lumière
/ly.mjɛʁ/feminine
The French word for light is lumière. Wiktionary also lists clarté.
Meaning: visible light, brightness (noun)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| lumière | /ly.mjɛʁ/ | feminine |
| clarté | /klaʁ.te/ | feminine |
lumière refers to the physical phenomenon of light. If you are referring to coffee served with extra milk or cream, you would use the phrase au lait. To express the action of illuminating something, you can use the verbs allumer or illuminer.
Which one should you use?
While lumière refers to the physical phenomenon of light, clarté is used to describe the quality of brightness or clarity in a space or a piece of writing.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
Both lumière and clarté are feminine nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
The word lumière is pronounced /ly.mjɛʁ/ and consists of two syllables.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid using lumière as a verb to say 'to light something'. Instead, use the verb allumer to mean 'to turn on' or 'to ignite' or éclairer to mean 'to illuminate'.
Did you know?
- The Age of Enlightenment is known in French as le Siècle des Lumières, which translates literally as 'the Century of Lights'.
- The word lumière evolved from the Latin plural lūmināria, which originally referred to lamps or torches.
- While lumière is the general word for light, the phrase faire la lumière sur means to uncover the truth or shed light on a mystery.
Examples in context
- Besoin de lumière ?Need a light?This sentence shows how to ask if someone needs a light using lumière.Tatoeba #7694611 by sacredceltic, translation #5923936 by mailohilohi
- Je vois une lumière.I see a light.This sentence demonstrates how to state that you see a light using lumière.Tatoeba #3658909 by sacredceltic, translation #2330250 by MethodGT
- Éteignez la lumière !Turn off the light.This sentence illustrates the command to turn off the light using lumière.Tatoeba #3658888 by sacredceltic, translation #279153 by CK
- La lumière du soleil éclaire la pièce.The sunlight lights up the room.
- Ce livre apporte de la lumière sur le sujet.This book sheds light on the subject.
- La lampe projette une lumière douce.The lamp emits a soft light.
- L'éclairage de cette salle de conférence est excellent.The lighting in this conference room is excellent.
- Nous devons revoir l'éclairage de notre appartement.We need to review the lighting in our apartment.
- Ça te dérange si j'allume une lumière?Do you mind if I turn on a light?
- Il fait sombre ici, allume la lumière!It's dark here, turn on the light!
- Ce tissu a une légèreté agréable à porter.This fabric has a pleasant lightness when worn.
- L'avion offre une sensation de légèreté durant le vol.The airplane provides a sense of lightness during the flight.
- 346 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hugo and Léa are decorating a room together.
- HugoOn a besoin de plus de lumière ici.We need more light here.
- LéaJe vais ouvrir les rideaux, Hugo.I will open the curtains, Hugo.
- HugoC'est mieux, la lumière est parfaite maintenant.That's better, the light is perfect now.
- LéaOui, on voit tout beaucoup mieux.Yes, we can see everything much better.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “light” translations and entries lumière, clarté, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries clarté, lumière, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
