pouce
/pus/masculine
The French word for the English unit of length "inch" is pouce.
pouce is used to refer to the English unit of measurement. It is also used in the idiomatic expression ne pas céder d'un pouce, which means to refuse to compromise or to not budge an inch.
Meaning: English unit of length and traditional equivalents (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word pouce literally means "thumb".
How does it change in a sentence?
The word is a masculine noun.
How do you pronounce it?
/pus/
Did you know?
- While pouce is the translation for 'inch', France officially uses the metric system, so you will mostly see this word in technical manuals or when discussing screen sizes for televisions and smartphones.
- Historically, the length of a pouce was determined by the width of a person's thumb.
- The French use the word pouce to describe the 'thumb' of a glove or a shoe, whereas other fingers are called doigts.
Examples in context
- Je ne céderai pas d'un pouce.I'm not giving an inch.This sentence shows how to use pouce in the idiom for not giving an inch.Tatoeba #10623412 by lbdx, translation #3151394 by CK
- Elle ne cédera pas d'un pouce, quoi qu'on lui dise.She will not budge an inch no matter what anyone says.This example demonstrates the use of pouce when describing someone refusing to budge.Tatoeba #10343474 by lbdx, translation #276258 by CM
- Ils étaient si intimidés qu'ils ne pouvaient bouger d'un pouce.They were so frightened that they couldn't move an inch.This sentence illustrates the use of pouce to describe being unable to move an inch due to fear.Tatoeba #1472127 by sacredceltic, translation #307491 by CK
- La longueur de ce livre est de 10 pouces.The length of this book is 10 inches.
- Le clou mesure deux pouces de long.The nail measures two inches in length.
- 4 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Hugo are discussing the size of a new computer screen.
- LéaQuelle est la taille de ton écran ?What is the size of your screen?
- HugoL'écran mesure vingt-sept pouces.The screen measures twenty-seven inches.
- LéaC'est beaucoup plus grand que le mien.That is much larger than mine.
- HugoOui, un pouce fait environ deux centimètres et demi.Yes, one inch is about two and a half centimeters.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “inch” translations and entries pouce, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
