chien
/ʃjɛ̃/masculine
The French word for dog is chien.
The word chien is the standard, universal term used to refer to the animal.
Meaning: animal (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
The masculine form is chien, the feminine form for a female dog is chienne and you can make the word plural by adding an s to get chiens.
How do you pronounce it?
/ʃjɛ̃/
Did you know?
- While 'chien' refers to the animal, the feminine form chienne is frequently used as a vulgar insult in French to describe a person.
- In French, the phrase un temps de chien refers to terrible, rainy or cold weather, rather than the behavior of an animal.
- If a French speaker says someone has une vie de chien, they are not talking about a pet's lifestyle but are saying the person has a miserable life.
Examples in context
- Tu es un chien.You're a dog.Tatoeba #1193502 by Julien_PDC, translation #1193496 by shekitten
- Vise ce chien !Look at that dog.Tatoeba #3643752 by sacredceltic, translation #2648777 by CK
- Tom a un chien.Tom has a dog.Tatoeba #5419894 by Aiji, translation #2649192 by CK
- Les chiens sont fidèles et intelligents.Dogs are loyal and intelligent.
- J'adore mon toutou, il est si mignon !I love my dog, he's so cute!
- 1686 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Manon are walking in a park.
- LucasRegarde ce petit chien blanc.Look at that little white dog.
- ManonOh, il est vraiment mignon !Oh, he is really cute!
- LucasEst-ce que c'est ton chien ?Is that your dog?
- ManonNon, c'est le chien de la voisine.No, it is the neighbor's dog.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “dog” translations and entries chien, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
