eau potable
/o pɔ.tabl/
The English phrase "drinking water" is translated into French as eau potable.
eau potable refers to water that is safe for humans to drink. It is a versatile phrase used in both technical contexts, such as municipal water reports and in everyday conversation, such as when asking if tap water is safe to consume.
What does it mean word for word?
The term is composed of eau (water) and the adjective potable (potable/drinkable).
Which one should you use?
If you need to indicate water that is not safe for human consumption, use eau non potable instead of eau à ne pas boire.
How does it change in a sentence?
Because eau is a feminine noun, the adjective potable follows it, though the spelling of potable does not change in the feminine form.
Did you know?
- If a French person describes a movie or a meal as potable, they do not mean it is safe to drink, but rather that it is 'passable' or just barely acceptable.
- While eau potable is the standard term, French speakers use the phrase une carafe d'eau in restaurants to get a free pitcher of tap water instead of bottled water.
- The word eau is a distant relative of the Latin word aqua and the Spanish word agua.
Examples in context
- Est-ce de l'eau potable ?Is this drinking water?This sentence is useful for asking if a specific water source is eau potable.Tatoeba #12832048 by Rovo, translation #5009567 by AlanF_US
- Tom n'a pas d'eau potable.Tom doesn't have any drinking water.This sentence is useful for stating that someone lacks eau potable.Tatoeba #12423284 by Rovo, translation #8340986 by CK
- Nous n'avions pas d'eau potable.We had no drinking water.This sentence is useful for describing a past situation where there was no eau potable.Tatoeba #1595408 by sacredceltic, translation #1595374 by CM
- Pouvez-vous m'apporter de l'eau potable, s'il vous plaît?Can you bring me some drinking water, please?
- Est-ce que je peux avoir de l'eau à boire?Can I have some water to drink?
- 10 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Hugo are camping in a remote area.
- EmmaEst-ce qu'il y a de l'eau potable ici ?Is there any drinking water here?
- HugoNon, il faut la filtrer d'abord.No, you have to filter it first.
- EmmaJe n'ai pas trouvé d'eau potable dans la rivière.I didn't find any drinking water in the river.
- HugoJe vais vérifier la carte pour nous.I will check the map for us.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry eau potable, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries eau, potable, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
