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Are You Actually French? 14 Cultural Habits only the French Understand

Living Well In France

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How French are you? In this video I explore 14 signs that you might in fact be, culturally very French, without knowing It!

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Are you secretly French at heart? Here I explain the everyday habits, cultural quirks, and iconic lifestyle choices that define what it really means to be French. From kissing on the cheek and having an apéro, to wearing all black and never just buying bread — these unmistakable signs might just prove you're living the French way (even if you're not in France!).

💬 Whether you're an expat in France, a Francophile, or just curious about French culture, this fun and relatable breakdown will have you saying “Mais oui!” in no time!

Topics covered:

Why French people kiss everyone

What a “goûter” really is

The art of the apéro

Why bread is practically a religion

The French approach to time, work, and fashion
…and much more!

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Reading List:
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The Bonjour Effect: The Secret Codes of French Conversation Revealed
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Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
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1000 Years of Annoying the French
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A New Life in France: A Guide to Relocating from the US
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20 Comments

@livingwellinfrance Creator 9 months ago Pinned

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@HeleneDEROBERT 1 year ago

Hello, I'm French an this is the first time I saw somebody been positive about French habits. Thank you very much for that.
I wish you the best

@lilianazubyk4086 1 year ago

I live in California, but my parents are Argentine. Many of these habits are similar in Argentina and other South American countries. I visited Paris for the first time last summer, and I loved it. The biggest surprise was the people— many Americans thinks that French people are rude, snobbish, or difficult, but almost everybody was perfectly nice and polite. Maybe some foreigners just don’t know how to be good guests?

@claireguyot6137 1 year ago

I am French, living in the USA for the past 40 years. I was trained to be American in the work place, but at home, I'm back: I'm French and always will be. I take my time to make a good meal, I relax when I need to, I always greet people at the doctor's or dentist's etc... I love to see the smiles I create by just being human.No harm in that.
Thank you

@farrellko 1 year ago

100% - As an Irishman living in Nice I see this every day. The respectful greeting from everyone, the slow it down and enjoy the seconds, the life is about living and not all about working. Love it.

@markbeck8384 1 year ago

I worked once in France, for a while; and found myself really drawn to it. I like French Art, Opera, Ballet, music, the architecture, the scenery, the old cathedrals, the Plays and Literature, the food, the museums, the wine, the popular arts, and the People. I did not find them rude or difficult, and I liked their frankness and attitude. I'm from the United States. People here seem to misunderstand them, and I am not sure why.

@mariembalo3076 1 year ago

Vous êtes tellement bienveillante envers les français, j'étais obligée de vous mettre un like :)
Merci pour cette vidéo !

@Gesundheit888 1 year ago (edited)

As for the kissing, there are quite rigid rules to follow. The French absolutely do not just go up and kiss everyone, far from it. If you believe that, please take a closer look at exactly whom they kiss, how close they get and how intense the embrace is or is not.
They are not like Americans who believe kissing everyone is "French" so they just hug and kiss anyone whom they meet for the first time. The French are much more selective. Nor do they LOVE everything and everyone like the Americans. Love the food, love the sun, love the dog, love the kids....
The French also shake hands, don't forget that friendly gesture.

@janetg1691 1 year ago

I am the eleventh generation in Canada from France. I am going to adopt some of French's ways!

@andrewrobinson2565 1 year ago

I've been living in France for 36 years (of my 64) and have been French, officially, since February 2018.
None of my friends or neighbours speak English to me. I think that's one of the measurements of "how French" one is.

@michael-gs6kh 1 year ago

I am a British immigrant having lived in France for the last 21 years. I recognize and agree with all you say about the French - I consider the French to be highly civilized,, more so than the British! it's a joy living here in the Pyrenees and I consider myself very lucky. By the way to be really French you have to learn how to shrug your shoulders!

@charlottebronsard7308 1 year ago (edited)

Another difference with the Anglo-Saxon culture is the fact that French people use less the superlatives. Where an English or an American would say "It's amazing, it's sooo beautiful!", a French person would just say "it's nice!" (or even "I'm not fond of it" if that's the case 😅) . I think that's one of the reason why so many Americans think French people are rude. We are much less expressive.

Another thing that is sometimes misunderstood : when people corrects you when you are speaking. From a French perspective, it's not to point out that you made a mistake, but rather help you to make progress. It's really in the way : we know that our lang is hard, so we'll help you with that.

@christinegerard4974 1 year ago

You undoubtedly bring your beautiful charm to France !

@maniravsadhur8409 1 year ago (edited)

This is all very true, but to be honest, we share a lot of those traits with our Portuguese, Spanish and Italian cousins. Thanks for this video! You look like a happy woman yourself and it's a pleasure to listen to you.

@Ken-p9p8z 10 months ago

Love the gentle British take on what it means to be French.

@AlbertNonime 1 year ago

Sadly, more and more french fell unhappy about our country. Tks to remind us our way of life is not so bad, and why we should fight to preserve it.

@jeanmas4197 1 year ago

Pretty accurate and yes, I'm still very French despite living in the U.S. for 25 years.
Telling it like it is avoids confusion, case in point, my American step daughter with the complete opposite culture where you avoid telling it like it is. For her birthday, a friend of her baked a banana cake, wonderful, except that she hates banana. So she lied to her friend and said she loved the cake so much while she really could not stand it.
- My take on it (that I explained to her): tell her how much you appreciate what she did but tell her that banana is not your favorite but you'll still eat a piece. Result: Your friend will never bake a banana cake for you ever again, she'll appreciate your honesty and the fact that you tried a piece anyway. The story will end there.
Her take on it: She appreciate her friend so much that she cannot tell her she hates banana. Result: Now she needs to keep on lying to her friend about her hatred of banana and maybe one day the truth will come out and cause problems that should never have existed in the first place. Also, she told her friend she loved that cake so much that her friend might baked her a banana cake every year from now on. That's something I cannot understand.

@allegromoderato7404 1 year ago

Un point très important que vous avez soulevé:
En général, on se moque de ce que possèdent les voisins.
L'apparence, la tyrannie de la concurrence, le bling bling, non merci.
La vraie richesse se murmure, elle ne crie pas..

@alexwyler4570 1 year ago

a big FRench habit. You show up at start time example 8:30 but you are allowed 5-10 minutes to chat , say hello, catch up. and that makes it possible for people to arrie 5 minutes late ( 8:35am ) not to be siruptive. They are coming in the 10 minutes "hello" time. I love that part.

@carinedemolin7832 1 year ago

We don't kiss everyone we meet for the first time. Every time I take my British husband to a family event in France, I give him a quick heads up of who is family or close friends. Everyone else we shake hands.