boucle d'oreille
/bu.klə d‿ɔ.ʁɛj/feminine
The French word for earring is boucle d'oreille.
boucle d'oreille is a feminine noun used to refer to a piece of jewelry worn on the ear.
Meaning: piece of jewelry (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to 'loop of ear'.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun boucle is feminine, so you must use feminine articles such as la or une when referring to it. To express the plural 'earrings', both the word boucle and the word oreille are typically pluralized to form boucles d'oreilles.
How do you pronounce it?
/bu.klə d‿ɔ.ʁɛj/
Did you know?
- If an earring is a stud rather than a loop, many French speakers will use the term puces d'oreilles, which literally means 'ear fleas'.
- If you are wearing a hoop earring, a French speaker might simply call it a créole, after the style of earrings popular in the French Caribbean.
- The word boucle in boucle d'oreille shares an ancestor with the English word 'buckle', both originating from the Latin word for 'cheek'.
Examples in context
- J'ai perdu une boucle d'oreille.I lost an earring.This sentence is useful for expressing that you lost an earring.Tatoeba #2029546 by Rovo, translation #1887545 by CK
- J'ai fait tomber ma boucle d'oreille.I dropped my earring.This sentence is useful for saying you dropped your earring.Tatoeba #3702436 by sacredceltic, translation #3701109 by patgfisher
- J'ai trouvé la boucle d'oreille que tu avais perdue.I found the earring that you lost.This sentence is useful for noting that you found an earring someone else had lost.Tatoeba #2329776 by sacredceltic, translation #2327224 by CK
- Je porte une pendeloque en argent ce soir pour la soirée.I'm wearing a silver dangling earring tonight for the party.
- Ses puces d'oreilles s'accordent parfaitement avec sa tenue.Her stud earrings perfectly match her outfit.
- 7 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Manon are getting ready for a party.
- LucasTu as vu ma boucle d'oreille ?Have you seen my earring?
- ManonOui, elle est sur la table, Lucas.Yes, it is on the table, Lucas.
- LucasMerci, Manon, c'est ma boucle d'oreille préférée.Thanks, Manon, it's my favorite earring.
- ManonElle est vraiment très jolie.It is really very pretty.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “earring” translations and entries boucle d'oreille, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries boucle, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
