The Hail Mary in French is “Je vous salue, Marie,” which begins “Je vous salue, Marie, pleine de grâce, le Seigneur est avec vous”: “I greet you, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” It is the prayer French-speaking Catholics in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Quebec, Haiti and Africa pray in the Rosary, the Angelus and at Lourdes, the great Marian shrine of France. Below is the full traditional French text from a 1906 French catechism, the small differences in today’s wording, a simple pronunciation guide for English speakers, a line-by-line translation, and the English Hail Mary.
Je vous salue, Marie
From the Catéchisme illustré des vérités nécessaires (Tours: Mame, 1906):
Je vous salue, Marie, pleine de grâce, le Seigneur est avec vous, vous êtes bénie entre toutes les femmes, et Jésus le fruit de vos entrailles est béni.
Sainte Marie, mère de Dieu, priez pour nous, pauvres pécheurs, maintenant et à l’heure de notre mort. — Ainsi soit-il.
Today’s wording is almost the same: “Je vous salue, Marie, pleine de grâce ; le Seigneur est avec vous,” and the prayer now ends “Amen” instead of “Ainsi soit-il.” Some French-speaking communities use a version with “tu,” which begins “Je te salue, Marie.”
How to pronounce it
French is not read as it is spelled, and many final letters are silent. A simple guide (stressed syllables in capitals; French stresses the end of each phrase):
zhuh voo sah-LOO, mah-REE, PLEN duh GRAHSS,
luh seh-NYUR eh-tah-VEK VOO,
voo-zet bay-NEE ahn-truh TOOT lay FAM,
ay zhay-ZOO, luh frwee duh voh-zahn-TRAI, ay bay-NEE.
SANT mah-REE, mair duh DYUH, pree-AY poor NOO, POH-vruh pay-SHUR,
mehn-tuh-NAHN ay ah luhr duh noh-truh MOR. ah-MEN.
Tips: “j” sounds like the “s” in “measure”; “gn” like “ny”; the “r” is made in the throat; final consonants such as the “s” in vous and the “t” in est are usually silent.
Line-by-line translation
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Je vous salue, Marie, pleine de grâce | Hail Mary, full of grace (literally “I greet you, Mary”) |
| le Seigneur est avec vous | the Lord is with thee |
| vous êtes bénie entre toutes les femmes | blessed art thou among women |
| et Jésus le fruit de vos entrailles est béni | and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus |
| Sainte Marie, mère de Dieu | Holy Mary, Mother of God |
| priez pour nous, pauvres pécheurs | pray for us, poor sinners |
| maintenant et à l’heure de notre mort | now and at the hour of our death |
| Ainsi soit-il (Amen) | Amen (“so be it”) |
The Hail Mary in English
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say the Hail Mary in French?
“Je vous salue, Marie, pleine de grâce, le Seigneur est avec vous…” The full text is above.
Why does the French say “pauvres pécheurs”?
French adds “pauvres,” “poor,” to “sinners”: “pray for us, poor sinners.” It is the traditional French form.
What does “Ainsi soit-il” mean?
“So be it,” the old French way of saying “Amen.”
More prayers in other languages
- Our Father in French
- Hail Mary in Spanish
- Hail Mary in Latin
- Hail Mary in Italian
- Hail Mary prayer
- Prière universelle (French)
Texts and sources
- Catéchisme illustré des vérités nécessaires (Tours: Mame, 1906), Prières, public domain (French Wikisource).
- English Hail Mary: see the Hail Mary prayer page for its source.