Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| allée | /a.le/ | |
| sortie de véhicules | Italy, feminine |
A driveway is a short private road leading to a house or garage. The most common term is allée, though this word can also mean a path, an aisle or an alleyway depending on the context. If you want to be specific about a driveway leading to a garage, you can use allée de garage. The term chemin d'accès can also be used to refer to any access road leading to a location, including driveways.
Which one should you use?
allée is the standard, common term for a driveway. For more formal situations, you might use allée carrossable or accès véhiculaire, which specifically refers to the access point for vehicles. On signage, you will often see sortie de véhicules used to indicate a driveway or a point where vehicles exit a property.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Quebec, Canada, the formal term entrée carrossable is more commonly used.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural of allée is allées. The form sortie de véhicules is feminine.
How do you pronounce it?
/a.le/
Did you know?
- The word allée shares its origin with the English word 'alley', though in French it often carries a more elegant or spacious connotation.
- The word sortie in sortie de véhicules comes from the Latin 'sortīrī', which originally meant to 'cast lots' or 'divide'.
- In France, an allée can refer to a driveway, but it also describes the long, straight rows of trees found in formal French gardens like those at Versailles.
Examples in context
- Ta voiture bloque l'allée.Your car is blocking the driveway.This sentence is useful for saying a car is blocking the allée.Tatoeba #12324616 by lbdx, translation #11888731 by Amastan
- Il s'est garé dans son allée.He pulled into his driveway.This sentence is useful for saying someone pulled into his allée.Tatoeba #12324614 by lbdx, translation #7390661 by CH
- Est-ce ta voiture, dans l'allée ?Is that your car in the driveway?This sentence is useful for asking if a car is in the allée.Tatoeba #1099882 by sacredceltic, translation #1096413 by CK
- 8 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Nathan and Léa are standing in front of a house.
- NathanL'allée est très longue.The driveway is very long.
- LéaOui, et elle est pavée.Yes, and it is paved.
- NathanOù est la voiture dans l'allée ?Where is the car in the driveway?
- LéaElle est juste là.It is right there.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “driveway” translations and entries allée, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries allée, de, sortie, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
