# Enchanté Meaning — “Nice to Meet You” in French

> **Enchanté** (ahn-shahn-TAY) means “nice to meet you” — literally “enchanted” or “delighted”. A woman writes **enchantée**, with an extra *e*; both are pronounced exactly the same.

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Updated: 2026-09-07

## The silent extra e

Enchanté is an adjective describing you, the speaker — so it agrees with you. A man writes enchanté; a woman writes enchantée. The extra e is completely silent, so out loud there is no difference whatsoever.

| Written | Say it | Who writes it |
|---|---|---|
| enchanté | ahn-shahn-TAY | a man |
| enchantée | ahn-shahn-TAY | a woman — identical out loud |
| enchantés | ahn-shahn-TAY | a group including a man |
| enchantées | ahn-shahn-TAY | a group of women |

**It only matters in writing** — Four spellings, one sound. Speaking, you can stop worrying about it entirely; the choice only appears when you type it in a message or an email.

## Getting the sound

There are two nasal vowels stacked at the front of this word, which is what makes it feel like a mouthful the first few times.

| Chunk | Say it | Note |
|---|---|---|
| en- | ahn | nasal — no hard n on the end |
| -chan- | shahn | French ch is always “sh”, never “ch” as in “chair” |
| -té | TAY | é is a clean “ay”; the stress lands here |

**The French ch rule** — Ch in French says “sh”. That gives you chat (shah), chocolat (shoko-LAH) and chercher (shehr-SHAY). One rule, an enormous amount of vocabulary.

## The longer, and the newer, versions

| French | Say it | Register |
|---|---|---|
| enchanté | ahn-shahn-TAY | standard, polite, always fine |
| enchanté de faire votre connaissance | …duh fair votr ko-neh-SAHNSS | the full formal version |
| ravi de vous rencontrer | rah-VEE duh voo rahn-kohn-TRAY | “delighted to meet you” — modern, professional |
| content de te voir | kohn-TAHN duh tuh VWAHR | “good to see you” — informal, already acquainted |

Among younger French speakers, a plain bonjour plus the person’s name often does the whole job. Enchanté is not old-fashioned, but it is noticeably polite — a small formal bow.

## A whole introduction, end to end

| French | English |
|---|---|
| Bonjour, je m’appelle Claire. | Hello, my name is Claire. |
| Enchanté ! Moi, c’est Thomas. | Nice to meet you! I’m Thomas. |
| Enchantée. Vous êtes d’ici ? | Nice to meet you. Are you from here? |
| Ravi de vous rencontrer. | Delighted to meet you. |

A neat detail: when the second person replies, they often say enchanté straight back. Unlike English, where “nice to meet you too” needs the “too”, French is happy to simply repeat the word.

## FAQ

### What does enchanté mean in English?

“Nice to meet you.” The literal meaning is “enchanted” or “delighted” — it is a shortening of enchanté de faire votre connaissance, “delighted to make your acquaintance”.

### How do you pronounce enchanté?

ahn-shahn-TAY. Both en and an are nasal vowels with no hard n, the ch says “sh”, and the stress falls on the final “tay”.

### When do you write enchantée with two e’s?

When the speaker is a woman, because the word agrees with whoever is saying it. The extra e is silent, so enchanté and enchantée sound exactly alike.

### Is enchanté formal?

It is polite rather than stiff, and it is always safe on being introduced. In a relaxed setting, bonjour plus the person’s name is often enough.

### What do you reply to enchanté?

You can simply say enchanté back — French does not need an equivalent of “you too”. Moi aussi or ravi de vous rencontrer also work.

### Is there a more modern alternative?

Yes — ravi de vous rencontrer (“delighted to meet you”) sounds current and works well in professional settings.

## Related guides

- French greetings: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/french-greetings
- How to say hello in French: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/hello-in-french
- How are you? in French: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/how-are-you-in-french
- All free French guides: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides