How to Describe Graphs in French for Class and Work

Décrire des graphiques sounds fancy, but it’s really just learning how to talk about trends, numbers, and comparisons without panicking when a line goes up or a bar drops like your motivation on Monday morning.

If you need French for class, presentations, reports, exams, business meetings, or even just understanding a slide deck without nodding politely and hoping for the best, this guide gives you the vocabulary and sentence patterns you actually need.

By the end, you’ll be able to describe increases, decreases, stability, percentages, rankings, and key comparisons in clear natural French, mostly in standard France French, with notes on tone and common learner mistakes.

If you want a bigger French-learning base first, the main Learn French hub is a good place to start.

Table of Contents

Start With The Basic Question

When you describe a chart in French, you usually answer a few simple questions:

What does the graph show?
What period does it cover?
What are the main trends?
What increased, decreased, or stayed stable?
Which category is highest or lowest?
Are there any sudden changes or interesting comparisons?

A safe structure in French is:

Introduce the graph
State the general trend
Give the important details
Compare categories or periods
Finish with a short conclusion

Core Vocabulary For Graphs And Charts

French	Pronunciation	Meaning	Example Sentence	Translation	Learner Note
un graphique	uhn gra-feek	a graph / chart	Le graphique montre l’évolution des ventes.	The graph shows the change in sales.	General word for graph or chart.
un graphique en barres	uhn gra-feek ahn barr	a bar chart	Le graphique en barres compare trois pays.	The bar chart compares three countries.	Very common in school and work.
un graphique en courbes	uhn gra-feek ahn koorb	a line graph	Le graphique en courbes montre une hausse progressive.	The line graph shows a gradual increase.	You may also hear une courbe for the line itself.
un diagramme circulaire	uhn dee-ah-gram seer-kew-lair	a pie chart	Le diagramme circulaire présente la répartition des dépenses.	The pie chart shows the breakdown of spending.	More formal than just saying pie chart in English class mode.
un tableau	uhn tah-bloh	a table	Le tableau résume les résultats de l’enquête.	The table summarizes the survey results.	Not the same as a graph.
l’axe horizontal	laks o-ree-zon-tal	the horizontal axis	L’axe horizontal indique les années.	The horizontal axis shows the years.	The x-axis, basically.
l’axe vertical	laks vair-tee-kal	the vertical axis	L’axe vertical représente le pourcentage.	The vertical axis represents the percentage.	The y-axis.
les données	lay doh-nay	the data	Les données proviennent d’une enquête récente.	The data come from a recent survey.	Plural in French here.
une tendance	ewn tahn-dahns	a trend	On observe une tendance à la baisse.	We observe a downward trend.	Very useful presentation word.
une évolution	ewn ay-vo-loo-syon	a change / development / trend over time	Le graphique montre une évolution rapide.	The graph shows a rapid change.	Excellent academic and business word.
la répartition	la ray-par-tee-syon	distribution / breakdown	Le diagramme présente la répartition par âge.	The chart shows the breakdown by age.	Common with pie charts.

How To Introduce A Graph In French

These sentence starters are gold. Use them when you need to sound organized and calm, even if inside you are still translating from English at tragic speed.

French	Pronunciation	Meaning	Example Sentence	Translation	Learner Note
Ce graphique montre…	suh gra-feek mon-truh	This graph shows…	Ce graphique montre l’évolution du chômage entre 2019 et 2023.	This graph shows the evolution of unemployment between 2019 and 2023.	Simple and safe for almost any graph.
Ce tableau présente…	suh tah-bloh pray-zant	This table presents…	Ce tableau présente les résultats par région.	This table presents the results by region.	Use for tables, not graphs.
Le document illustre…	luh doh-kew-mahn eel-lustr	The document illustrates…	Le document illustre les habitudes de consommation.	The document illustrates consumption habits.	More formal and academic.
Le graphique représente…	luh gra-feek ray-pray-zant	The graph represents…	Le graphique représente la part de marché de quatre entreprises.	The graph represents the market share of four companies.	Very common in reports.
On peut voir que…	ohn puh vwar kuh	We can see that…	On peut voir que les chiffres augmentent à partir de 2021.	We can see that the figures increase from 2021 onward.	Excellent neutral phrase.
Ce document compare…	suh doh-kew-mahn kom-pair	This document compares…	Ce document compare les ventes en ligne et en magasin.	This document compares online and in-store sales.	Useful for comparison charts.

Talking About Increases

French gives you lots of ways to say something goes up. In class and work settings, these are the most useful ones.

