Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| tissu | /ti.sy/ | masculine |
| étoffe | /e.tɔf/ | feminine |
In French, both tissu and étoffe are used to mean fabric or cloth. You can use tissu to describe specific materials, such as tissu de coton (cotton cloth), tissu de soie (silk cloth), tissu en lin (linen cloth), tissu de laine (woolen cloth) or tissu synthétique (synthetic cloth). While these terms refer to fabric, related clothing items include chemise (shirt), pantalon (pants/trousers), jupe (skirt), veste (jacket), robe (dress) and chapeau (hat).
Which one should you use?
tissu is the standard, general word for any type of fabric or cloth. étoffe is a more formal or literary term that is often used to imply a certain quality or texture.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural of the masculine noun tissu is tissus.
How do you pronounce it?
/ti.sy/
When do people say it?
The French expression Être sur son 31 is used to describe someone who is dressing up elegantly or wearing their finest clothes.
Did you know?
- While tissu refers to fabric, it is also the exact word French speakers use for biological 'tissue' in the human body.
- In French, a 'dishcloth' is called torchon, a word that shares no linguistic root with the general word for fabric tissu.
- The word tissu shares a common ancestor with the English word 'tissue', which is used to describe a delicate type of fabric or a single layer of cells.
Examples in context
- Ce tissu est en coton.That cloth is made from cotton.This sentence describes the material of a certain tissu.Tatoeba #8537504 by Aiji, translation #5216219 by AlanF_US
- Coupez le tissu en diagonale.Cut the cloth diagonally.This sentence gives an instruction to cut the tissu in a specific direction.Tatoeba #1440906 by sacredceltic, translation #1439976 by CM
- Nous sommes de la même étoffe.We are cut from the same cloth.This sentence uses the figurative expression involving étoffe to say people are very similar.Tatoeba #992795 by sacredceltic, translation #2374 by Zifre
- Le tissu utilisé pour fabriquer cette chemise est très doux.The cloth used to make this shirt is very soft.
- 22 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Lucas are at a textile shop.
- LéaRegarde ce tissu, il est magnifique !Look at this fabric, it is magnificent!
- LucasOui, il est très élégant, Léa.Yes, it is very elegant, Léa.
- LéaEst-ce que tu penses qu'il convient pour un rideau ?Do you think it is suitable for a curtain?
- LucasAbsolument, ce serait parfait dans ton salon.Absolutely, it would be perfect in your living room.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “cloth” translations and entries tissu, étoffe, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries tissu, étoffe, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
