French Legal Translation of Regular: normal, habituel or régulier? A Frequent False Friend

⚠️ Common Pitfall: Regular ≠ régulier

The adjective regular is often mistranslated literally into French as régulier.
But in English, regular more often means normal, habituel, or standard — depending on the context.

🕒 In Professional Contexts: regular = normal / standard

In employment contracts, HR documents, or organizational language, regular means normal, standard, predictable.

Examples:

• Regular working hours → Horaires de travail normaux

• A regular schedule → Un emploi du temps standard

• Regular duties → Fonctions habituelles

👉 Translating regular as régulier here would create ambiguity.

📦 In Logistics, Commerce, Daily Life: regular = habituel / ordinaire

When describing habits, customers, or product formats:

Examples:

• He's a regular at this café → C’est un habitué de ce café

• Regular customers → Clients habituels

• Regular size → Taille standard / normale

👉 Here, regular conveys normality or frequency, not régularité in the French sense.

⚖️ In Legal or Procedural Texts: regular = conforme / en règle

In legal contexts, regular can also mean valid, proper, or in due form.

Examples:

• A regular procedure → Une procédure conforme

• In regular form → En bonne et due forme (conforme aux règles)

📌 As a Noun: a regular = un habitué

When used as a noun, a regular refers to a person who frequently returns to a place (bar, store, restaurant, etc.).

Example:

• This bar is full of regulars → Ce bar est plein d’habitués

✅ In Summary

📌 TransLex Guidance

Before translating regular, ask yourself:

• Does it refer to conformity (en règle)?

• To a habit or frequency (habituel)?

• Or to normality / standard (normal, standard)?

👉 Regular = normal, habituel, standard, conforme — but rarely régulier.
👉 Context determines the correct translation.