"Courriel" is the French jargon equivalent of "e-mail". La Commission generale de terminologie et de neologie (General Commission of Terminology and Neology) of France has adopted the term to replace "e-mail," and has made use of the term mandatory in government communications.

"Courriel" is a combination of the French words courrier, meaning mail, and electronique, meaning electronic.

According to the Commission, the word is "Evocative, with a very French sound, the word courriel is widely used in the media and is preferable to the English term 'mail'."