This invention relates to fluorinated oligophenyls of formula (I), in which a is 0 or 1 and in which the terminal sub­ stituents R¹, R² and R³ are each independently an alkyl or alkenyl residue each with up to 15 C atoms, optionally substitut­ ed by CN or by at least one halogen atom, and wherein one or more non adjacent CH₂ groups of these residues may be replaced by -O-, -S-, -CO-, -O-CO-, -CO-O-, -O-CO-O- or -C≡C-, one of the residues R¹ and R² may also denote a group of formula (II), any one of the following pairs of lateral substituents are both fluorine: (A, B), (C, D), (D, E), (C, E), (B, C), (D, J), (D, K), (A, C), (C, J), (C′, D′), (D′, E), (D′, A), (C′, E), (C′, A), (D′, J′), (D′, K′), (C′, J′), (B, G), (A, G), all of the other lateral substituents being hydrogen or fluorine, and to their use as components of liquid crystalline compositions.