Harry Styles is a singing global icon. He regularly travels to France and performs concerts there, but can he speak the French language?
Harry Styles can speak a little bit of French. He is not fluent yet, but he is still learning.
Harry Shows His French Skills on Stage and on TV
Harry often impressed his French fans by speaking their language. In 2017 he spoke a little bit on the French TV show Quotidien with Yann Barthès.
Harry told Yann in French that he was doing well and answered that he could speak “a little” French. Harry’s final French statement was about his admiration of the “delicious” coffee in France.
On stage in Paris in 2018 he gave an impressive but brief speech in French. Harry introduced himself and said that he was learning French, eliciting screams of excitement from the French crowd.
Harry Considers Himself to be Monolingual
During his 2019 Saturday Night Live opening monologue, Harry made a joke about being monolingual. The singer professed that he believes “music is the universal language. Especially songs performed in English, ‘cause that’s the only language that I understand.”
Although Harry has proven that he can speak some French, he does not seem very confident in his abilities yet. He still says that he can only understand English.
Harry Has French Tattoos
Harry may not speak fluent French, but he does have the language tattooed on his body. Above his right knee he has “oui,” or “yes,” and above his left knee he has “non,” or “no.” He also has “yes” and “no” in Spanish tattooed below each knee.
Harry’s large butterfly chest tattoo may also be related to the French language. Some fans speculate that the tattoo is a reference to the French film Papillon.
Papillon means butterfly in French and is the nickname of the movie’s protagonist, Henri Charrière. In the film and in real life, the criminal Henri Charrière had a butterfly tattoo on his chest like Harry’s.
The tattoo is said to hold the double meaning of ‘Je vole’ in French, which means both “I fly” and “I steal.” Whether Harry considers himself to be a thief is unclear – he could also simply like the aesthetic of the butterfly.
Harry Dated a French Model
Harry’s French skills may have improved as a result of his love life. He dated French model Camille Rowe in 2017-2018.
The couple were rather secretive during their relationship. They only went out on a few dates in public, but fans eventually learned much more about their love story through Harry’s music.
Harry seems to mention his relationship with Camille in many of the songs on his 2019 album Fine Line. For example, the song “Watermelon Sugar” appears to be a reference to one of Camille’s favorite books: In Watermelon Sugar by Richard Brautigan.
Fans also learned about the power couple’s breakup through the song “Falling.” The lyrics “’I’m in my bed and you’re not here. And there’s no one to blame but the drink and my wandering hands” suggest that Harry cheated on Camille, leading to their breakup in 2018.
Harry Features French in his Music
Harry’s hit 2019 album Fine Line actually contains a bit of French. The song “Cherry” has snippets of the French language, but the speaker is not Harry.
The song uses old voicemails from his ex-girlfriend Camille. In French she sweetly says, “Hello Harry, are you asleep?” and later “we went to the beach… Perfect, Harry.”
Harry said that he received Camille’s permission before using her French voicemail on the song. The two seem to be amicable since she let him use the clip, even though the song’s lyrics are about Harry’s pain after the breakup.
Harry explained that the song was about his ex-girlfriend moving on and finding happiness with someone else. He admits that he was bitter at the time but felt so much better after he wrote it.
The fact that Camille left Harry voicemails in French confirms that he was able to understand her language. He can definitely understand some French and speak a few phrases, although he is always trying to get better at the language.