French	Pronunciation	Meaning	Example Sentence	Translation	Learner Note
augmenter	ohg-mahn-tay	to increase	Les ventes ont augmenté en juin.	Sales increased in June.	Very common and neutral.
hausser	oh-say	to rise / increase	Les prix ont haussé de 5 %.	Prices rose by 5%.	More common in some contexts as être en hausse.
monter	mon-tay	to go up	Le taux de fréquentation monte régulièrement.	The attendance rate goes up regularly.	Natural and less stiff.
progresser	pro-gray-say	to progress / rise	Le chiffre d’affaires a progressé au deuxième trimestre.	Revenue rose in the second quarter.	Sounds good in business French.
grimper	grahm-pay	to climb	Les dépenses ont grimpé en fin d’année.	Expenses climbed at the end of the year.	Slightly more vivid.
une hausse	ewn ohss	an increase	On note une hausse des inscriptions.	We note an increase in registrations.	Noun form, very useful.
être en hausse	etr ahn ohss	to be rising / to be up	Les exportations sont en hausse.	Exports are rising.	Very common headline style.

Useful Increase Sentences

Le nombre d’utilisateurs a augmenté de 20 %. — The number of users increased by 20%.
On observe une hausse constante des ventes. — We observe a steady increase in sales.
La courbe monte fortement à partir de mars. — The line rises sharply from March onward.
Les résultats progressent d’année en année. — The results improve year after year.

Talking About Decreases

French	Pronunciation	Meaning	Example Sentence	Translation	Learner Note
diminuer	dee-mee-new-ay	to decrease	La production a diminué en avril.	Production decreased in April.	Neutral and common.
baisser	bay-say	to fall / decrease	Les ventes ont baissé après l’été.	Sales fell after summer.	Very common everyday choice.
reculer	ruh-kew-lay	to decline / move back	Le nombre de clients a reculé de 8 %.	The number of customers declined by 8%.	Good formal word.
chuter	shoo-tay	to drop sharply	Les exportations ont chuté au premier semestre.	Exports dropped sharply in the first half of the year.	Strong word for a big drop.
une baisse	ewn bess	a decrease / drop	Le secteur connaît une baisse importante.	The sector is experiencing a significant decline.	Noun form, very useful.
être en baisse	etr ahn bess	to be declining / to be down	La demande est en baisse depuis janvier.	Demand has been down since January.	Common in reports and headlines.

Une hausse = an increase. Une baisse = a decrease. Tiny spelling difference, huge meaning difference. French likes drama like that.

Talking About Stability And Fluctuation

French	Pronunciation	Meaning	Example Sentence	Translation	Learner Note
rester stable	res-tay stabl	to remain stable	Le taux est resté stable pendant trois mois.	The rate remained stable for three months.	Very useful basic phrase.
se stabiliser	suh sta-bee-lee-zay	to stabilize	Les prix se sont stabilisés à la fin de l’année.	Prices stabilized at the end of the year.	Reflexive verb.
stagner	stag-nay	to stagnate	Les salaires stagnent depuis 2022.	Salaries have stagnated since 2022.	Often a bit negative in tone.
fluctuer	fluk-tew-ay	to fluctuate	Les résultats fluctuent selon les saisons.	The results fluctuate depending on the seasons.	Great for irregular movement.
une fluctuation	ewn fluk-tew-ah-syon	a fluctuation	On remarque une légère fluctuation au printemps.	We notice a slight fluctuation in spring.	Formal noun form.

Adverbs And Adjectives To Describe The Strength Of A Change

Just saying something increased is fine. Saying how it increased is better. This is where your French starts sounding more polished.

French	Pronunciation	Meaning	Example Sentence	Translation	Learner Note
légèrement	lay-jair-mahn	slightly	Le nombre d’abonnés a légèrement augmenté.	The number of subscribers increased slightly.	Use for small changes.
progressivement	pro-gres-see-vuh-mahn	progressively / gradually	La courbe monte progressivement.	The line rises gradually.	Good for smooth trends.
rapidement	ra-peed-mahn	quickly	Les coûts ont augmenté rapidement.	Costs increased quickly.	Easy and common.
fortement	for-tuh-mahn	strongly / sharply	La demande a chuté fortement.	Demand dropped sharply.	Very useful in reports.
considérablement	kon-see-day-rah-bluh-mahn	considerably	Les revenus ont augmenté considérablement.	Revenue increased considerably.	Formal and strong.
brusquement	broosk-mahn	suddenly / abruptly	La courbe baisse brusquement en juillet.	The line falls abruptly in July.	Great for sudden changes.
de façon constante	duh fah-son kon-stahnt	steadily	Les ventes augmentent de façon constante.	Sales increase steadily.	Good formal phrase.
important / importante	ahn-por-tahn / ahn-por-tahnt	significant	On observe une hausse importante.	We observe a significant increase.	Adjective must agree in gender.
léger / légère	lay-zhay / lay-zhair	slight	Il y a une baisse légère en février.	There is a slight decrease in February.	Watch the feminine form.

