Translate English to French for France, Canada or both
Launching your app or newsletter in French? A literal translation reads stiff, ignores the vous or tu question and gets the punctuation wrong. Your todo.is agent translates for the French readers you name, follows French typography rules and keeps a glossary so every email and screen uses the same words.
The prompt
- Translate [ATTACH THE FILE OR PASTE THE TEXT] from English into French for [FRANCE, QUEBEC OR BOTH]. It is [WHAT IT IS AND WHERE IT APPEARS]. Use [VOUS OR TU] consistently. Follow French typography: a space before : ; ! ? and « » for quotes. Keep our product name [PRODUCT NAME] in English and keep any {variables} or HTML tags exactly as they are. Buttons must stay under [MAX CHARACTERS] characters, so give a shorter option when needed. Return a Word file with the English and French side by side in a table, and a glossary of the terms you chose.
What to change
- [ATTACH THE FILE OR PASTE THE TEXT]: Emails, a Word file, or a spreadsheet of app strings with one row per text.
- [FRANCE, QUEBEC OR BOTH]: Pick your market. "Both" gives a France version plus a list of Quebec changes.
- [WHAT IT IS AND WHERE IT APPEARS]: E.g. "3 onboarding emails and the buttons of our web app" or "a printed product leaflet".
- [VOUS OR TU]: "vous" is polite and standard for most brands; "tu" is casual and young.
- [PRODUCT NAME]: Your brand or product name, e.g. "Planly".
- [MAX CHARACTERS]: The longest a button can be, e.g. "20". Write "no limit" if it does not matter.
Example result
- Translation: welcome email + app buttons
- English → French (France) · vous · warm and clear
- Email (English)
- Subject: Welcome to Planly, {first_name}!
- You're all set. Create your first project in under a minute, then invite your team. Need help? Just reply to this email.
- Email (French)
- Objet : Bienvenue sur Planly, {first_name} !
- Tout est prêt. Créez votre premier projet en moins d'une minute, puis invitez votre équipe. Besoin d'aide ? Répondez simplement à cet e-mail.
- Buttons
- • Get started → Commencer
- • Invite teammates → Inviter des collègues
- • Upgrade plan → Changer d'offre (shorter than "Passer à une offre supérieure")
- • Sign in → Se connecter
- • Settings → Paramètres
- Quebec version, where it differs
- • e-mail → courriel
- • weekend → fin de semaine
- • Quebec style usually puts no space before ? ! and ;, only before the colon
- • Quebec readers accept vous here too, though many Quebec brands are more relaxed with tu
- Notes
- • French is around 15–20% longer than English; 2 buttons were shortened to fit 20 characters.
- • "You're all set" has no exact match; "Tout est prêt" sounds natural.
- • {first_name} and the HTML tags were left exactly as they were.
- • Titles use sentence case, as French does: "Nos meilleures offres", not "Nos Meilleures Offres".
How to do it with todo.is
- Copy the prompt, then fill in the audience (France, Quebec or both), vous or tu, and your product name.
- Attach your email, Word file or a spreadsheet of app strings and send it from the Today screen in todo.is.
- Get a side-by-side Word table you can hand to a reviewer, plus a glossary.
- Ask your agent to remember the glossary, so next month's newsletter uses the same French terms.
Tips for a better result
- Decide on vous or tu before you start. Switching later means touching nearly every sentence, because verbs and possessives change too.
- Send app strings as a spreadsheet with an English column. Your agent fills a French column and leaves the keys untouched.
- Ask for a Quebec pass if you sell in Canada. Words like courriel, magasiner and fin de semaine make Canadian readers feel addressed.
- Keep your English short and literal where precision matters. Idioms like "hit the ground running" force the translator to guess.
translate English to French: FAQ
- Should I use vous or tu in French? Use vous for most businesses, banks, health and older readers. Tu suits young, playful brands, games and social apps. Pick one and keep it everywhere.
- What is the difference between France French and Canadian French? Grammar is the same, but vocabulary and some typography habits differ. Quebec prefers courriel to e-mail, uses fin de semaine for weekend and has its own everyday expressions.
- Why is there a space before the question mark in French? French typography in France puts a narrow non-breaking space before : ; ! and ?. Quebec style usually keeps it only before the colon.
- Is AI translation good enough for a French website? It is a strong first draft that often needs only light edits. For legal pages or big campaigns, have a native French speaker review it before publishing.
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