Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ville | /vil/ /vɪl/ (Canada) |
feminine |
| cité | /si.te/ | feminine |
| grande-ville | feminine |
The primary way to say a large settlement is ville. For an idiomatic way to say you are going 'in town' or 'downtown', you can use the phrase en ville. To describe things that are related to a city, you use the adjective urbain for masculine nouns or urbaine for feminine nouns.
Which one should you use?
The word ville is the standard term for any city or town, regardless of size. In contrast, cité can be used to mean 'city' in a historical or poetic sense, but in modern everyday French, it often refers to a housing estate or a specific residential complex. To refer specifically to a large and influential city, the term Métropole is used.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun ville is feminine, so it must be preceded by feminine articles such as la or une.
How do you pronounce it?
/vil/
Did you know?
- The English word 'villa' and the French word ville are actually linguistic siblings, both descending from the same Latin root for a country estate.
- In Paris, the cité refers specifically to the Île de la Cité, the small island in the center of the river where the city was originally founded.
- French speakers use the word bourg to describe a specific type of small town that has a market or a church, distinguishing it from a generic ville.
Examples in context
- Je vis en ville.I'm living in the city.This sentence shows how to say you are living in the city using ville.Tatoeba #9726 by sacredceltic, translation #25505 by CK
- Allons en ville !Let's go to the city.This sentence demonstrates how to say 'Let's go to the city' using ville.Tatoeba #4961335 by sacredceltic, translation #10119580 by sundown
- Quelle belle ville !What a beautiful city!This sentence is an example of how to say 'What a beautiful city!' using ville.Tatoeba #822359 by sacredceltic, translation #1460433 by piksea
- Paris est une belle villeParis is a beautiful city
- La cité de Carcassonne est une destination touristique priséeThe city of Carcassonne is a popular tourist destination
- Lyon est une métropole dynamiqueLyon is a dynamic city
- Je vais à la ville demainI'm going to the city tomorrow
- Ce bourg est charmantThis town is charming
- Je m'ennuie dans ce bledI'm bored in this town
- 749 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Gabriel are planning a weekend trip.
- LéaQuelle ville veux-tu visiter ?Which city do you want to visit?
- GabrielJe préfère cette ville-là.I prefer that city.
- LéaElle est vraiment magnifique !It is truly magnificent!
- GabrielOui, elle est parfaite pour nous.Yes, it is perfect for us.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “city” translations and entries ville, cité, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cité, ville, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
