Cailler (Callier), Champagne,
Chaisson (Chiasson), Chauvin,
Collesson (Colson), Comeaux,
Cormier, Corpon, Couson (Coussan),

Daigre (Daigle), Darbonne, Dorian
(Doiron), Doucet, Dubois, Dugas,
Dupont, Dupuis, Duval (Huval),

Entremont,

Foret,

Gareau, Gaudet, Gaudin, Gatherau,
Gauthier,
Girourard (Giroir), Godeau, Granger
(English), Guerin, Guidry (Guitry),
Guilbeau,

Hebert, Henry, Herpin,

Joffrion,

Labat, Labauve, LaFrance,
Lagneaux, Lalande, Laliberte,
Lambert, Landry, Langlois
Lanoue, Latour, LeBlanc, Lajeune,
Leonard,

Marceau, Martin, Melancon (Scotch),
Mercier, Morin, Motin, Mouton,

Pellerin, Peltier (Pelletier),
Picard, Picot, Pitre (Peters), Poirier,
Potier, Prejean, Primeau,

Raymond, Richard, Rivet, Robichon
(Robicheaud)

Sire, Simon, Sonnier,

Theriot, Thibaud, Thibodeau (Thibodeaux),
trahand (Trahan),

Vignaud (Vigneau) and Vincent.

People often use incorrect word order when asking questions:

If you have any Cajun words or phrases to share please contact me here, or you can use the comment form below. Thanks!

Andouille -   highly spiced smoked pork sausage

Acadia – A region and former French colony of eastern Canada, chiefly in Nova Scotia.

Bateaux – Boat

Bayou – A canal or stream.

Beignet – A square fried doughnut with no hole, dusted with powdered sugar.

Bo-Bo – Used to describe a small injury, bruise or laceration to a child.

Boo – A term that denotes a term of endearment to whom the person is speaking. Usually a spouse, child, or maybe a sweetheart.

Bourre’ – A Cajun card game.

Boudin – Hot, spicy pork mixed with onions, cooked rice, herbs, and stuffed in sausage casing.

Cajun – Slang for Acadians, the French-speaking people who migrated to South Louisiana from Nova Scotia in the eighteenth century. Cajuns were happily removed from city life preferring a rustic life along the bayous. The term now applies to the people, the culture, and the cooking.

Cayenne – Hot pepper that is dried and used to season many Louisiana dishes.

Chicory – Root of this plant is ground and roasted as an addition to, or substitute for, coffee.

Couche Couche – A homemade cereal made by frying cornmeal and eaten in a bowl with milk and sugar.

Gratons – The crisp residue of hog skin and fat after the lard is fried out.

Creole – A person of mixed French and Spanish blood who migrated from Europe or was born in Southeast Louisiana and lived as sophisticated city or plantation dwellers.

Dirty Rice – Cooked rice, giblets, onions, bell peppers and many other ingredients.

Esplanade – A levelled piece of ground; often, such a space intended to serve as a public promenade.

Etouffee – A tomato based sauce. A smothered dish usually made with crawfish or shrimp. Crawfish and shrimp etouffees are Cajun country specialties.

File – Ground sassafras leaves used to season, among other things, gumbo.

Gris Gris – In voodoo, the charms used for good luck or to ward off evil.

Gumbo – A thick roux-based soup sometimes thickened with file or okra and often served over rice.

Jambalaya – A rice dish with any combination of beef, pork, fowl, smoked sausage, ham, or seafood, as well as celery, green peppers and often tomatoes.

Joie de Vivre – A feeling of healthy enjoyment of life; exuberance, high spirits.

King Cake – A ring shaped oval pastry, decorated with colored sugar in the traditional Mardi Gras colors, purple, green, and gold, which represent justice, faith, and power. A small plastic baby is hidden inside the cake. Tradition requires that the person who gets the baby in their piece must provide the next King Cake.

Lagniappe – A little something extra, gift or small surprise.

Laissez les bons temps rouler – Let the good times roll.

Loup-Garous – Goblins, spirits, witches and werewolves who prowl during a full moon and ride on bats; they hold parties at Bayou Goula and dance all night; a sprinkle of salt will destroy a loup-garous.

Maque Choux – Several vegetables sautéed with corn, tomatoes, and spices.

Mardi Gras – Fat Tuesday; a holiday for Roman Catholics which is forty days before Easter and the last party day before the Lenten season.

Pain Perdu – Lost bread; sliced bread soaked in milk, eggs and sugar, then browned in oil. Known as French toast in other parts of the United States.

Parish – Political unit in Louisiana equivalent to counties in other states; also a religious geographical division.

Pirogue - Flat-bottomed plank boat or dugout boat used for trapping, hunting, and fishing.

Po-Boy – A sandwich that began as a five-cent lunch for poor boys. Made with French bread, po-boys can be stuffed with fried oysters, shrimp, fish, crawfish, meatballs, smoked sausage and more.

Praline – A candy patty made of sugar, cream, and nuts, usually pecans.

Red Beans and Rice – The traditional Monday meal in New Orleans. Red beans are cooked with ham or sausage and seasonings, and served over rice.

Remoulade – A spicy sauce served with cold dishes.

Roux – Browned flour in hot oil used as the base of gumbos and stews.

SAUCE PIQUANT – A Cajun stew made with a roux, tomato sauce and either seafood or meat.

Savoir-Faire – A knowledge of what to do and say, tact.

Swamp pop – A musical genre indigenous to the Acadiana region of south Louisiana

Tee gotoe sec – Little dry cookie.

Terrebonne – The good earth.

Vieux Carre – French for “old quarter,” and referring to the French Quarter.

Voodoo – A collection of superstitions and “black magic” practiced by blacks and Acadians.

Zydeco – Cajun dance music that is a combination of traditional Cajun music, rhythm and blues, and African blues.

If you have any Cajun words or phrases to share please contact me or use the comment form below. Thanks for visiting!