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petit nègre

French, noun

petit nègre is a French masculine noun meaning “a pidgin language that West African soldiers historically used to communicate with the occupying French army” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). On this page, petit-nègre is a different word: “alternative spelling of petit nègre”. The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Variante orthographique de petit-nègre”.

What does petit nègre mean in English?

noun

  1. 1

    derogatorymasculinea pidgin language that West African soldiers historically used to communicate with the occupying French army.

  2. 2

    derogatorymasculineany other language incompetently spoken.

adjective

  1. 1

    derogatorymasculineineptly articulated; broken.

noun

as petit-nègre
  1. 1

    alternative spelling of petit nègre

adjective

as petit-nègre
  1. 1

    alternative spelling of petit nègre

Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How French dictionaries define it

noun: 1. Langage approximatif du fait de la méconnaissance de la langue. 2. Français simplifié enseigné dans les colonies français d’Afrique continentale, en particulier dans les régiments de tirailleurs sénégalais.

noun: 1. Variante orthographique de petit-nègre.

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 petit nègre

  • petit-nègre alternative
  • petit nègre

Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).