cela
French, pronoun
cela is spelled C-E-L-A (4 letters) and appears 525 times per million words in written French, the 153rd most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Cela is a French neuter pronoun meaning “that” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a third-person singular past historic of celer. With an accent, celà is a different word: “alternative form of cela”. With an accent, céla is a different word: “third-person singular past historic of céler”. The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Cette chose-là, par opposition à cette chose-ci. – Note d’usage : Pronom démonstratif neutre permettant de…”.
What does cela mean in English?
pronoun
- 1
neuterthat
verb
- 1
third-person singular past historic of celer
pronoun
- 1
femininemasculinealternative form of cela
verb
- 1
third-person singular past historic of céler
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
pronoun: 1. Cette chose-là, par opposition à cette chose-ci. – Note d’usage : Pronom démonstratif neutre permettant de remplacer un objet distant (ou un être vivant dont on ignore la nature). En revanche (à l’inverse du pronom ceci), il ne remplace jamais une personne. 2. Cette chose, cette situation. – Note d’usage : Sans opposition à ceci. On utilise ce devant le verbe être, et plus souvent ça dans les autres cas à l’oral. 3. Ce qui vient d'être dit.
pronoun: 1. Variante non standard de cela.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of cela
- celà
- ça
- c’la
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How common is cela in French?
cela appears 525 times per million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).