How To Give Numbers, Percentages, And Time Periods

Graphs love numbers. Annoying, yes. Avoidable, no. Here are the patterns you’ll use all the time.

Pattern	Meaning	French Example	English Translation	Learner Note
de … à …	from … to …	Le taux est passé de 10 % à 15 %.	The rate went from 10% to 15%.	Very common pattern.
augmenter de …	increase by …	Les ventes ont augmenté de 12 %.	Sales increased by 12%.	De = by.
atteindre …	reach …	Le chiffre a atteint 30 %.	The figure reached 30%.	Useful for final level.
s’élever à …	amount to …	Le total s’élève à 2 millions.	The total amounts to 2 million.	Formal business/academic phrase.
au cours de …	during …	Les prix ont baissé au cours de l’année.	Prices fell during the year.	Formal but common.
entre … et …	between … and …	Le graphique couvre la période entre 2020 et 2024.	The graph covers the period between 2020 and 2024.	Great intro phrase.
à partir de …	from … onward	Les ventes repartent à la hausse à partir de mai.	Sales start rising again from May onward.	Very natural.
jusqu’à …	until / up to …	La courbe monte jusqu’à 45 %.	The line rises up to 45%.	Useful for a peak or endpoint.

If you need help writing dates and years naturally in French, see how to write the date in French.

How To Compare Categories In French

A lot of graph description is really comparison. Who is higher? What is lower? Which category leads? French has clean patterns for this.

French	Pronunciation	Meaning	Example Sentence	Translation	Learner Note
plus … que	ploo … kuh	more … than	Le produit A est plus populaire que le produit B.	Product A is more popular than product B.	Basic comparison pattern.
moins … que	mwahn … kuh	less … than	Le taux est moins élevé que l’an dernier.	The rate is lower than last year.	Useful with adjectives.
aussi … que	oh-see … kuh	as … as	Le mois de juin est aussi performant que le mois de mai.	June performs as well as May.	Equal comparison.
le plus élevé	luh plooz ay-luh-vay	the highest	Le chiffre le plus élevé est observé en décembre.	The highest figure is seen in December.	Masculine form.
la plus faible	la ploo febl	the lowest / weakest	La part la plus faible concerne les 18-24 ans.	The lowest share concerns 18–24-year-olds.	Common with feminine nouns.
devancer	duh-vahn-say	to outperform / be ahead of	La France devance ses voisins dans ce domaine.	France is ahead of its neighbors in this area.	Formal and useful.
être inférieur à	etr an-fay-ree-uhr ah	to be lower than	Le résultat de 2023 est inférieur à celui de 2022.	The 2023 result is lower than that of 2022.	Formal report style.
être supérieur à	etr sue-pay-ree-uhr ah	to be higher than	Le taux actuel est supérieur à celui de l’année précédente.	The current rate is higher than that of the previous year.	Another formal classic.

Ready-Made Sentences You Can Reuse

These are the kind of lines you can drop into an oral presentation, essay, report, or exam answer without sounding robotic.

French Sentence	Pronunciation	Meaning	English Translation	Learner Note
Dans l’ensemble, on observe une tendance à la hausse.	dahn lahn-sambl, on ob-zairv ewn tahn-dahns ah la ohss	Overall, we observe an upward trend.	Overall, we observe an upward trend.	Great overview sentence.
La courbe atteint un pic en juillet.	la koorb ah-tan uhn peek ahn zhwee-yay	The line reaches a peak in July.	The line reaches a peak in July.	Un pic = a peak.
Le niveau le plus bas est enregistré en janvier.	luh nee-voh luh ploo bah ay-tahn-ruh-zhee-stray ahn zhan-vee-ay	The lowest level is recorded in January.	The lowest level is recorded in January.	Formal but common.
Après une forte hausse, les chiffres se stabilisent.	ah-prayz ewn fort ohss, lay sheefr suh sta-bee-leez	After a sharp increase, the figures stabilize.	After a sharp increase, the figures stabilize.	Excellent transition sentence.
Cette catégorie représente la plus grande part du total.	set kat-ay-go-ree ray-pray-zant la ploo grahnd par dew toh-tal	This category represents the largest share of the total.	This category represents the largest share of the total.	Perfect for pie charts.
En revanche, le deuxième groupe connaît une baisse progressive.	ahn ruh-vahnsh, luh duh-zee-em groop kon-nay ewn bess pro-gray-seev	By contrast, the second group experiences a gradual decline.	By contrast, the second group experiences a gradual decline.	En revanche = by contrast / on the other hand.
L’écart entre les deux catégories se réduit.	lay-kar ahn-truh lay duh kat-ay-go-ree suh ray-dwee	The gap between the two categories is narrowing.	The gap between the two categories is narrowing.	Very useful comparison phrase.
Les données indiquent une évolution irrégulière.	lay doh-nayz an-deek ewn ay-vo-loo-syon ee-ray-gew-lyair	The data indicate an irregular trend.	The data indicate an irregular trend.	Good for messy graphs.
On constate que les résultats varient selon l’âge.	on kon-stat kuh lay ray-zool-ta vah-ree suh-lon lahzh	We note that results vary according to age.	We note that results vary according to age.	Useful with demographics.
La part des ventes en ligne dépasse celle des ventes en magasin.	la par day vahnt ahn leen day-pass sel day vahnt ahn ma-ga-zan	The share of online sales exceeds that of in-store sales.	The share of online sales exceeds that of in-store sales.	Celle de avoids repetition.

