parking
/paʁ.kiŋ/
The English phrase car park is translated into French as parking.
The term parking refers to an area of land where cars can be left or stored. You can use the indefinite form un parking to refer to a single car park.
Which one should you use?
While parking refers to the physical area, if you want to refer specifically to a single parking space within that area, you should use une place de parking.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Quebec, Canada, the word stationnement is commonly used to mean a car park.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word parking is a masculine noun. Therefore, you would say le parking to mean 'the car park'.
How do you pronounce it?
/paʁ.kiŋ/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Be careful not to confuse the physical area with the act of parking. English speakers may confuse le parking (the physical area) with le stationnement (the act of parking or the concept of parking).
Did you know?
- The French word stationnement comes from the verb stationner, which originally described a train or carriage coming to a complete stop.
- The word parking is a pseudo-anglicism, meaning it was adopted from English but evolved to function as a distinct French noun with its own grammar.
- While parking is used in France, the word stationnement is the official standard in Quebec to avoid using English borrowings.
Examples in context
- Le parking est vide.The car park is empty.This sentence shows how to use parking to describe the status of a car park.Tatoeba #1704163 by sacredceltic, translation #10799949 by sundown
- Il y a un parking par ici ?Is there a car park here?This sentence uses parking to ask about the location of a car park.Tatoeba #10969254 by lbdx, translation #10965768 by sundown
- Le parking ne coûte absolument rien.The car park is completely free of charge.This sentence uses parking to describe the cost of a car park.Tatoeba #1544614 by sacredceltic, translation #11143377 by sundown
- Je vais me garer au parking.I'm going to park in the car park.
- On se retrouve au parking.Let's meet at the car park.
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hugo and Chloé are looking for a place to leave their car.
- HugoEst-ce qu'il y a un parking près d'ici ?Is there a parking lot near here?
- ChloéOui, le parking est juste derrière ce bâtiment.Yes, the car park is right behind this building.
- HugoC'est parfait, merci beaucoup.That's perfect, thank you very much.
- ChloéDe rien, Hugo.You're welcome, Hugo.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry parking, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries parking, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
