brûlé
/bʁy.le/
The French word for burned is brûlé.
brûlé is used to describe something that has been consumed by fire. When you want to say that you have suffered a burn on your skin, you should use the reflexive verb se brûler.
Meaning: consumed by fire (adj)
How does it change in a sentence?
As a past participle, brûlé must agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies or the direct object if that object precedes the verb. The masculine singular is brûlé, the feminine singular is brûlée, the masculine plural is brûlés and the feminine plural is brûlées. When referring to objects being burned, you can use the past participle brûlé with the verb être to form the perfect tense.
How do you pronounce it?
/bʁy.le/
Did you know?
- In French, the word brûler can be used when a car runs a red light, described as brûler un feu rouge.
- To describe someone who is 'burnt out' from work, French uses the word burn-out as a loanword from English rather than the term brûlé.
- While brûlé refers to fire, French uses the word échaudé for someone burned by hot liquid, coming from the practice of scalding.
Examples in context
- Je me suis brûlé.I burned myself.This sentence shows how to use brûlé with a reflexive construction to say someone burned themselves.Tatoeba #2231489 by Amastan, translation #5850847 by CK
- Je les ai brûlés.I burned them.This sentence demonstrates the use of brûlé with a direct object.Tatoeba #5906456 by Aiji, translation #2245631 by CK
- Notre école a brûlé.Our school burned down.This sentence shows the use of brûlé to describe a building that burned down.Tatoeba #339596 by TRANG, translation #262573 by CK
- J'ai attrapé un coup de soleil et ma peau est très brûlée.I got a sunburn, and my skin is very burned.
- La maison a été complètement brûlée dans l'incendie.The house was completely burned down in the fire.
- Les légumes étaient carbonisés car ils sont restés trop longtemps sur le feu.The vegetables were burned because they stayed on the fire for too long.
- J'ai oublié de faire mes devoirs, je suis grillé avec le professeur.I forgot to do my homework, and now I'm burned with the teacher.
- J'ai travaillé toute la nuit, je suis complètement cramé.I worked all night, and I'm completely burned out.
- 66 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Nathan and Manon are walking past the remains of a forest fire.
- NathanRegarde ce bois brûlé par terre.Look at this burned wood on the ground.
- ManonC'est vraiment triste, Nathan.It is truly sad, Nathan.
- NathanTout l'arbre est brûlé.The whole tree is burned.
- ManonOui, la forêt est ravagée.Yes, the forest is devastated.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry brûlé, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