Useful Connectors For Presentations And Reports

Without connectors, your description sounds like a list of random facts. With connectors, it sounds like you have a plan. Fake it till you make it, but in elegant French.

d’abord — first
ensuite — then / next
puis — then
enfin — finally
dans l’ensemble — overall
en revanche — by contrast
cependant — however
de plus — moreover
par ailleurs — besides / furthermore
quant à — as for
par rapport à — compared with
au contraire — on the contrary

Example: Dans l’ensemble, les ventes augmentent. Cependant, on observe une baisse au mois d’août. Enfin, la courbe repart à la hausse en septembre.

Translation: Overall, sales increase. However, we observe a drop in August. Finally, the line starts rising again in September.

A Simple Model Paragraph In French

Here is a model you can adapt:

Ce graphique en barres présente l’évolution des ventes entre 2020 et 2024. Dans l’ensemble, on observe une tendance à la hausse. Les ventes augmentent progressivement de 2020 à 2022, puis elles connaissent une forte hausse en 2023. Le chiffre le plus élevé est atteint en 2024. En revanche, la croissance est plus faible entre 2021 et 2022. Ce document montre donc une amélioration globale des résultats.

Translation: This bar chart presents the change in sales between 2020 and 2024. Overall, we observe an upward trend. Sales increase gradually from 2020 to 2022, then experience a sharp rise in 2023. The highest figure is reached in 2024. By contrast, growth is weaker between 2021 and 2022. This document therefore shows an overall improvement in results.

Common Mistakes English Speakers Make

Mistake	Correct French	Why	Quick Fix
Le graphique is show…	Le graphique montre…	Don’t translate English structure word for word.	Learn whole chunks like montre, présente, illustre.
augmente of 10 %	augmente de 10 %	French uses de for “by”.	de = by, à = to.
le plus haute	le plus haut or la plus haute	Adjectives must agree with gender.	Match the noun: masculine or feminine.
les donnée	les données	Plural form needed.	Remember the final -s.
la chiffre	le chiffre	Chiffre is masculine.	Use le chiffre.
une graphique	un graphique	Graphique is masculine here.	Use un, not une.
plus grand that	plus grand que	French comparison uses que.	que = than.
it there is style fillers	On observe… / Il y a…	English filler phrases often sound awkward when copied directly.	Use clean French reporting phrases.

Mini Practice: Choose The Best Phrase

Sales went up by 15% → Les ventes ont augmenté de 15 %.
The figure remained stable → Le chiffre est resté stable.
The line drops sharply in March → La courbe chute fortement en mars.
This category is higher than the others → Cette catégorie est supérieure aux autres.
Overall, we see a downward trend → Dans l’ensemble, on observe une tendance à la baisse.

Mini Practice: Translate Into French

The graph shows a gradual increase.
→ Le graphique montre une hausse progressive.
The lowest point is in February.
→ Le point le plus bas se situe en février.
The number of students fell between 2021 and 2022.
→ Le nombre d’étudiants a baissé entre 2021 et 2022.
This table compares three groups.
→ Ce tableau compare trois groupes.
The gap between the two figures is getting smaller.
→ L’écart entre les deux chiffres se réduit.

Quick Reference Summary

To introduce: Ce graphique montre…, On peut voir que…, Ce document compare…
To describe an increase: augmenter, monter, progresser, une hausse
To describe a decrease: baisser, diminuer, reculer, une baisse
To describe stability: rester stable, se stabiliser, stagner
To compare: plus… que, moins… que, le plus élevé, la plus faible
To give numbers: de… à…, augmenter de…, atteindre…, s’élever à…
To sound more natural: add connectors like cependant, en revanche, dans l’ensemble, enfin

Useful Next Steps

If you want to build the kind of French that helps in class and professional writing, these guides pair nicely with graph language:

Yak Takeaway

To describe graphs in French, you do not need magical business wizard powers. You need a solid handful of verbs like augmenter and baisser, a few comparison phrases, and some ready-made sentence starters that keep your explanation clean and confident. Learn those chunks, reuse them shamelessly, and suddenly every bar chart looks a lot less terrifying.