Ways to say it
| French | IPA |
|---|---|
| grand | /ɡʁɑ̃/ /ɡʁɑ̃.t‿/ |
| gros | /ɡʁo/ |
Both words are used to describe something of great size, but they convey different physical qualities. Use grand to describe height, scale or an impressive extent. Use gros to describe volume, thickness, mass or something that is bulky or heavy.
Which one should you use?
grand is the preferred term when you mean "big" in terms of being tall or having an impressive scale, such as a tall person or a large area. In contrast, gros is used when referring to volume, thickness or mass, often implying weight or bulk (similar to "fat" or "thick").
How does it change in a sentence?
The forms change based on the gender and number of the noun they describe. For grand, the masculine plural is grands and the feminine form is grande. For gros, the feminine form is grosse and the feminine plural is grosses.
How do you pronounce it?
/ɡʁɑ̃/
Did you know?
- While grand means 'big' or 'tall', calling a person un grand homme implies he is 'a great man' with distinction, whereas un homme grand simply means 'a tall man'.
- The French word gros shares an etymological root with the English word 'gross', which originally meant 'large' or 'thick' before it took on its modern unpleasant meaning.
- The word gros is used in the common expression en gros to mean 'roughly' or 'approximately', rather than describing physical fatness.
Examples in context
- C'est si gros !It's so big!This sentence shows how to use gros to describe something with large volume.Tatoeba #911174 by sacredceltic, translation #707129 by papabear
- Que tu es grand !How big you are!This sentence demonstrates the use of grand to describe someone's height.Tatoeba #1015250 by sacredceltic, translation #750920 by sctld
- Le lac est grand.The lake is big.This sentence uses grand to describe the large scale of a lake.Tatoeba #1121078 by sacredceltic, translation #1120810 by cntrational
- une grosse entrepriseA big company
- un gros livreA big book
- un grand immeubleA big building
- C'est une énorme voitureIt's a big car
- C'est un mec costaud.He's a big guy.
- La maison est géante !The house is gigantic!
- Cette entreprise est très grande.This company is very big.
- 1035 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Hugo are looking at a new apartment.
- LéaLe salon est vraiment grand.The living room is really big.
- HugoOui, il est très grand.Yes, it is very big.
- LéaEst-ce que le balcon est grand aussi ?Is the balcony big too?
- HugoNon, il est assez petit.No, it is quite small.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “big” translations and entries grand, gros, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries grand, gros, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
