Hug In French

Unlike in English, French people do not often hug and they do not use it as a greeting. Instead, they tend to kiss each other on the cheeks or shake hands. They also don’t often hug strangers, and hugs can feel uncomfortable to them. Instead, they save hugging for lovers, children, and those who are going through hard times.

The word for hug in French is calin, which literally translates as “to cuddle” and is typically used in informal situations. There are also less formal nouns such as une etreinte, which translates to “a grip.” In addition to calin, the verb to hug is etreindre, which means “to embrace” and can be used in many situations.