How to Say "Genesis" in French

genèse

/ʒə.nɛz/feminine

The English phrase 'genesis' is translated into French as genèse.

The word genèse refers to the origin, start or the point at which something comes into being.

Meaning: the origin, start, or point at which something comes into being (noun)

Which one should you use?

While the standard noun is lowercase, the form Genèse is used as a proper noun when specifically referring to the first book of the Bible.

The noun genèse is feminine and is preceded by the feminine article la.

The word has two syllables and is pronounced /ʒə.nɛz/.

The Greek root of genèse is also the ancestor of the English word 'gene', connecting the concept of 'origin' to the biological building blocks of life.
Despite the similarity to the English word, genèse is almost never used in casual daily conversation, where speakers prefer simpler terms like début or origine.
In French, the word genèse is often used in academic or artistic contexts to describe the step-by-step creative process of a work of art or a novel, rather than just its starting point.

La genèse de cette idée remonte à une conversation informelle dix ans plus tôt.
The genesis of that idea can be traced back to a casual conversation a decade earlier.
This sentence is useful for showing how to describe the origin of an idea using genèse.
Tatoeba #8587142 by Aiji, translation #2355484 by AlanF_US
La Genèse est le premier livre de la Bible.
Genesis is the first book of the Bible.
This sentence is useful for identifying the first book of the Bible using the capitalized Genèse.
Tatoeba #12519960 by menaud, translation #12519959 by menaud
Selon le livre de la Genèse, Dieu créa le monde en six jours.
According to the book of Genesis, God created the world in six days.
La genèse du projet remonte au début des années 2000.
The project's genesis can be traced back to the early 2000s.
Le début des temps
The beginning of time
Les origines de l'univers
The origins of the universe
La genèse de ce projet est très complexe.
The genesis of this project is very complex.
1 more sentence on Tatoeba

Two colleagues are discussing a new company project.

Léa

Peux-tu m'expliquer la genèse du projet ?
Can you explain the origin of the project to me?
Lucas

Bien sûr, tout a commencé par un e-mail.
Of course, it all started with an email.
Léa

C'est fascinant de voir comment ça a évolué.
It's fascinating to see how it evolved.
Lucas

Oui, la genèse était très simple au début.
Yes, the start was very simple at the beginning.

Sources

Wiktionary, “genesis” translations and entries genèse, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
Word origins: Wiktionary entries genèse, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.

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