belle
/bɛl/
In French, "beautiful one" is translated as belle.
The term is used to describe a person or thing that is physically attractive.
Which one should you use?
The form belle is used specifically when modifying a feminine noun. For masculine nouns, you should use beau and for masculine plural nouns, use beaux. For feminine plural nouns, use belles.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective must agree with the gender and number of the noun it describes. Use belle for feminine singular, belles for feminine plural, beau for masculine singular and beaux for masculine plural.
How do you pronounce it?
/bɛl/
Did you know?
- When used in the phrase belle-mère or belle-fille, belle has nothing to do with looks. It serves as a legal prefix to denote relationships created by marriage, such as 'mother-in-law'.
- In French, belle can be used ironically to describe something unpleasant. For example, une belle gaffe refers to a 'beautiful' blunder or a huge mistake.
- The word belle is central to the French idiom belle et bien, which means 'well and truly' or 'completely'. It is used to confirm that something is definitely a certain way.
Examples in context
- Cette maison est très belle.This house is a very beautiful one.This sentence shows how to use belle to describe a house.Tatoeba #8219389 by felix63, translation #2880560 by AlanF_US
- Mademoiselle Dupont est une belle personne, aussi belle à l'intérieur qu'à l'extérieur.Miss Dupont is a beautiful person, beautiful both inside and out.
- Alex est canon, il ne passe jamais inaperçu lorsqu'il entre dans une pièce.Alex is stunning, he never goes unnoticed when he enters a room.
- Elle est vraiment très belle.She is really very beautiful.
- Quelle belle femme !What a beautiful woman!
Example conversation
Gabriel and Chloé are looking at a painting in a gallery.
- GabrielRegarde cette peinture, elle est belle.Look at this painting, it is beautiful.
- ChloéOui, je l'adore.Yes, I love it.
- GabrielQu'est-ce que tu en penses, Chloé ?What do you think of it, Chloé?
- ChloéC'est la plus belle du musée.It is the most beautiful one in the museum.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry belle, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
