légende
/le.ʒɑ̃d/feminine
The English word caption translates to French as légende.
légende is a feminine noun used to mean a descriptive title or heading for a document. It is also polysemous, meaning it can refer to a mythical legend or a folk tale. For specific photographic contexts, you may encounter the term légende photo.
Meaning: descriptive title or heading of (part of) a document (noun)
Which one should you use?
While légende refers to a descriptive caption for an image or map, sous-titre is the specific word for subtitles in a film or video.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Canadian French, the term Surimpression is used for captions superimposed on a visual element in video or television.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
The word légende is pronounced /le.ʒɑ̃d/ and consists of 2 syllables.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use légender when they mean to add subtitles to a movie. In that context, sous-titrer is the correct verb.
Did you know?
- The word légende shares its roots with the English verb 'to read', as it stems from the Latin 'legenda', which literally means 'things to be read'.
- In French, a map's key and a mythical story about a hero are both called a légende.
- In Quebec, the term surimpression is used for captions that appear over a video image, a term rarely used in France for the same purpose.
Examples in context
- Mets une légende sur cette photo.Put a caption on this photo.Tatoeba #10779894 by lbdx, translation #7769167 by CK
- Légende cette photo.Caption this photo.Tatoeba #10779326 by lbdx, translation #1815622 by CM
- Voici une photo illustrative, avec sa légende.Here is an illustrative photo, with its caption.
- Regardez cette vidéo intéressante avec les sous-titres.Watch this interesting video with the subtitles.
- Une légende, c'est un texte explicatif qui accompagne une image.A caption is an explanatory text that accompanies an image.
- Les surimpressions dans ce documentaire sont particulièrement informatives.The captions in this documentary are particularly informative.
- La légende est écrite en bas du graphique.The caption is written at the bottom of the graph.
Example conversation
Manon and Lucas are working on a school presentation together.
- ManonEst-ce que tu as trouvé une légende pour cette image ?Did you find a caption for this image?
- LucasPas encore, je cherche une bonne légende.Not yet, I am looking for a good caption.
- ManonJe peux t'aider à en écrire une.I can help you write one.
- LucasMerci Manon, c'est très gentil.Thanks Manon, that is very kind.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “caption” translations and entries légende, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries légende, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
