French Language Quiz – Printable Version
20 multiple-choice questions with an explained answer key, ready to print.
Print the sheet (or save it as a PDF from the print window), hand it out, then mark it together using the answer page: every answer is explained. Perfect for a party, a birthday, a classroom, a care home or a team activity.
Name: ………………………………Score: ……… / 20
- What did the word 'salaire' (salary) originally mean in Latin?
- A. A day's work
- B. A silver coin
- C. A bag of grain
- D. A salt ration
- What did 'assassin' originally mean?
- A. Man in the shadows
- B. Night soldier
- C. Hashish consumer
- D. Hired killer
- Where does the word 'école' (school) come from?
- A. From Latin 'scribere' (to write)
- B. From Greek 'skopein' (to observe)
- C. From Latin 'schola' (discipline)
- D. From Greek 'skholè' (leisure, free time)
- Where does the word 'lacune' (gap/lacuna) come from?
- A. From Latin 'lacer' (torn)
- B. From Greek 'lakon' (lack)
- C. From Latin 'lac' (milk)
- D. From Latin 'lacuna' (hole, pit)
- Where does the word 'muscle' come from?
- A. From Greek 'mus' (strength)
- B. From Greek 'muskos' (flesh)
- C. From Latin 'muscula' (tension)
- D. From Latin 'musculus' (little mouse)
- What is the origin of the word 'monstre' (monster)?
- A. From Latin 'monstruosus' (frightening)
- B. From Greek 'monos-stros' (unique being)
- C. From Latin 'monstrans' (that which shows itself)
- D. From Latin 'monstrum' (sign from the gods)
- Where does the verb 'sabrer' (to open champagne with a saber) come from?
- A. From Russian 'sabrit' (to strike abruptly)
- B. From Napoleon's officers who opened bottles with their saber
- C. From 'sabre' used metaphorically to cut cleanly
- D. From Champagne cellars where blades were used
- Where does the expression 'parler français comme une vache espagnole' (to speak terrible French) come from?
- A. From Spanish soldiers speaking poor French
- B. From 'vasco' (Basque) deformed to 'vache' (cow)
- C. From a cow bellowing in Spanish
- D. From a mocking expression about Spain
- What is the origin of the word 'chiffre' (digit/cipher)?
- A. From Hebrew 'saphar'
- B. From Latin 'cifra'
- C. From Greek 'siphron'
- D. From Arabic 'sifr' (zero)
- Which word is a synonym for 'rapide' (fast)?
- A. Fatigue
- B. Vélocité (velocity)
- C. Lenteur (slowness)
- D. Paresse (laziness)
- Which word comes from Latin 'luna' (moon)?
- A. Lumière (light)
- B. Lune (moon)
- C. Lundi (Monday)
- D. Lunatique (moody)
- What is the synonym of 'ubiquitaire' (ubiquitous)?
- A. Unique
- B. Omniprésent (omnipresent)
- C. Localisé (localised)
- D. Rare
- What is the verb 'aller' (to go) conjugated in the 2nd person plural of the imperfect?
- A. Allons
- B. Irez
- C. Allâtes
- D. Alliez
- What is the synonym of 'obliquité' (obliquity)?
- A. Straight
- B. Horizontalité (horizontality)
- C. Verticalité (verticality)
- D. Inclinaison (inclination)
- What is the plural of 'corps' (body)?
- A. Corpss
- B. Corpses
- C. Corps
- D. Corpsx
- Which is the correctly spelled word: 'ktan-tuh-sonce' (French phonetic clue for 'qu'un tes sens')?
- A. quintessance
- B. quintessence
- C. quinteçance
- D. quintescence
- Why do we speak of a 'quarantaine' (quarantine) for medical isolation?
- A. Because suspect ships were isolated for forty days
- B. Because forty doctors were needed to confirm recovery
- C. Because lazarettos had forty beds
- D. Because the plague killed within forty hours
- The word 'jean' takes its name from which city?
- A. Genoa
- B. Jaén
- C. Ghent
- D. Geneva
- What is the difference between a 'barbarisme' and a 'solécisme'?
- A. A barbarism concerns speech, a solecism writing
- B. A barbarism is a foreign word, a solecism an outdated one
- C. A barbarism is an error of syntax, a solecism an error of word form
- D. A barbarism is an error of word form, a solecism an error of syntax
- In the French word 'hôpital', what does the circumflex accent replace?
- A. A long Latin vowel
- B. A doubled 'p'
- C. A silent 'e'
- D. A lost 's'
Answer key — French Language Quiz
- D. A salt rationThe word 'salaire' comes from Latin 'salarium', derived from 'sal' (salt).
- C. Hashish consumerThe word 'assassin' comes from Arabic 'haschischin' (hashish consumers).
- D. From Greek 'skholè' (leisure, free time)The word 'école' comes from Greek 'skholè', meaning 'leisure, free time, rest'.
- D. From Latin 'lacuna' (hole, pit)The word 'lacune' comes from Latin 'lacuna', which meant a hollow, a pit, a hole in the ground, or a pool.
- D. From Latin 'musculus' (little mouse)The word 'muscle' comes from Latin 'musculus', meaning 'little mouse'.
- D. From Latin 'monstrum' (sign from the gods)The word 'monstre' comes from Latin 'monstrum', derived from 'monere' (to warn, show).
- B. From Napoleon's officers who opened bottles with their saberThe technique of 'sabrage' dates back to the Napoleonic Wars.
- B. From 'vasco' (Basque) deformed to 'vache' (cow)This expression comes from a phonetic deformation: 'vasco' (meaning Basque in Spanish) was transformed into 'vache' (cow) by French speakers who did not understand the term.
- D. From Arabic 'sifr' (zero)'Sifr' means 'zero' in Arabic. The word passed into medieval Latin as 'cifra', then into French.
- B. Vélocité (velocity)'Vélocité' comes from Latin 'velox' (fast).
- D. Lunatique (moody)'Lunatique' comes from 'luna' (moon), as it was once believed that the moon influenced people's behaviour.
- B. Omniprésent (omnipresent)Ubiquitous means present everywhere at once, so 'omnipresent' is the exact synonym.
- D. AlliezIn the imperfect, the 2nd person plural of 'aller' is 'alliez'.
- D. Inclinaison (inclination)Obliquity refers to an inclined position, so 'inclination' is the synonym.
- C. CorpsThe word 'corps' has the peculiarity of remaining invariable in the plural in certain contexts, notably in anatomy.
- B. quintessenceThe correct word is 'quintessence', meaning the purest essence or the pinnacle of something.
- A. Because suspect ships were isolated for forty daysIn the 14th century, Venice and Ragusa required ships arriving from plague-stricken regions to be isolated before docking.
- A. GenoaThe cotton cloth used for work trousers was shipped from the port of Genoa, 'Genova' in Italian, called 'Gênes' in French and distorted into 'Genes' then 'jeans' by English speakers.
- D. A barbarism is an error of word form, a solecism an error of syntaxA barbarism uses a distorted or non-existent word, such as 'ils croivent' or 'aréoport'.
- D. A lost 's'The circumflex accent often marks an 's' that existed in Old French and is still visible in related words: hôpital / hospitalier, forêt / forestier, fête / festif, château / castel, île / insulaire.