean? (recall)
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the length
How do you say « a fringe »? (recall)
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une frange
What does « un dégradé » mean? (recall)
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layers (or a fade)
How do you say « a colour, a dye »? (recall)
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une couleur
What does « les mèches » mean? (recall)
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highlights
Go further: La Description Physique — describing people.
French hairdresser vocabulary vocabulary — FAQ
How do you say common French hairdresser vocabulary words in French?
For example: hair is « les cheveux », a haircut is « une coupe », the ends (of the hair) is « les pointes ». The full list above has 12 essential words, each with audio so you can hear the pronunciation.
What are the most useful French hairdresser vocabulary words to learn first?
Start with the basics: les cheveux (hair), une coupe (a haircut), les pointes (the ends (of the hair)), la longueur (the length), une frange (a fringe). Master these core French words before moving on to the rest of the list.
How can I memorise French hairdresser vocabulary vocabulary?
Learn the words in small themed groups, say each one out loud with the audio, and use it in a short sentence about your own life. Spaced repetition is what makes new vocabulary stick — see our guide to learning French vocabulary that sticks.
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