climatisation
/kli.ma.ti.za.sjɔ̃/
Air conditioning in French is climatisation.
The term refers to an air conditioner or system of air conditioners. While climatisation is a common way to refer to the system, you may also encounter the more technical and formal phrase le système de conditionnement d'air.
Meaning: an air conditioner or system of air conditioners (noun)
Which one should you use?
In casual conversation, speakers often use the shortened version la clim. In informal contexts, you might also hear l'air climatisé used interchangeably with la clim.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
La climatisation is a common and formal way to express the concept. For highly technical or formal situations, you can use le système de conditionnement d'air. In everyday, casual speech, it is very common to use the colloquial la clim.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun climatisation is feminine and is almost always used with the definite article la.
How do you pronounce it?
/kli.ma.ti.za.sjɔ̃/ (5 syllables)
What mistakes should you avoid?
When saying you are turning on the air conditioning, use the verb allumer (to turn on) instead of ouvrir (to open).
Did you know?
- In France, the use of la clim in offices is sometimes a subject of political debate, leading to government recommendations to limit temperatures to save energy.
- The word climatisation shares a root with climat, but in French, climat can also refer to the general atmosphere or mood of a place.
- Many older French buildings lack climatisation entirely, making the phrase less common in residential contexts than in English-speaking countries.
Examples in context
- Sami a la climatisation.Sami has air conditioning.This sentence shows how to express that someone has air conditioning using climatisation.Tatoeba #8679788 by Micsmithel, translation #7137575 by OsoHombre
- Peut-on allumer la climatisation ?Can we turn on the air conditioning?This sentence is useful for asking to turn on the air conditioning with climatisation.Tatoeba #12004056 by lbdx, translation #3329742 by CK
- La climatisation fonctionne-t-elle ?Is the air conditioning working?This sentence demonstrates how to ask if the air conditioning is working with climatisation.Tatoeba #11241383 by lbdx, translation #8910297 by sundown
- Je suis désolé, mais la climatisation de la salle de réunion est en panne.I'm sorry, but the air conditioning in the meeting room is broken.
- Il fait tellement chaud ici, on devrait mettre la clim.It's so hot in here, we should turn on the air conditioning.
- La clim marche bien aujourd'hui, on peut enfin se rafraîchir!The AC is working well today, we can finally cool down!
- 6 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hugo and Chloé are entering a hotel room.
- HugoIl fait très chaud ici.It is very hot in here.
- ChloéJe vais allumer la climatisation.I am going to turn on the air conditioning.
- HugoMerci, Chloé, c'est beaucoup mieux.Thanks, Chloé, it is much better.
- ChloéDe rien, Hugo.You're welcome, Hugo.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry climatisation, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
