béton
/be.tɔ̃/masculine
The French word for the building material concrete is béton.
béton is a masculine noun referring to the construction material. If you want to use a verb to describe the action of covering a surface with concrete, use bétonner.
Meaning: building material (noun)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
To describe an object as being made of concrete, use the preposition en followed by béton, resulting in the phrase en béton. To specifically refer to reinforced concrete, use the term béton armé.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has two syllables and is pronounced /be.tɔ̃/.
Did you know?
- The word béton has a secret identity in French slang. Through a linguistic process called Verlan, it is a reversal of the verb tomber, which means 'to fall'.
- In very informal settings, bétonner can be used to mean 'to over-prepare' or 'to study excessively' for an exam to make one's knowledge indestructible.
- In French slang, the expression être béton is used to describe a plan or an argument that is 'rock solid' or impossible to challenge.
Examples in context
- Ce mur est-il en béton ?Is this wall made of concrete?This sentence is useful for asking if a wall is made of concrete using béton.Tatoeba #8430579 by felix63, translation #12130303 by zogwarg
- Les murs sont en béton armé.The walls are reinforced concrete.This sentence is useful for describing walls made of reinforced concrete using béton.Tatoeba #8654337 by Julien_PDC, translation #10794780 by ddnktr
- Les poteaux sont en béton armé.The columns are made of reinforced concrete.This sentence is useful for describing columns made of reinforced concrete using béton.Tatoeba #11477167 by lbdx, translation #10612147 by sangelo
- Les ingénieurs ont utilisé du béton renforcé pour construire ce gratte-ciel.The engineers used reinforced concrete to build this skyscraper.
- Il faut étudier les propriétés du béton armé avant de concevoir la structure de l'ouvrage.One must study the properties of reinforced concrete before designing the structure of the project.
- J'ai accidentellement renversé du café sur le béton .I accidentally spilled coffee on the concrete.
- Les travaux de la nouvelle terrasse ont commencé avec le coulage du béton .The construction of the new terrace began with the pouring of concrete.
- 6 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Manon and Hugo are standing in front of a construction site.
- ManonLe sol est encore en béton frais.The ground is still wet concrete.
- HugoHugo, fais attention à ne pas tomber.Hugo, be careful not to fall.
- ManonEst-ce qu'il faut du béton pour finir la dalle ?Do we need concrete to finish the slab?
- HugoOui, le camion arrive demain.Yes, the truck is coming tomorrow.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “concrete” translations and entries béton, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries béton, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
