facteur
/fak.tœʁ/masculine
The French word for mailman is facteur.
The term refers to a post office employee. You can use the phrase Monsieur le facteur to show additional respect when addressing or speaking about them.
Meaning: post office employee (noun)
Which one should you use?
Use the masculine form facteur when referring to a male mailman or when using the word as a generic term for a mail carrier. If you are referring specifically to a female mail carrier, use the feminine form factrice.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Quebec, Canada, the word postier is commonly used as an alternative to facteur.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form for mailmen is les facteurs. The feminine form of the word is factrice. Notably, the words facteur and postier remain the same regardless of whether they refer to a male or female carrier.
How do you pronounce it?
/fak.tœʁ/
Did you know?
- If you are in a music shop, a facteur might not be delivering mail, but could instead be a 'facteur d'orgues', a specialist who builds organs.
- In French, the word facteur can also mean a 'factor' in a mathematical equation, such as a 'facteur commun' (common factor).
- The word facteur shares a root with the English word 'factor', meaning both words originally refer to an agent or something that performs an action.
Examples in context
- Quand le facteur passe t-il ?When does the mailman come by?This sentence is useful for asking about the mailman's arrival time with facteur.Tatoeba #8629911 by Julien_PDC, translation #11671593 by tieguy
- Le facteur est-il déjà passé ?Has the mailman already come?This sentence is useful for checking if the mailman has already arrived with facteur.Tatoeba #942014 by sacredceltic, translation #542040 by CK
- Le chien a aboyé après le facteur.The dog barked at the mailman.This sentence is useful for describing a dog barking at the mailman with facteur.Tatoeba #11918014 by lbdx, translation #239129 by CK
- Veuillez remettre ce courrier au facteur, s'il vous plaît.Please give this mail to the mailman, if you please.
- Le facteur a livré le colis ce matin.The mailman delivered the package this morning.
- L'agent de la poste est en congé aujourd'hui.The mailman is on vacation today.
- 6 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Manon and Lucas are standing at their front door.
- ManonLucas, est-ce que tu as vu le facteur ?Lucas, have you seen the mailman?
- LucasNon, il n'est pas encore passé.No, he hasn't passed by yet.
- ManonJ'attends une lettre importante.I am waiting for an important letter.
- LucasIl devrait arriver bientôt.He should arrive soon.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “mailman” translations and entries facteur, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries facteur, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
