encre
/ɑ̃kʁ/feminine
Ink in French is encre.
encre is a feminine noun referring to a colored fluid used for writing. In formal contexts, you may encounter L'encre d'imprimerie to refer specifically to printing ink or L'encre de Chine to refer to India ink or Chinese ink.
Meaning: coloured fluid used for writing (noun)
Which one should you use?
The word encre is a homophone of ancre, which means 'anchor'.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When expressing that something is written 'in ink', use the preposition à followed by the definite article, resulting in the phrase à l'encre.
How do you pronounce it?
/ɑ̃kʁ/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often confuse the spelling of encre with the English word 'ink' or the French word ancre (anchor).
Did you know?
- French has a specific term, encre sympathique, to describe 'invisible ink' used for secret messages, literally translating to 'sympathetic ink'.
- The French word encre shares an ancient root with the English word 'encautic', which refers to things produced by burning or cauterizing.
- Historically, the French word encre was used in the phrase encre de seiche to refer to the ink produced by a cuttlefish, which is still used today in gastronomy.
Examples in context
- Je n'avais plus d'encre.I ran out of ink.This sentence is useful for describing a situation where you have run out of encre.Tatoeba #7291122 by tras, translation #7290009 by Hedede
- C'est la meilleure encre.This is the best ink.This sentence is useful for describing the quality of an encre.Tatoeba #9668592 by Aiji, translation #2898088 by AlanF_US
- Dois-je écrire à l'encre ?Must I write in ink?This sentence is useful for asking if one should write using encre.Tatoeba #484181 by sacredceltic, translation #65761 by CM
- Pouvez-vous m'apporter de l'encre ?Can you bring me some ink?
- Les journaux sont imprimés avec de l'encre d'imprimerie.Newspapers are printed with printing ink.
- J'utilise de l'encre de Chine pour mes dessins.I use India ink for my drawings.
- Le stylo est à court d'encreThe pen is out of ink.
- J'ai acheté de l'encre d'imprimerie pour mon projet de brochureI bought printing ink for my brochure project.
- L'encre d'imprimerie doit être de bonne qualité pour de meilleurs résultatsPrinting ink should be of good quality for better results.
- Elle a utilisé de l'encre de Chine pour réaliser cette magnifique calligraphieShe used India ink to create this beautiful calligraphy.
- L'encre de Chine est souvent utilisée pour les dessins à l'encreIndia ink is often used for ink drawings.
- 46 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chloé and Lucas are in an office sharing a printer.
- ChloéIl n'y a plus d'encre dans l'imprimante.There is no more ink in the printer.
- LucasJe vais acheter une nouvelle cartouche d'encre.I will go buy a new ink cartridge.
- ChloéMerci, Lucas, c'est très gentil.Thank you, Lucas, that is very kind.
- LucasDe rien, je m'en occupe tout de suite.You're welcome, I'll take care of it right away.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “ink” translations and entries encre, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries encre, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
