⚠️ A two-faced false friend
The word prejudice is a classic trap. In everyday language it means préjugé, but in legal contexts it takes on very different—and often highly technical—meanings.
🧠 In Everyday Language: prejudice = préjugé
This is the sense most people know.
Examples:
👉 Here, prejudice = a preconceived negative opinion.
⚖️ In Law: prejudice = préjudice, sans préjudice de, sous toutes réserves
In legal writing, prejudice has technical uses far removed from the moral notion of bias.
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Préjudice (harm/damage)
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To prejudice = compromettre / porter atteinte à
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Without prejudice (correspondence marker) = sous toutes réserves
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Without prejudice to = sans préjudice de (preserves rights/clauses)
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With prejudice / without prejudice (litigation outcome)
A dismissal with prejudice operates much like a procedural rule that bars a claim, and is conceptually close to estoppel in common law.
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Claim dismissed with prejudice → Action rejetée de manière définitive (irrecevable au fond / cannot be refiled)
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Claim dismissed without prejudice → Action rejetée sans préjudice (pouvant être réintroduite)
⚠️ Beware of Reverse False Equivalents
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French "sous réserve (de)" ≠ prejudice. The correct English is subject to.
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"Livraison sous réserves" (transport/sales) = delivery accepted with reservations, not with prejudice.
✅ In Summary
| English term / phrase |
Correct French translation |
False friend to avoid |
| prejudice (moral) |
préjugé |
préjudice (legal) |
| prejudice (legal harm) |
préjudice |
préjugé |
| to prejudice (procedure) |
compromettre, porter atteinte à |
préjuger |
| without prejudice |
sous toutes réserves |
sans préjugé |
| without prejudice to |
sans préjudice de |
sans préjugé de |
| dismissed with prejudice |
rejet définitif |
rejet avec préjugé |
| delivery accepted with reservations |
livraison sous réserves |
with prejudice |
📌 TransLex’s Advice
Before translating prejudice, ask yourself:
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Is the context moral, legal, or procedural?
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Are we dealing with harm, a reservation formula, or a dismissal outcome?
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Is there a set French formula used in equivalent legal documents?
👉 Prejudice can mean préjudice, préjugé, or sous toutes réserves—context is everything.
👉 Be extra rigorous in contractual and contentious matters.
❓ FAQ: translating the legal term "prejudice"
Does "prejudice" always translate as préjugé?
Only in ordinary language, where it means a preconceived opinion. In legal writing it usually means harm or damage and is rendered as préjudice — "the claimant suffered serious prejudice" becomes le demandeur a subi un important préjudice, with no connotation of bias.
