lumières
The English phrase "lights" is translated to French as lumières.
The word lumières is used to refer to lights. Note that the related noun lumière is feminine, while the noun éclairage is masculine.
How does it change in a sentence?
The singular form la lumière refers to light as a concept or a single source of light, whereas les lumières is the plural form used for multiple light sources or artificial lighting.
Did you know?
- To describe someone as 'a light' in their field, such as a genius, French speakers use the expression une lumière, but it is often used ironically to mean the opposite.
- In a historical context, the term les Lumières refers to the Age of Enlightenment, the intellectual movement of the 18th century.
- While lumières refers to lights, the French word for a lighthouse is phare, which comes from the ancient name of the Great Lighthouse of Alexandria.
Examples in context
- Les lumières ont bougé.The lights moved.This sentence is useful for showing how lumières can be used when describing movement.Tatoeba #11837627 by Amastan, translation #11205658 by Amastan
- Il n'y a pas de lumières.There're no lights.This sentence shows how to express the absence of lumières.Tatoeba #3648139 by sacredceltic, translation #2252633 by CK
- Tom a éteint les lumières.Tom turned the lights off.This sentence demonstrates using lumières in the context of turning lights off.Tatoeba #3982424 by nimfeo, translation #2544533 by CK
- L'éclairage dans cette pièce est incroyable.The lighting in this room is amazing.
- Pouvez-vous vérifier l'éclairage de ce couloir, s'il vous plaît ?Can you please check the lighting in this corridor?
- Pourriez-vous allumer les lumières dans cette pièce ?Could you turn on the lights in this room?
- Veuillez ne pas bloquer le feu de circulation.Please do not block the traffic lights.
- Le feu arrière de ma voiture ne fonctionne plus.The rear light of my car is no longer working.
- Les lumières du stade étaient incroyables lors du concert.The lights at the stadium were amazing during the concert.
- Nous devons éteindre les lumières pour économiser de l'énergie.We need to turn off the lights to save energy.
- 94 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Chloé are in their living room at night.
- LucasChloé, tu peux éteindre les lumières ?Chloé, can you turn off the lights?
- ChloéOui, Lucas, je m'en occupe.Yes, Lucas, I'll take care of it.
- LucasMerci, j'ai besoin de dormir.Thanks, I need to sleep.
- ChloéBonne nuit, mon chéri.Good night, my darling.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
