10 great ways to say “enjoy” in French

How do you say that elusive verb TO ENJOY in French? 

So you look it up and find a whole bunch of confusing ways to say “enjoy”, but not the actual VERB!

That’s because you’re communicating a feeling, and you’re focussing on finding an exact translation.  And guess what - sometimes you just CAN’T translate!

So, as always to help you learn, pronounce, and remember, I made you a mini-lesson! 

In this mini-lesson, you’ll see

• 10 great ways to say “enjoy” in French

• Examples to help you learn “enjoy” in French

• Examples to help you pronounce “enjoy” in French

How do you say enjoy in French?

One way to translate enjoy in French is with the verb profiter. It’s quite easy to conjugate it:

• je profite >>> I enjoy
• tu profites bien >>> You enjoy
• il / elle profite bien >>> S/he enjoys
• nous nous profitons bien >>> We enjoy
• vous vous profitez bien >>> You enjoy

• ils / elles profitent bien >>> They enjoy

Here’s a way to use it:

• Profite bien de tes vacances ! >>> Enjoy your holidays.

What enjoy means to have fun in French.

Do you agree that when you enjoy something it’s when you have fun? Well, in French, the translation is the reflexive verb s’amuser. And to accentuate, we add bien meaning well.

Here’s how you would conjugate it at the present tense:

• je m’amuse bien >>> I have great fun
• tu t’amuses bien >>> You have great fun

• il / elle s’amuse bien >>> S/he has great fun 
• nous nous amusons bien >>> We have great fun
• vous vous amusez bien >>> You have great fun

• ils / elles s’amusent bien >>> They have great fun

And for the passé composé, you would do it like this. Be very careful with the gender and number:

• je me suis bien amusé(e) >>> I had great fun
• tu t’es bien amusé(e) >>> You had great fun
• il / elle s’est bien amusé(e) >>> S/he had great fun
• nous nous sommes bien amusé(e)s >>> We had great fun
• vous vous êtes bien amusé(e)s >>> You had great fun

• ils / elles se sont bien amusé(e)s >>> They had great fun

And in a sentence, the result would be this:

• Je me suis bien amusé(e) en vacances  >>> I had great fun / I really enjoyed my holidays.

When enjoy refers to food.

While in English you say “enjoy your meal”, in French we say “bon appétit”. In this context, the verb enjoy expresses the delight to eat. You’ll say savourer because it requires your senses.

It’s a regular verb:

• je savoure >>> I enjoy
• tu savoures >>> You enjoy
• il / elle savoure >>> S/he enjoys
• nous savourons >>> We enjoy
• vous savourez >>> You enjoy

• ils / elles savourent >>> They enjoy

Here’s an example:

• J’ai savouré chaque molécule de ce repas délicieux. >>> I enjoyed every molecule of this delicious meal.

How do you wish happy holidays in French?

Just like the expression “enjoy your meal”, you say “enjoy your holidays”. In French, you will prefer the verb “souhaiter” meaning to wish and simply add “bonnes vacances” (Happy holidays).

Therefore, whenever you want to wish for something, you’ll create sentences with the verb souhaiter:

• je te / vous souhaite >>> I wish you
• tu lui / leur souhaites >>> You wish him / her / them
• il / elle lui / leur souhaite >>> S/he wishes him / her / them
• nous te / vous souhaitons >>> We wish you
• vous lui / leur souhaitez >>> You wish

• ils / elles nous / lui / leur souhaitent >>> They wish us / her/him / them

Here’s an example:

• Je te souhaite d’agréables vacances. Bonnes vacances ! >>> I wish you a great holiday. Happy holidays!

One way to translate the verb to enjoy in French.

This specific verb: jouir expresses a deep pleasure. You can use it for something you see, or the company of a person…

It’s a verb from the second group:

• je jouis >>> I enjoy
• tu jouis >>> You enjoy
• il / elle jouit >>> S/he enjoys
• nous jouissons >>> We enjoy
• vous jouissez >>> You enjoy

• ils / elles jouissent >>> They enjoy

Let’s have a look at a concrete example:

• Je veux vraiment que vous jouissiez de ce bel endroit. >>> I really want you to enjoy this lovely place.

When enjoy means to like a meal.

Don’t look further. Enjoy means simply to like something. In French, you’ll want the very regular verb: aimer. 

• j’aime >>> I like
• tu aimes >>> You like
• il / elle aime >>> S/he likes
• nous aimons >>> We like
• vous aimez >>> You like

• ils / elles aiment >>> They like

A question you could ask or hear all the time::

• Tu as aimé le repas ? >>> Did you like / enjoy the meal?

A French idiomatic expression to express enjoy.

It’s getting interesting. Have you ever heard the expression “prendre plaisir”? It literally means to take pleasure. It is another way to translate enjoy.

Simply conjugate your verb like the following:

• je prends plaisir >>> I take pleasure (enjoy)
• tu prends plaisir  >>> You take pleasure (enjoy)
• il / elle prend plaisir  >>> S/he takes pleasure (enjoys)
• nous prenons plaisir  >>> We take pleasure (enjoy)
• vous prenez plaisir  >>> You take pleasure (enjoy)

• ils / elles prennent plaisir  >>> They take pleasure (Enjoy)

You could say:

• Oui, merci. J’ai pris grand plaisir à tout manger. >>> Yes, thank you. I enjoyed every bit of it.

Note that it’s quite formal to choose this structure.

A French structure for the verb enjoy.

Another formal option for the word enjoy:  “trouver agréable”. It’s the English equivalent of “find pleasant”. 

Again, simply conjugate your verb trouver:

• je trouve agréable >>> I find pleasant (nice)
• tu trouves agréable  >>> You find pleasant

• il / elle trouve agréable  >>> S/he finds pleasant

• nous trouvons agréable  >>> We find pleasant

• vous trouvez agréable  >>> You find pleasant
• ils / elles trouvent agréable   >>> They find pleasant

One example:

• J’ai trouvé ta compagnie très agréable aujourd’hui.. >>> I enjoyed your company today.

The French verb apprécier means to enjoy.

Let’s finish with a verb that means enjoy: apprécier. It’s regular and similar to English:

• j’apprécie >>> I appreciate
• tu apprécies >>> You appreciate
• il / elle apprécie >>> S/he appreciates
• nous apprécions >>> We appreciate
• vous appréciez >>> You appreciate

• ils / elles apprécient >>> They appreciate

A real example for you:

• Je pense qu’il a bien apprécié la pizza que je lui ai faite. >>> I think he enjoyed the pizza I made him.

In a nutshell, you can pick your favourite option for the verb enjoy. Pay attention to the context because some are more adequate for food, others for the view, objects…

As a reminder, here are the ways to translate enjoy:

• profiter >>> enjoy 
• apprécier >>> appreciate
• aimer >>> like
• s’amuser (bien) >>> have (great) fun
 
• jouir >>> enjoy
• savourer >>> savour
• prendre plaisir >>> take pleasure
• trouver agréable >>> find pleasant
• bonnes vacances >>> enjoy your holidays

Which one is your favourite? 

In case, you are curious about French etiquette, I have something else for you:

The French etiquette about pouring wine

If you wish to expand your vocabulary even further, have a look at this mini-lesson too:

20 Ways to say GREAT in French