on
French, pronoun/ɔ̃/
on is spelled O-N (2 letters) and appears 5,129 times per million words in written French, the 30th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). On is a French feminine pronoun meaning “one, people, you, someone (an unspecified individual)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Pronom de la troisième personne du singulier. – Note d’usage : S’utilise pour désigner une ou des personnes…”.
What does on mean in English?
pronoun
- 1
femininemasculineone, people, you, someone (an unspecified individual)
On ne peut pas pêcher ici
- 2
feminineinformalmasculinewe
On s’est amusés.
suffix
- 1
masculineforms diminutives of things, including some animals
- 2
masculineforms augmentatives of things
- 3
masculineindicates origin or occupation
suffix
- 1
forms adjectives of characteristic
suffix
- 1
masculine-on
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
pronoun: 1. Pronom de la troisième personne du singulier. – Note d’usage : S’utilise pour désigner une ou des personnes indéfinies, en remplacement d’une forme passive.
pronoun: 1. Nous. 2. Je. Note d’usage : pour indiquer que le locuteur ne s’engage que peu. 3. Tu, vous ou n’importe quelle personne autre que moi.
noun: 1. Dix-septième lettre de l’alphabet glagolitique, Ⱁ.
noun: 1. Quatorzième lettre de l’alphabet géorgien, ka.
suffix: 1. Suffixe diminutif. 2. Suffixe augmentatif. 3. Suffixe indiquant la provenance ou la profession.
suffix: 1. Suffixe concernant une particule.
suffix: 1. Suffixe adverbial dans l’ancien système lexical.
noun: 1. Variante de éon.
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 on
- l'on alternative formal
- l’on
- t-on
- ons plural
- æons plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce on?
- /ɔ̃/
- /ɔ̃.n‿/
- \ɔ̃\
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to on
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is on in French?
on appears 5,129 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).