Clair Obscur Expedition 33: Complete French Vocabulary Guide

If you've been playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, you've probably noticed something unusual: a game so French that Google searches for the word "putain" spiked dramatically after launch.

Here's the thing: you're already learning French. You just don't realise it yet.

Every time you hear Gustave shout "merde" as a Danseuse nearly kills your party, every time you read "Gommage" and feel the weight of what it means, every time you recognise "lumière" because you've visited the city of Lumière a hundred times — your brain is doing exactly what it did when you learned your first language.

You're copying.

Why Clair Obscur Teaches French Better Than Textbooks

At Copycat Cafe, we built our entire method around a simple observation: babies don't study grammar tables. They watch. They copy. They chat. For 2-3 years, they create nothing original — they just imitate what they hear until it becomes natural.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 accidentally replicates this process. You're not memorising vocabulary lists. You're experiencing French embedded in emotional context — which is exactly how memory works.

When a character you love dissolves during the Gommage, you're not going to forget what gommer means.

Clair Obscur French Vocabulary: Core Words

Let's break down the French you're already absorbing.

What Does "Clair Obscur" Mean?

Clair-obscur is the French term for what English speakers call "chiaroscuro" (borrowed from Italian). It literally means "light-dark" and refers to the dramatic contrast between illumination and shadow in Renaissance and Baroque painting. The game's entire visual identity builds on this tension.

What Does "Gommage" Mean in Clair Obscur?

Le Gommage — the annual catastrophe — comes from the verb gommer, meaning "to erase" or "rub out." A gomme is an eraser. In the game, people aren't killed during the Gommage; they're erased from existence. No trace. No memory. No mourning.

Here's where it gets interesting: gommage also means exfoliation in French skincare and hammam culture — a ritual scrubbing away of the old to reveal something new. This dual meaning adds philosophical weight to the game's themes of destruction and renewal.

What Does "Lumière" Mean?

Lumière — the survivors' city — simply means "light." Paris is often called la Ville Lumière (the City of Light), and the game's post-apocalyptic Paris setting makes this connection deliberate.

French Swear Words in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

The English voice actors confirmed that learning to pronounce French words correctly was one of their biggest challenges. Director Guillaume Broche apparently took great pleasure in teaching them to say:

What Does "Putain" Mean?

Putain — France's most versatile swear word. Technically "prostitute," but used as an all-purpose expletive like "damn" or much stronger. You'll hear this constantly during combat in Clair Obscur.

What Does "Merde" Mean?

Merde — "Shit." Another combat favourite you'll hear throughout the game.

Jennifer English (who plays Maëlle) compared the recording sessions to that Friends episode where Phoebe tries to teach Joey French. Ben Starr (Gustave) joked that if you don't like their pronunciation, you can switch to the French voice acting because "their French is a little bit better."

This is actually a perfect learning opportunity. Listen to how the English cast pronounces these words. Then switch to French audio. Notice the difference. Copy the native speakers. That's the method.

Clair Obscur Character Names: French Meanings

Clair Obscur Enemy Names: Complete French Vocabulary List

The developers actually embedded explanations in the game files to help localisation teams. Here's the complete list of enemy names and their French meanings:

Every single combat encounter in Clair Obscur is a vocabulary lesson. You just didn't notice because you were trying not to die.

Clair Obscur Game Mechanics: French Terms Explained

Chroma — The life-energy flowing through all living beings. You collect and spend it.

Pictos — Equippable abilities, from pictogramme (pictogram).

Stendhal — One of the most powerful attacks, named after the French writer and "Stendhal Syndrome" — when art is so overwhelming it causes dizziness. Very on-brand for this game.

How Clair Obscur Uses the Copycat Method

Here's what's happening in your brain when you play Clair Obscur: Expedition 33:

Watch — You see "Gommage" appear on screen. You watch characters dissolve into petals. You absorb the context.

Copy — You start saying "putain" under your breath when you miss a parry. You're not even trying to learn; you're imitating what you heard.

Chat — You discuss the game with friends. "Did you see the Danseuses in that fight?" You're using French words in conversation without thinking about it.

This is exactly how babies learn language. This is exactly what we built Copycat Cafe to do.

The only difference is that Clair Obscur teaches you vocabulary through 40 hours of gameplay, while Copycat Cafe compresses the same process into 15-minute daily sessions with AI pronunciation feedback.

From Playing Clair Obscur to Speaking French

Playing Clair Obscur plants seeds. You're absorbing vocabulary in context, building emotional connections to words, training your ear to recognise French sounds.

But there's a gap between recognising "putain" when Gustave shouts it and actually being able to say it yourself without sounding like Joey Tribbiani.

That's the gap Copycat Cafe bridges.

Our method works the same way the game does — context, emotion, repetition — but adds the crucial step most learners skip: actually producing the sounds. AI scores your pronunciation (0-100%). You repeat until it feels natural. You practice with Copy, your AI conversation partner, using what you learned.

Watch trains your ear. Copy trains your mouth. Chat trains your brain.

Complete Clair Obscur French Vocabulary Reference

Learn French After Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

You've spent 40+ hours absorbing French vocabulary in one of the best games of 2025. Your brain has done the hard part — building emotional connections to words, storing them in context, training your ear to recognise French sounds.

Now imagine taking that foundation and actually learning to speak.

Not memorising conjugation tables. Not grinding through gamified flashcards. Just watching real French conversations, copying what you hear, and chatting with an AI until your mouth knows what to do.

That's Copycat Cafe. Fifteen minutes a day. AI pronunciation feedback so you know how you sound before you speak to a real French person.

You've already started learning French. You just need to finish what Clair Obscur started.

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