guitare
/ɡi.taʁ/feminine
The French word for guitar is guitare.
guitare is the standard term used for guitar in French.
Meaning: musical instrument (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
guitare is a feminine noun. When expressing playing a musical instrument, use the construction jouer de followed by the definite article.
How do you pronounce it?
/ɡi.taʁ/
Did you know?
- In France, the phrase gratter la guitare literally means 'to scratch the guitar', but it is a common colloquial way to say someone is playing the instrument.
- The word guitare is a loanword that travelled a long distance from Aramaic through Spanish and Arabic before arriving in French.
- The spelling of guitare contains a silent 'u' that serves a historical purpose: it helps maintain the hard 'g' sound before the 'i'.
Examples in context
- Ken a une guitare.Ken has a guitar.This sentence shows how to express possession of a guitare.Tatoeba #11115 by steve, translation #62507 by CN
- Où est ma guitare ?Where is my guitar?This sentence is useful for asking about the location of a guitare.Tatoeba #6448773 by felix63, translation #6736520 by Eccles17
- Il joue de la guitare.He plays the guitar.This sentence demonstrates the correct way to use the phrase for playing the guitare.Tatoeba #4702171 by sacredceltic, translation #2446795 by Hybrid
- Je vais jouer de la gratte ce soirI'm going to play the guitar tonight
- Je dois changer les cordes de ma guitareI need to change the strings on my guitar
- Je dois accorder ma guitare avant de jouerI need to tune my guitar before playing
- Le manche de ma guitare est casséThe neck of my guitar is broken
- Mon ami est un excellent guitaristeMy friend is an excellent guitarist
- 236 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Gabriel are in a music shop.
- EmmaRegarde cette belle guitare.Look at this beautiful guitar.
- GabrielElle est très élégante.It is very elegant.
- EmmaTu veux l'acheter, Gabriel ?Do you want to buy it, Gabriel?
- GabrielPeut-être, elle sonne très bien.Maybe, it sounds very good.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “guitar” translations and entries guitare, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries guitare, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
