porte
/pɔʁt/feminine
The English word "door" is translated into French as porte. Wiktionary also lists portière and huis.
Meaning: portal of entry into a building, room or vehicle (noun)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| porte | /pɔʁt/ | feminine |
| portière | /pɔʁ.tjɛʁ/ | feminine |
| huis | /ɥi/ | dated, literary, masculine |
Porte is the general term for a portal of entry into a building, room or vehicle. To specify an "entrance door" (as opposed to a window or a side door), you can use the phrase porte d'entrée.
Which one should you use?
Use portière specifically for the doors of a car or vehicle, whereas porte is used for buildings and rooms. While porte is the standard term, huis is also a word for door, though it is masculine.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Huis is a highly formal or literary term for door and is not used in everyday spoken French.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
Porte is a feminine noun, so it must be preceded by feminine articles like la or une.
How do you pronounce it?
/pɔʁt/
Did you know?
- When someone is 'at the door' in French, they are à la porte, but mettre à la porte means to fire someone or kick them out of the house.
- The word huis contains a silent 'h' that was actually added by scribes centuries ago to prevent it from being confused with the word vis, meaning 'screw'.
- The formal word huis is most commonly seen today in the legal phrase à huis clos, which means 'behind closed doors' or 'in private'.
Examples in context
- Ferme la porte !Shut the door.This sentence is useful for practicing the command to shut the door with porte.Tatoeba #1136391 by sacredceltic, translation #38992 by CK
- Ouvre la porte !Open the door.This sentence is useful for practicing the command to open the door with porte.Tatoeba #1994944 by sacredceltic, translation #39002 by Swift
- Fermez la porte !Close the door.This sentence is useful for practicing the command to close the door with porte.Tatoeba #1136392 by sacredceltic, translation #405379 by brauliobezerra
- N'oubliez pas de fermer la porte en sortant.Don't forget to close the door when you leave.
- Le chauffeur a fermé la portière du taxi avant de démarrer.The driver closed the taxi's door before starting.
- J'ai sonné à l'entrée, mais personne n'a répondu.I rang at the door, but no one answered.
- J'arrive, ouvre la porte s'il te plaît!I'm coming, please open the door!
- J'ai claqué la porte en sortant parce que j'étais très énervé.I slammed the door when I left because I was very upset.
- La portière de la voiture est cassée, je ne peux pas la fermer correctement.The car door is broken, I can't close it properly.
- 1358 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Manon and Hugo are standing outside their apartment.
- ManonOù est la porte d'entrée ?Where is the entrance door?
- HugoLa porte est juste là, devant toi.The door is right there, in front of you.
- ManonAh, je ne l'ai pas vue.Ah, I didn't see it.
- HugoElle est un peu cachée par les plantes.It is a bit hidden by the plants.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “door” translations and entries porte, portière, huis, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries huis, porte, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
