charité
/ʃa.ʁi.te/feminine
The English phrase "charity" is translated into French as charité.
charité refers to the concept of benevolence toward the less fortunate. You can use the idiomatic expression faire la charité to mean giving money or goods to those in need.
Meaning: benevolence to less fortunate (noun)
Which one should you use?
While charité refers to the concept of benevolence, the phrase une œuvre de charité is used to refer to a specific charitable act or organization. For large-scale donations or financial support, the term La philanthropie (philanthropy) is used.
How does it change in a sentence?
charité is a feminine noun.
How do you pronounce it?
/ʃa.ʁi.te/. The word has 3 syllables.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often try to use charité to mean a non-profit organization, but in modern French, it is more common to use une œuvre de bienfaisance or une association caritative for the institution itself.
Did you know?
- The French word cherté is a doublet of charité, meaning they are closely related. While charité evolved toward the concept of 'dearness' of heart, cherté evolved to mean the 'dearness' of a price or high cost.
- While charité is used for benevolence, French has a specific word, solidarité, which is used more frequently in political and social contexts to describe mutual aid and collective support.
- The expression par charité can be used in a plea for mercy or forgiveness, behaving more like the English phrase 'for pity's sake' than 'for charity'.
Examples in context
- Fais-tu la charité ?Do you give to charity?This sentence is useful for asking if someone gives to charity using charité.Tatoeba #955128 by sacredceltic, translation #953188 by CK
- Ils vivent de la charité.They are living on charity.This sentence is useful for describing people living on charité.Tatoeba #12304411 by lbdx, translation #306639 by CK
- La charité est une vertu.Charity is a virtue.This sentence is useful for stating that charité is a virtue.Tatoeba #13875425 by saillier, translation #11857015 by ddnktr
- L'organisation met l'accent sur la charité envers les plus démunis.The organization emphasizes charity towards the most vulnerable
- L'homme d'affaires est connu pour sa philanthropie et ses dons généreux.The businessman is known for his philanthropy and generous donations
- Aujourd'hui, j'ai fait une bonne action en donnant de la nourriture aux sans-abri.Today, I did a good deed by giving food to the homeless
- Je soutiens différentes œuvres caritatives en donnant régulièrement.I support various charitable organizations by donating regularly
- 22 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Manon and Gabriel are discussing how to help a local shelter.
- ManonOn devrait donner un peu de charité ici.We should give a bit of charity here.
- GabrielTu as raison, Gabriel est d'accord avec toi.You are right, Gabriel agrees with you.
- ManonC'est un bel acte de charité pour eux.It is a beautiful act of charity for them.
- GabrielAllons-y ensemble dès demain.Let's go together starting tomorrow.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “charity” translations and entries charité, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries charité, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
