essentiel
French, noun/e.sɑ̃.sjɛl/
essentiel is spelled E-S-S-E-N-T-I-E-L (9 letters) and appears 40 times per million words in written French, the 2,074th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Essentiel is a French masculine noun meaning “essential; essence, essential part” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “La chose la plus importante ; ce qui compte vraiment”.
What does essentiel mean in English?
adjective
- 1
essential
distinguer l'essentiel de l'accessoire
noun
- 1
masculineessential; essence, essential part
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. Qui appartient à l’essence, qui est de l’essence. 2. Qui est la partie la plus importante d’une chose, qui en est un élément nécessaire, indispensable. 3. Indispensable ; de la plus haute importance. 4. Qualifie les caractères les plus saillants qui distinguent les espèces, les genres.
noun: 1. La chose la plus importante ; ce qui compte vraiment.
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 essentiel
- essentielle feminine
- essentiels masculine plural
- essentielles feminine plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce essentiel?
- /e.sɑ̃.sjɛl/
- \e.sɑ̃.sjɛl\
- \ɛ.sɑ̃.sjɛl\
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to essentiel
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is essentiel in French?
essentiel appears 40 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).