grêle
/ɡʁɛl/feminine
The French word for hail is grêle.
grêle is a feminine noun used to refer to balls of ice falling from the sky.
Meaning: balls of ice (noun)
Which one should you use?
While grêle is the noun for the ice itself, the related verb grêler is used to describe the action of hail falling from the sky. Note that héler is a different verb meaning to call out loudly to get someone's attention.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb form of the noun grêle is grêler.
How do you pronounce it?
/ɡʁɛl/
Did you know?
- The French word for hail, grêle, is an unexpected linguistic relative of the English word 'gracile', meaning slender or thin.
- If you see someone described as grêle in a literary context, they are likely being described as thin or frail rather than being pelted by ice.
Examples in context
- La grêle a fendu la vitre.The hail cracked the window.This sentence shows how grêle can cause physical damage like cracking a window.Tatoeba #3667903 by sacredceltic, translation #34632 by CK
- La pluie a tourné à la grêle.The rain turned to hail.This sentence illustrates how rain can change into grêle.Tatoeba #12761390 by lbdx, translation #9453337 by CK
- La grêle détruisit la récolte.Hail destroyed the harvest.This sentence demonstrates how grêle can impact agriculture by destroying harvests.Tatoeba #13841938 by Rovo, translation #13836939 by rul
- La grêle tombait violemment.The hail was falling violently.
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Gabriel and Chloé are looking out the window during a storm.
- GabrielRegarde, il y a de la grêle !Look, there is hail!
- ChloéOh non, la grêle est très grosse.Oh no, the hail is very large.
- GabrielJ'espère que la grêle ne cassera pas les fleurs.I hope the hail won't break the flowers.
- ChloéIl faut rentrer à l'intérieur vite.We must go inside quickly.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hail” translations and entries grêle, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries grêle, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
