French Christmas carols: say Il est né and Minuit, chrétiens right
Two French carols everyone knows the tune of: Il est né le divin Enfant, and Minuit, chrétiens, the French original of O Holy Night. Each line has the original lyrics, a line-by-line translation and audio. Record yourself and the AI scores every word against a native French reference.
- Original lyrics with an English translation, line by line
- The French sounds that trip English speakers in each carol
- Say each line and get a score for every word
Il est né le divin Enfant
Lyrics: Traditional French carol, first printed in 1862 (Airs des noëls lorrains). Public domain. Refrain and verse 1.
The lyrics, line by line
Il est né le divin Enfant, jouez hautbois, résonnez musettes !
He is born, the divine Child: play, oboes; sound, bagpipes!
Il est né le divin Enfant, chantons tous son avènement !
He is born, the divine Child: let us all sing of his coming!
Depuis plus de quatre mille ans, nous le promettaient les prophètes ;
For more than four thousand years the prophets promised him to us;
depuis plus de quatre mille ans, nous attendions cet heureux temps.
for more than four thousand years we waited for this happy time.
Sounds to watch
- Enfant, chantons, temps, ans: nasal vowels. Let the air go through the nose and do not pronounce the n or the final consonant: Enfant is “ahn-fahn” with no n and no t.
- hautbois: “oh-bwah”. The h and the t are silent.
- musettes, plus: French u is “ee” said with tightly rounded lips. Not the “oo” of food.
- nous attendions: link the s to the next vowel as a z (liaison): “noo-za-tahn-dyon”. Plus de and nous le: the s stays silent.
- heureux: eu is a rounded “uh”; the r is made at the back of the throat, never rolled.
Say it, line by line
Speak the line at a calm pace, do not sing it.
Il est né le divin Enfant, jouez hautbois, résonnez musettes !
He is born, the divine Child: play, oboes; sound, bagpipes!
Tap to record
Minuit, chrétiens
Lyrics: Words by Placide Cappeau, music by Adolphe Adam (1847); the original of “O Holy Night”. Public domain. Verse 1.
The lyrics, line by line
Minuit, chrétiens, c'est l'heure solennelle où l'Homme-Dieu descendit jusqu'à nous,
Midnight, Christians, it is the solemn hour when the God-Man came down to us,
pour effacer la tache originelle et de son Père arrêter le courroux.
to wipe away the original stain and halt his Father’s wrath.
Le monde entier tressaille d'espérance en cette nuit qui lui donne un Sauveur.
The whole world trembles with hope on this night that gives it a Saviour.
Peuple, à genoux, attends ta délivrance. Noël ! Noël ! Voici le Rédempteur !
People, on your knees, await your deliverance. Christmas! Christmas! Here is the Redeemer!
Sounds to watch
- Minuit, nuit, lui: ui is a quick glide from French u into “ee”: “mee-nwee”, almost one syllable.
- chrétiens: ch is “sh” in most words, but here ch- before r is “k”: “kray-tyan”, with a nasal ending.
- solennelle: the e after s is said “a”: “so-la-nel”. A famous spelling trap.
- Dieu, monde entier, cette nuit: no stress on any one syllable. French puts a light stress on the last syllable of a phrase, not of every word.
- courroux, genoux: ou is “oo”; the x is silent. tressaille: -aille is “eye”.
Say it, line by line
Speak the line at a calm pace, do not sing it.
Minuit, chrétiens, c'est l'heure solennelle où l'Homme-Dieu descendit jusqu'à nous,
Midnight, Christians, it is the solemn hour when the God-Man came down to us,
Tap to record
Why say a carol before you sing it
Singing hides pronunciation: vowels are held for beats and silent letters are easy to sing by mistake. Speaking the line first shows you which word is off, and the score tells you when it is fixed.
These carols are full of what makes French hard: nasal vowels (Enfant, chantons), the French u (musettes, plus), silent final letters, liaison (nous attendions) and the throat r.
More French practice
- French pronunciation — the sounds of French explained, with a recorder on every one.
- French pronunciation test — five words, scored, with your weakest sound named.
- Emily in Paris French — everyday Paris phrases to say aloud, scored.
FAQ
Can I sing into the recorder?+
Say the line instead. The AI scores spoken pronunciation word by word; singing stretches vowels and moves the pitch, which it does not measure. Once the words feel easy, singing them is the easy part.
What is “O Holy Night” in French?+
Minuit, chrétiens (“Midnight, Christians”), written by Placide Cappeau and set to music by Adolphe Adam in 1847. The English “O Holy Night” is a free adaptation of it.
Why is Silent Night (Douce nuit) not on this page?+
The usual French words of Douce nuit are a later adaptation that may still be under copyright, so this page only uses texts that are clearly public domain. The original German Stille Nacht is on our German carols page.
Keep your French going after Christmas
The TonePerfect app listens to you speak French and builds short daily drills around the sounds you miss.