vache
/vaʃ/feminine
The French word for cow is vache.
The term refers to the adult female of the species Bos taurus. In certain informal contexts, calling a person a vache can be used as an insult to imply they are mean or unpleasant.
Meaning: adult female of species Bos taurus (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
As a feminine noun, vache is used with the feminine article la, as in la vache (the cow).
How do you pronounce it?
/vaʃ/
Did you know?
- In French, the expression vachement is used as an adverb meaning 'very' or 'extremely', such as in c'est vachement bon.
- If someone says la vache ! as an exclamation, they are expressing surprise or shock, similar to saying 'holy cow' or 'wow' in English.
- The expression la vache qui rit refers to a famous brand of processed cheese and literally means 'the laughing cow'.
Examples in context
- Tom a une vache.Tom has a cow.This sentence shows the use of vache in the context of ownership.Tatoeba #10340675 by Micsmithel, translation #2915483 by sabretou
- Il a trait la vache.He milked the cow.This sentence illustrates the action of milking a vache.Tatoeba #4450680 by franlexcois, translation #2719524 by Amastan
- Une vache donne du lait.A cow gives us milk.This sentence demonstrates that a vache provides milk.Tatoeba #9242 by sacredceltic, translation #19505 by AlanF_US
- Le fermier a un troupeau de vaches impressionnant.The farmer has an impressive herd of cows.
- Regarde cette vache, elle est immense !Look at that cow, it's huge!
- Le secteur de l'élevage bovin est essentiel à l'économie.The cattle farming sector is essential to the economy.
- 100 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Manon and Lucas are walking in the countryside.
- ManonRegarde cette belle vache.Look at that beautiful cow.
- LucasElle est très grande, la vache.That cow is very big.
- ManonElle semble très calme.She seems very calm.
- LucasOui, elle mange tranquillement.Yes, she is eating peacefully.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “cow” translations and entries vache, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
