bibliothécaire
/bi.bli.jɔ.te.kɛʁ/feminine, masculine
The English phrase librarian means bibliothécaire in French.
The most commonly used term for a librarian in French is bibliothécaire. In everyday conversation, you use le bibliothécaire to refer to a male librarian and la bibliothécaire to refer to a female librarian.
Meaning: one who cares for the publications etc. in a library (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is composed of bibliothèque (library) and the suffix -aire, which denotes a person associated with a thing.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word bibliothécaire is epicene, which means the spelling remains the same for both masculine and feminine forms.
How do you pronounce it?
/bi.bli.jɔ.te.kɛʁ/. It has 5 syllables.
Did you know?
- If you accidentally call a library a librairie instead of a bibliothèque, a French speaker will think you are talking about a bookstore where books are sold.
- In France, the bibliothécaire is often a certified civil servant who has passed a rigorous national competitive exam called a concours.
- The root of bibliothèque, meaning 'library', comes from the Greek 'biblion' meaning 'book' and 'theke' meaning 'case' or 'box'.
Examples in context
- Je sais que Tom est bibliothécaire.I know Tom is a librarian.This sentence is useful for identifying a specific person as a bibliothécaire.Tatoeba #7524797 by tras, translation #7521511 by CK
- La bibliothécaire a classé les livres par sujet.The librarian classified the books according to subject.This sentence shows the use of bibliothécaire when describing an action taken by a librarian.Tatoeba #11289946 by lbdx, translation #245512 by voxbubnya
- La bibliothécaire nous a dit de rester silencieux.The librarian said we needed to be quiet.This sentence illustrates bibliothécaire in the context of instructions given by a librarian.Tatoeba #7744706 by lbdx, translation #6241531 by CK
- Je dois parler au bibliothécaire pour obtenir ces livres rares.I need to speak to the librarian to acquire these rare books.
- Le conservateur de bibliothèque m'a aidé dans mes recherches sur l'histoire de France.The librarian helped me with my research on French history.
- J'ai rencontré la bibliothécaire aujourd'hui, elle était très gentille.I met the librarian today, she was very kind.
- 4 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Lucas are at a public library.
- EmmaEst-ce que le bibliothécaire est disponible ?Is the librarian available?
- LucasOui, il est juste là-bas.Yes, he is right over there.
- EmmaPeux-tu lui demander de l'aide ?Can you ask him for help?
- LucasD'accord, j'y vais tout de suite.Okay, I'm going right now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “librarian” translations and entries bibliothécaire, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bibliothécaire, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
