How to Say "Cathedral" in French

cathédrale

/ka.te.dʁal/feminine

The English word 'cathedral' is cathédrale in French.

The word refers to a big church building.

Meaning: big church building (noun)

Related words

To form the plural of cathédrale, add an 's' to the end to get cathédrales.

The word has 3 syllables and is pronounced /ka.te.dʁal/.

The word cathédrale comes from the Greek word for 'seat'. This refers to the official throne of the bishop, which is the specific piece of furniture that makes a church a cathédrale.
The famous novel 'The Hunchback of Notre-Dame' is titled Notre-Dame de Paris in French. While 'Notre-Dame' means 'Our Lady', the word cathédrale is often omitted in common speech when referring to this specific landmark.
France has a distinct category of buildings called basilique. While a cathédrale is the seat of a bishop, a basilique is a title of honor given to a church by the Pope, regardless of who leads it.

Où est située la cathédrale ?
Where is the cathedral located?
This sentence is useful for asking about the location of the cathédrale.
Tatoeba #3301550 by sacredceltic, translation #687640 by lukaszpp
La cathédrale date du Moyen Âge.
The cathedral dates back to the Middle Ages.
This sentence is useful for stating the historical period of the cathédrale.
Tatoeba #11961293 by lbdx, translation #45484 by CM
La cathédrale a complètement brûlé.
The cathedral burned down.
This sentence is useful for describing that the cathédrale burned down completely.
Tatoeba #11726641 by lbdx, translation #7888320 by Hybrid
La cathédrale de Chartres est une merveille architecturale.
The cathedral of Chartres is an architectural marvel.
24 more sentences on Tatoeba

Manon and Gabriel are sightseeing in a French city.

Sources

Wiktionary, “cathedral” translations and entries cathédrale, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
Word origins: Wiktionary entries cathédrale, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.

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