dinosaure
/di.no.zɔʁ/masculine
The English phrase 'dinosaur' is translated into French as dinosaure.
The term refers to a prehistoric reptile.
Meaning: prehistoric reptile (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the word plural, simply add an 's' to the end, as in English: dinosaures.
How do you pronounce it?
/di.no.zɔʁ/ (3 syllables)
Did you know?
- The word dinosaure was borrowed directly from English after being coined by Richard Owen in 1842.
- In French children's media, dinosaurs are often discussed using the term le monde des dinosaures to describe the prehistoric era, whereas English speakers might say 'the age of dinosaurs'.
- The suffix '-saure' in dinosaure is derived from the Greek 'sauros', meaning 'lizard', a root shared with the English word 'saurian'.
Examples in context
- Le lézard paraîssait comme un dinosaure.The lizard looked like a dinosaur.Tatoeba #11964024 by Amastan, translation #11207867 by Amastan
- La nouvelle expo de dinosaures est cool.The new dinosaur exhibit is cool.Tatoeba #11964025 by Amastan, translation #11615163 by Amastan
- Regarde ce nuage, il a la forme d'un dinosaure.Look at that cloud. It's shaped like a dinosaur.Tatoeba #7701259 by Maxence, translation #12084513 by zogwarg
- Les dinosaures ont vécu il y a des millions d'années.Dinosaurs lived millions of years ago.
- J'ai lu un livre fantastique sur les dinos hier.I read a fantastic book about dinos yesterday.
- 10 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Gabriel are visiting a natural history museum.
- EmmaRegarde ce dinosaure, Gabriel !Look at this dinosaur, Gabriel!
- GabrielIl est immense, Emma.It is huge, Emma.
- EmmaTu aimes les dinosaures ?Do you like dinosaurs?
- GabrielOui, j'adore ça.Yes, I love it.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “dinosaur” translations and entries dinosaure, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries dinosaure, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
