Essential French summer vocabulary

Posted by Josh on 25th Jun 2025 in the blog in the vocabulary category

What are your plans for the summer? Spending some time at the beach and soaking up the sun? Travelling abroad with friends and family? Or simply staying at home and relaxing?

Even if ‘getting better at French’ isn’t part of your plans, you can get a head start by learning how to express your plans in French. Below you’ll find some essential French summer vocabulary grouped according to category, from weather to activities.

La météo — Weather

French	English
C'est ensoleillé	It's sunny
C'est orageux	It's stormy
Il fait beau	It's nice out
Il fait chaud	It's hot
Il fait bon	It's warm
Il fait une chaleur torride	It's scorching
La canicule	Heatwave
Les lunettes de soleil	Sunglasses

Les dates — Dates

French	English
Solstice d’été	Summer solstice (21 June)
Fête de la musique	Music Day (June 21)
Fête Nationale Française	Bastille Day (14 July)
Assomption	The Assumption (15 August)
Festival d’Avignon	Avignon festival

Les activités — Activities

French	English
Aller à la pêche	To go fishing
Faire de la randonnée	To go hiking
Partir en vacances	To go on holiday
Mettre de la crème solaire	To apply suncream
Se détendre	To chill out
Aller à la plage	To go to the beach
Aller camper	To go camping
Aller nager	To go swimming