colonie
/kɔ.lɔ.ni/feminine
The English word 'colony' is translated into French as colonie.
colonie refers to a region or a governmental unit. You may also encounter related terms such as colonisateur for 'colonizer' and indigène for 'indigenous'.
Meaning: region or governmental unit (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
colonie is a feminine noun. Therefore, it must be preceded by feminine articles such as la or une.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has three syllables and is pronounced /kɔ.lɔ.ni/.
Did you know?
- In France, the term colonie de vacances is so common that people often shorten it to simply la colo when talking about their childhood summer camp experiences.
- To avoid the negative historical baggage of colonie, the French government uses the term outre-mer meaning 'overseas' to describe its remaining territories.
- The word colonie is a doublet of the name of the German city 'Cologne'. Both words trace their origins back to the same Latin root describing a settlement.
Examples in context
- Le Brésil fut colonie portugaise.Brazil was a Portuguese colony.This sentence shows the use of colonie to describe Brazil's historical status.Tatoeba #1674404 by sacredceltic, translation #1365162 by Eldad
- L’Algérie est une colonie française.Algeria is a French colony.This sentence uses colonie to state that Algeria is a French colony.Tatoeba #10684286 by AutoBot, translation #10684287 by AutoBot
- Le Brésil fut une colonie portugaise.Brazil was a colony of Portugal.This sentence demonstrates how to express that Brazil was a colony of Portugal using colonie.Tatoeba #1674401 by sacredceltic, translation #1365164 by Eldad
- La France avait de nombreuses colonies à travers le monde.France had many colonies around the world.
- Les Britanniques fondèrent une colonie en Amérique du Nord.The British established a colony in North America.
- J'ai visité une ancienne colonie pénitentiaire lors de mes vacances.I visited a former penal colony during my vacation.
- 10 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Emma are studying history together.
- LucasC'était une colonie britannique autrefois.It was a British colony once.
- EmmaOui, et elle a gagné son indépendance.Yes, and it won its independence.
- LucasQuelle colonie étudies-tu pour ton cours ?Which colony are you studying for your class?
- EmmaJ'étudie une ancienne colonie espagnole.I am studying an old Spanish colony.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “colony” translations and entries colonie, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries colonie, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
