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How to Say ‘Happy holidays!’ in French

Bonnes fêtes de fin d'année !

BUN FET duh fan dee ah-nay

[BUN FET duh fan dee ah-nay]

🇫🇷 In France: This covers both Christmas and New Year in one go. That makes it the safe choice with anyone, whether in a shop, at work, or on a card.

Phrase Breakdown

Bonnes fêtes

BUN FET

Happy holidays

A plural wish for the festive season. The final 's' sounds are silent: 'bon fèt'.

Example

Bonnes fêtes à toute la famille !

Happy holidays to the whole family!

Words in this phrase

Bonnes

[BUN]

happy / good

Feminine plural of 'bon'; used in greetings.

Example

Bonnes vacances !

Happy holidays!

fêtes

[FET]

holidays

Festive occasions, especially Christmas and New Year.

Example

Bonnes fêtes à tous !

Happy holidays, everyone!

de fin d'année !

duh fan dee ah-nay

of the end of the year!

Refers to the Christmas and New Year period. 'Fin' is nasal, and 'd'année' sounds like 'da-né'.

Example

Les soldes de fin d'année commencent.

The end-of-year sales are starting.

Words in this phrase

[duh]

Expressing the relationship between part and a whole.

Example

Un verre de lait.

A glass of milk.

fin

[fan]

end

Feminine noun for the end or conclusion.

Example

C'est la fin de la réunion.

It's the end of the meeting.

[dee]

Used to indicate possession or connection.

Example

Le livre d'un ami.

The book of a friend.

année

[ah-nay]

year

A period of twelve months.

Example

L'année commence en janvier.

The year begins in January.

Guides for French learners

The Most Common French Verbs: the 20 You'll Actually UseThe 20 most common French verbs, with the present-tense forms you need, real example sentences with native audio, and two shortcuts for past and future.Ordering in French: Cafés, Bakeries and Restaurants (with Menu Vocabulary)How to order in French at a café, a bakery and a restaurant: the phrases, the questions staff ask, and the menu and food vocabulary to understand the answers.

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