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According to the Wiktionnaire, we have the following meanings of the word "jalousie":

  1. (Menuiserie) Treillis de bois ou de fer au travers duquel on voit sans être vu.
  2. (Menuiserie) Persienne formée de planchettes minces assemblées parallèlement, que l’on peut remonter et baisser à volonté au moyen d’un cordon, et qui servent à se garantir de l’action trop vive du Soleil ou de la lumière.

Now, I used the word "jalousie" in the sense of 2. above two times in French conversation to refer to something like this. The first French person said that this word is English. The second corrected me and said I am supposed to say "store" instead.

It seems that French people think of something like "envie" when they hear "jalousie".

You, as a native speaker, would you understand what I mean? Or are the meanings of the Wiktionnaire above somehow obsolete?

The confusion arises for me because both in German and English we use the word "jalousie" as a loan word from French (I think!) in the sense above and only in this sense. Does this seem to be something like the "coiffeur-friseur"-story...?

Christoph Mark
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  • I fail to see how a French speaker would think of envie in a context of closing blinds. – Lambie May 05 '22 at 14:40
  • @Lambie A French speaker will necessarily first think of jalousie (jealousy, envy) when hearing jalousie. That was already stated in the accepted reply four years ago. – jlliagre May 05 '22 at 21:12
  • @jlliagre What French person, or any person, for that matter hears words in limbo? That word would be spoken in a context like: Fermez les volets des jalousies. Close the jealousies? I doubt it. That is all I am commenting on. If you lived on the Caribbean island of Martinique or Guadeloupe (French people, right?) people could be discussing les jalousies en verre. Those types of windows are extremely common in the islands but not in Paris and *la banlieue parisienne. So, it depends on where you live. – Lambie May 05 '22 at 22:13
  • @Lambie The OP experience is clear. Even with a context, many French speakers would be confused and think about jealousy. – jlliagre May 05 '22 at 22:29
  • @jlliagre The OP is not a French speaker. If a French speaker said it, it probably would be different. Also, what I said about hot climates is right. The person the OP was speaking to was listening to him or her as a foreigner. When we listen to foreigners, we can mistakenly think they made a mistake. It often happens. – Lambie May 05 '22 at 22:50
  • I think "blinds" is more common in North-American English. – Roger V. Sep 02 '22 at 11:47

3 Answers3

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Store is the most common and general term.

Jalousie is used to refer to a specific type of store. A more common synonym would be persienne. But as you seem to guess, the word jalousie also means "jealousy" and that will be the first meaning any native speaker will think about if you mention this word.

In my experience, jalousie is used to refer to a store only if you want to be very specific about the exact type eg if you will talk to a decorator. Most native speakers will use the word store, and I would not be surprised if many of them have even never heard jalousie in another meaning than "jealousy", hence the surprise your using this word may cause.

Greg
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  • Merci, @Greg. Viollet-le-Duc utilise aussi parfois le terme "abat-jour", je pense. – Christoph Mark Sep 12 '18 at 14:54
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    @user66288 abat-jour is the thing you put over a lamp. It's lampshade in English (according to google, I didn't know the English for this before). I've never seen abat-jour for store in French – Flying_whale Sep 12 '18 at 15:02
  • Thanks for the clarification, I know it is commonly used for the lamp thing. But check out meaning 2 in the Wiktionnaire of "abat-jour", or search google pictures "abat-jour fênetre". There seems to be some more meaning. Anyway, I am warned not to use this term neither. – Christoph Mark Sep 12 '18 at 15:06
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    I've heard it, and in context understood it, but I couldn't be sure if someone talks to me about a "jalousie" I would right away remember this and he's talking about a "store". Note that abat-jour is even worse: if you ask someone to go to the DIY shop and bring some "jalousie" the worse that could happen is he comes back with nothing. If you ask him to bring some "abat-jour", you will definitely end-up with a lamp shade, I've never ever heard anything preventing sun to enter through a window called abat-jour. I'm in Belgium for what it's worth, not sure about Quebec... – Laurent S. Sep 12 '18 at 15:09
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    @LaurentS. L'abat-jour pour moi ça va après une lampe en effet. J'ai trouvé au GDT la jalousie vénitienne, un instrument de musique ! On y trouve aussi la jalousie en question, un dispositif de fermeture de porte/fenêtre (sur panneaux) où les lamelles de la jalousie sont mobiles ; des volets ? Je n'ai jamais entendu ce terme de ma vie, mais je n'ai jamais acheté ces choses non plus et m'y connais peu. Au Québec on a eu Au Bon Marché, donc je me souviens surtout de « Oui papa ! ». Merci ! –  Sep 12 '18 at 16:10
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    @dévastatordeconstuctors En fait d'usage québécois, en dépit de la recommendation du GDT, je me rappelle surtout store vénitien, ou parfois stores vénitiens même pour un seul dispositif (chacune des lamelles étant alors assimilée à un store, j'imagine...). Quant aux volets, je crois que c'est compris au Québec comme un dispositif extérieur, qui cache la vitre d'une fenêtre, pratique parfois pour des commerces, pour éviter le vandalisme nocturne possible de leurs vitrines, plus rarement pour des habitations ou chalets. – Pas un clue Sep 12 '18 at 17:15
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    @Montéedelait Oui oui, tout à fait, store vénitien comme ds. la pub. Ils ont plusieurs trucs au GDT, par exemple store vertical ; ailleurs ils mettent sur le même pied persienne et jalousie. Honnêtement j'y connais rien. Les volets (à) battants, à l'extérieur, c'est comme ça que je le comprends aussi, mais ils montrent ce genre de volets avec des lamelles mobiles, donc comme l'un dans l'autre dans l'image... Merci ! –  Sep 12 '18 at 17:27
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The word jalousie is still used in the region of Lyon.
This is not only a linguistic regionalism. A persienne is a persienne (see https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persienne) but when you can play with the angle of the blinds of the persienne or retract them, then it is called a store vénitien or ... a jalousie in Lyon ! (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jalousie_(architecture)). ;)

jcm69
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  • Thanks @jcm69, what do you think about "abat-jour", in the sense of to prevent from sun (cf. meaning 2-4 in the Wiktionnaire: https://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/abat-jour, and my comments below the first answer), and not in the sense of "lamp shade"? – Christoph Mark Sep 13 '18 at 10:15
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    I never used or even heard abat-jour for anything but a lamp shade. A word that starts to be used in addition to the mainstream store vénitien is brise-soleil orientable a.k.a. BSO. – jlliagre Sep 13 '18 at 11:27
  • @user66288 Why not ask a standalone question about abat-jour ? Is it in use, is it the equivalent of store, did it appear before or after the meaning for the lamp shade, is it regional, is it architecture terminology which is/isn't suited for business at large or usual referencing, is there a difference in meaning with jalousie and store etc. ? Thanks ! –  Sep 13 '18 at 17:26
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    orientation des lames? In English: angle of the blinds. – Lambie May 05 '22 at 14:39
  • Thanks @Lambie. Corrected. – jcm69 Sep 01 '22 at 18:24
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"Jalousie" or "jealousy" means exactly what is has to mean in both languages. In French we especially use it for classic cars accesories which is a store on rear window, then less often for a house's window but it is not a mistake to use it, in that situation, We more often use "venitian store or store vénitien" for "jalousie". Sincerly.

Brice Barah
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