How do you say “because” in French? Most learners are familiar with “parce que,” meaning “because.”

“Parce que” is followed by a phrase containing a verb.

• He got the job because he was the best candidate (Il a obtenu le poste parce qu’il était le meilleur candidat)

That means you can’t use “parce que” to say something like “I won’t go to the beach, because of the rain.” The words “the rain” don’t contain a verb, so you can’t use “parce que.”

Instead, you need to use “à cause de.” This phrase can be followed by a noun, without a verb.

• I won’t go to the beach, because of the rain (Je n’irai pas à la plage, à cause de la pluie)

Another word for “because” is “car.” This means “for” in the sense of “because.”

• Be careful, because she’s violent (Fais attention car elle est violente)

And another word is “puisque,” meaning “since” in the sense of “because.”

• Since it’s like that, I quit! (Puisque c’est comme ça, je démissionne !)