planche
/plɑ̃ʃ/feminine
The French word for board is planche.
planche refers to a physical, long, wide and thin piece of wood or other material. For related actions, such as stepping or climbing onto a vessel, you might use the verbs monter (à bord de) or embarquer, while the nautical verb aborder specifically means to go aboard an enemy ship at sea to attempt to capture it.
Meaning: long, wide and thin piece of wood or other material (noun)
Which one should you use?
planche is used for a physical piece of wood, whereas conseil is the term used when referring to a 'board' in the sense of a committee or a board of directors.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun planche is feminine. Because of this, you must use feminine articles and adjectives, such as une planche or la planche large.
How do you pronounce it?
/plɑ̃ʃ/
Did you know?
- If a French speaker says they are faire la planche, they are not woodworking, but are floating motionless on their back in a swimming pool.
- The term planche is used in French comic books to describe a single page of art, regardless of whether the page is actually made of wood.
- In French theater, the phrase monter sur les planches literally means 'to get on the boards' and is a common way to say someone is performing on stage.
Examples in context
- Il souleva un coté de la planche.He lifted a side of the board.This sentence is useful for describing the action of lifting a side of the planche.Tatoeba #461694 by sacredceltic, translation #1725396 by belgavox
- Quelle est l'épaisseur de la planche ?How thick is the board?This sentence is useful for asking about the thickness of the planche.Tatoeba #5493415 by Aiji, translation #44424 by CK
- Attention, il y a des pointes qui sortent de cette planche.Be careful, there are spikes sticking out of that board.This sentence is useful for providing a warning about spikes sticking out of a planche.Tatoeba #12691995 by lbdx, translation #12691994 by rul
- Conseil d'administrationBoard of Directors
- Veuillez écrire votre réponse sur le tableauPlease write your answer on the board
- la planche de surfSurfboard
- J'ai besoin d'une planche pour mon projetI need a board for my project
- Le président a présenté son rapport au conseilThe president presented his report to the board
- Le professeur a écrit les instructions au tableauThe teacher wrote the instructions on the board
- 6 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hugo and Chloé are working in a workshop.
- ChloéOù est la planche en bois ?Where is the wooden board?
- HugoElle est sur l'établi.It is on the workbench.
- ChloéEst-ce que cette planche est assez solide ?Is this board strong enough?
- HugoOui, elle semble très robuste.Yes, it seems very sturdy.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “board” translations and entries planche, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
