concevoir
/kɔ̃.sə.vwaʁ/
The English phrase "designing" is translated into French as concevoir.
Concevoir is used to describe the act of planning and creating the form or function of an object or system.
Which one should you use?
While dessiner means "to draw" (the physical act of sketching), concevoir refers to the intellectual process of designing or conceiving a concept or system.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb concevoir is used to express the infinitive "to design" or the gerund "designing" when it functions as a noun or a subject. The past participle of 'concevoir' is conçu, which is used to describe something that has been designed.
How do you pronounce it?
/kɔ̃.sə.vwaʁ/
Did you know?
- In a biological context, concevoir is the standard term used to describe the act of conceiving a child, moving the meaning from abstract planning to physical procreation.
- While concevoir refers to the design process, the French word for 'designer' often depends on the field. A graphic designer is un graphiste and a fashion designer is un styliste, rather than a literal translation of the verb.
- The verb concevoir shares a common ancestor with the English word 'conceive', meaning both words originally described the act of taking something in, such as an idea or a physical substance.
Examples in context
- Concevoir une ville seulement pour les voitures rend les routes pires pour les conducteurs.Designing a city only for cars makes the roads worse for drivers.This sentence shows how to use concevoir regarding urban planning.Tatoeba #11076687 by sacredceltic, translation #11076686 by sacredceltic
- Quand nous avons commencé à concevoir des pages web, nous étions les seuls à le faire dans cette partie du pays.When we started out designing web pages, we were the only ones doing it in this part of the country.This sentence uses concevoir in the context of web design.Tatoeba #8328245 by Aiji, translation #954625 by CK
- Le génie logiciel est la discipline qui permet de concevoir, développer et maintenir des logiciels de qualité.Software engineering is the discipline of designing, developing, and maintaining high-quality software.This sentence demonstrates the use of concevoir within the field of software engineering.Tatoeba #13965108 by Naityahia, translation #13965111 by Naityahia
- La création de cet objet nécessite un processus de conception.The designing of this object requires a design process
- L'élaboration de cette nouvelle interface a été confiée à notre équipe de design.The designing of this new interface has been entrusted to our design team
- Il se spécialise dans le design de logiciels.He specializes in software designing
- J'adore ta dernière créa ! Elle est super originale.I love your latest design! It's really unique
- L'équipe de conception travaille sur un nouveau projet.The designing team is working on a new project
Example conversation
Gabriel and Emma are discussing a new product project.
- GabrielEst-ce que tu peux m'aider à concevoir ce logo ?Can you help me design this logo?
- EmmaBien sûr, Gabriel, je peux t'aider avec ça.Of course, Gabriel, I can help you with that.
- GabrielC'est difficile de concevoir quelque chose de moderne.It's difficult to design something modern.
- EmmaOn peut essayer plusieurs styles ensemble, Emma suggère.We can try several styles together, Emma suggests.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry concevoir, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries concevoir, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
