dommage collatéral
/dɔ.maʒ kɔ.la.te.ʁal/masculine
The English phrase "collateral damage" can be translated into French as dommage collatéral. Wiktionary also lists dégât collatéral.
Meaning: collateral damage (noun)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| dommage collatéral | /dɔ.maʒ kɔ.la.te.ʁal/ | masculine |
| dégât collatéral | /de.ɡa kɔ.la.te.ʁal/ /de.ɡɑ kɔ.la.te.ʁal/ |
masculine |
The term is used to describe collateral damage.
Which one should you use?
The singular form dommage collatéral is used to refer to the concept or a single instance of collateral damage. You may also use dégât collatéral when referring specifically to physical destruction or material damage, whereas dommage collatéral is a more direct calque of the English military term.
How does it change in a sentence?
To form the plural of dommage collatéral, use dommages collatéraux, where both the noun and the adjective take the masculine plural ending. For the other form, the plural of dégât collatéral is dégâts collatéraux.
How do you pronounce it?
/dɔ.maʒ kɔ.la.te.ʁal/
Did you know?
- In French, dommage can also be used as an exclamation to mean 'What a pity!' or 'That's a shame'.
- While dommage sounds like 'damage', the French word dégât is actually a descendant of the verb gâter, which means 'to spoil' or 'to go bad' in English.
- In formal French documents, you will almost always see dommages et intérêts used for 'damages' in a legal context, rather than just dommages.
Examples in context
- Le conflit a engendré de nombreux dommages collatéraux, touchant les civils innocents.The conflict caused many collateral damages, affecting innocent civilians.
- Pendant l'opération, quelques vitrines ont été brisées et il y a eu des victimes incidentales.During the operation, some shop windows were broken and there were incidental victims.
- On ne peut pas éviter tout dommage collatéral.We cannot avoid all collateral damage.
Example conversation
Two military officers discuss a mission report.
- NathanLe rapport indique un dommage collatéral ici.The report indicates collateral damage here.
- EmmaEst-ce que des civils sont touchés, Nathan ?Are any civilians affected, Nathan?
- NathanOui, malheureusement c'est le cas.Yes, unfortunately that is the case.
- EmmaC'est un dommage collatéral tragique, Emma pense.Emma thinks it is a tragic collateral damage.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “collateral damage” translations and entries dommage collatéral, dégât collatéral, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries collatéral, dommage, dégât, CC BY-SA 4.0.
