chef
/ʃɛf/masculine
The French word for chief is chef.
chef refers to the head of an organization or a leader. In a musical context, it is used in the phrase chef d'orchestre to mean a conductor. It is also the standard French word for a professional cook.
Meaning: head of an organization (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
The feminine form of chef is cheffe.
How do you pronounce it?
/ʃɛf/
Did you know?
- The word chef is a linguistic doublet of the English word 'cap', as both trace back to the Latin 'caput' meaning 'head'.
- In French, the phrase chef d'œuvre uses the word 'chef' but is translated as 'masterpiece' instead of 'chief work'.
- In some traditional French military contexts, calling a superior mon chef is a sign of respect, where 'mon' functions as a formal marker rather than indicating possession.
Examples in context
- Elle est l’éditeur en chef.She is the editor-in-chief.This sentence is useful for seeing chef used in the title of editor-in-chief.Tatoeba #1469144 by Danquebec, translation #1469145 by Danquebec
- Ce problème tourmentait le chef.The problem tortured the chief.This sentence shows chef used to refer to a chief being troubled by a problem.Tatoeba #2745248 by Rovo, translation #43659 by rul
- Il est le chef de mon département.He is the chief of my department.This sentence demonstrates using chef to describe the head of a department.Tatoeba #129995 by sacredceltic, translation #283724 by CK
- Bonjour, Monsieur Dupont, je voudrais voir le chef s'il vous plaît.Hello, Mr. Dupont, I would like to see the chief, please.
- Pouvez-vous me mettre en contact avec le responsable du département financier ?Can you connect me with the person in charge of the finance department, please?
- Le directeur de la société sera présent lors de la réunion demain.The company's director will be present at the meeting tomorrow.
- 17 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chloé and Nathan are discussing a new director at their company.
- ChloéLe nouveau chef est arrivé ce matin.The new chief arrived this morning.
- NathanEst-ce qu'il est sympathique, ce chef ?Is this chief a nice person?
- ChloéOui, il semble très calme.Yes, he seems very calm.
- NathanC'est une bonne nouvelle pour nous.That is good news for us.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “chief” translations and entries chef, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries chef, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
