01
der Franzose
Frenchman
A man who comes from France or has French citizenship.
example
Mein Brieffreund ist ein Franzose und lebt in Lyon.
My pen pal is a Frenchman and lives in Lyon.
der Franzose
Frenchman / adjustable wrench
Checking...
Loading your saved state.
Meanings
01 / 02
Usage tips
Context clue
The two meanings are easy to distinguish. If people are talking about persons, origin, or travel, it means the man from France. If the topic is tools, repairs, or a workshop, it means the wrench.
EXAMPLE
Der neue Kollege ist Franzose und kommt aus Paris.
The new colleague is French and comes from Paris.
Grammar: n-declension
As a term for a person, 'Franzose' (Frenchman) belongs to the n-declension. This means it gets the ending '-n' in the accusative, dative, and genitive singular. This is a common source of mistakes.
EXAMPLE
Ein Franzose hat das Restaurant eröffnet.
A Frenchman opened the restaurant.
Word family
The word belongs to a family: the country is 'Frankreich' (France), the female person is 'die Französin' (Frenchwoman), and the adjective is 'französisch' (French). The feminine form is not declined like the masculine form.
EXAMPLE
Meine Nachbarin ist Französin.
My neighbor is a Frenchwoman.
Register: colloquial
The term 'Franzose' (Frenchman) for a wrench is colloquial. In a specialist shop or manual, you would be more likely to use the technical term 'verstellbarer Schraubenschlüssel' (adjustable wrench).
EXAMPLE
Für die Reparatur brauchst du einen Franzosen.
You need an adjustable wrench for the repair.
Compare with
Franzose vs französisch
French
'französisch' and 'der Franzose' are both connected to France, but they have different functions. 'französisch' is an adjective and describes, for example, language, food, culture, or things from France. 'der Franzose' is a noun and means a man from France. Learners may confuse the words because they look similar. Pay attention: with 'französisch' you describe something; with 'der Franzose' you name a person.
Franzose
Der Franzose erklärt uns den Weg zum Bahnhof.
The Frenchman explains the way to the train station to us.
französisch
Wir lesen im Unterricht einen kurzen französischen Text.
In class, we are reading a short French text.
In real life
Loading video examples...