lécher
/le.ʃe/
To lick is lécher in French.
The verb lécher means to stroke something with the tongue. When you want to describe the specific action of an animal drinking liquid by licking, the verb laper is frequently used instead.
Meaning: to stroke with the tongue (verb)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The past participle of lécher is léché. The first-person plural present indicative form, used for saying "let's lick", is léchons.
How do you pronounce it?
/le.ʃe/
Did you know?
- The term léché is used as a critique in the art world to describe a painting that is so smooth and polished that it lacks soul or spontaneity.
- The English word 'lick' and the French verb lécher are likely distant cousins, both potentially tracing back to the same Germanic roots.
- The phrase lécher les bottes mirrors the English 'bootlicking', showing that both cultures used the same imagery of footwear to describe extreme sycophancy.
Examples in context
- Tu ne dois surtout pas lécher le sol.You absolutely must not lick the floor.Tatoeba #846967 by sacredceltic, translation #794934 by sundown
- Il ne faut pas lécher la neige carbonique.You shouldn't lick dry ice.Tatoeba #11900679 by zogwarg, translation #11900673 by CK
- Si tu ne peux pas les lécher, joins-toi à elles.If you can't lick 'em, join 'em.Tatoeba #1160748 by sacredceltic, translation #278068 by Chris87
- Il a léché la glace délicatement.He licked the ice cream delicately.
- Il a lapé son bol de lait.He lapped his bowl of milk
- 6 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Léa are watching their puppy play with a treat.
- LucasLe chien veut lécher la glace.The dog wants to lick the ice cream.
- LéaIl aime lécher tout ce qui est sucré.He loves to lick everything that is sweet.
- LucasRegarde-le lécher sa patte.Look at him lick his paw.
- LéaC'est vraiment mignon.It is truly cute.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “lick” translations and entries lécher, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries lécher, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
