chenille
/ʃə.nij/feminine
The English phrase 'caterpillar' is translated into French as chenille.
The word chenille refers to the larva of a butterfly or a moth.
Meaning: larva of a butterfly or moth (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun chenille is feminine. This means you must use feminine articles and adjectives when referring to it, such as une chenille or la chenille verte. To form the plural, add an s to get chenilles.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /ʃə.nij/. It has 2 syllables.
Did you know?
- The term chenille is used in French to describe the continuous tracks on a tank or a bulldozer.
- In French culture, the phrase faire la chenille describes a specific party dance where people hold shoulders and move in a line.
- The word chenille actually shares its roots with the Latin word for 'little dog', canīcula, because of the way a caterpillar's head moves.
Examples in context
- Une chenille devient un papillon.A caterpillar becomes a butterfly.This sentence shows the biological process of a chenille turning into a butterfly.Tatoeba #8587171 by Aiji, translation #5201409 by AlanF_US
- Un papillon est une chenille adulte.A butterfly is a mature caterpillar.This sentence describes a butterfly as a mature chenille.Tatoeba #129382 by sacredceltic, translation #277953 by CM
- La chenille a mangé toutes les feuilles.The caterpillar ate all the leaves.This sentence illustrates a chenille eating leaves.Tatoeba #12190550 by lbdx, translation #7792708 by Hybrid
- Trop mignonne cette petite chenille !So cute, this little caterpillar!
- 9 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Gabriel and Chloé are walking in a park.
- GabrielChloé, regarde cette chenille sur la fleur !Chloé, look at this caterpillar on the flower!
- ChloéOh, elle est vraiment mignonne.Oh, it is really cute.
- GabrielEst-ce qu'elle va devenir un papillon ?Is it going to become a butterfly?
- ChloéOui, c'est sûrement le cas.Yes, that is surely the case.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “caterpillar” translations and entries chenille, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries chenille, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
