entreprise
/ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁiz/
The French word for corporation is entreprise.
In a general sense, entreprise refers to a business or an enterprise. To specifically refer to a large corporation, you can use the phrase une grande entreprise.
Meaning: company owned by shareholders (noun)
Which one should you use?
While entreprise refers to the business entity or the enterprise itself, the term société is used as a more technical legal term for a company or corporation.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun entreprise is feminine. When referring to a single company, use the feminine article une entreprise. The plural form of the word is entreprises.
How do you pronounce it?
/ɑ̃.tʁə.pʁiz/
Did you know?
- While entreprise is common, a French person might use boîte (literally 'box') as a very common slang term for their company.
- In historical French contexts, an entreprise could refer to a military campaign or a bold political plot.
- In French, the word for 'company' is often société, which is also the exact same word used for 'society' in English.
Examples in context
- Une grande société américaineA large American corporation
- Une compagnie multinationaleA multinational corporation
- Une entreprise cotée en bourseA publicly traded corporation
- Je travaille pour une grosse boîteI work for a big corporation
- C'est une firme spécialisée dans la technologieIt's a technology corporation
- La société Apple est une multinationale célèbre dans le domaine de la technologie.The corporation Apple is a well-known multinational in the technology field.
- J'ai récemment commencé à travailler pour une grande boîte d'investissement.I recently started working for a large investment corporation.
- Cette entreprise possède des milliers d'employés.This corporation has thousands of employees.
- L'entreprise est cotée en bourse.The corporation is publicly traded.
- Il dirige une grande entreprise internationale.He runs a large international corporation.
Example conversation
Emma and Nathan are discussing career opportunities at a cafe.
- EmmaEst-ce que tu veux travailler pour une grande entreprise ?Do you want to work for a large corporation?
- NathanNon, je préfère une petite structure.No, I prefer a small structure.
- EmmaPourtant, cette entreprise offre de bons avantages.Yet, this corporation offers good benefits.
- NathanPeut-être, mais j'aime l'ambiance plus calme.Maybe, but I like a calmer atmosphere.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry entreprise, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
