mandarine
/mɑ̃.da.ʁin/
The French word for mandarin is mandarine.
mandarine is the term used for the mandarin orange.
Meaning: Standard Mandarin (name)
Which one should you use?
In French, the word mandarine refers to the fruit, whereas mandarin refers to a Chinese Imperial bureaucrat.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun mandarine is feminine. To say mandarin oranges (plural), use mandarines.
How do you pronounce it?
/mɑ̃.da.ʁin/
Did you know?
- French speakers use mandarine for the fruit, but refer to the language as le mandarin, using the masculine form associated with the historic officials.
- The term mandarin in French carries a connotation of an elite intellectual or a high-ranking academic, not just a historical Chinese official.
- The history of the word mandarine links the exotic citrus fruit to the historical Portuguese trade routes that brought Eastern goods to Europe.
Examples in context
- Les mandarines contiennent beaucoup de vitamine C.Mandarin oranges have a lot of vitamin C.This sentence shows how to use mandarine when talking about the vitamin content of the fruit.Tatoeba #2857259 by Yan, translation #2860606 by CK
- Je vais suivre des cours de langues, notamment le mandarin .I am going to take language classes, especially Mandarin.
- J'adore la musique pop chinoise , surtout celle en mandarin .I love Chinese pop music, especially that in Mandarin.
- Mon ami est bilingue, il parle couramment le mandarin .My friend is bilingual, he speaks Mandarin fluently.
Example conversation
Gabriel and Manon are discussing their language classes.
- GabrielTu étudies quelle langue, Manon ?What language are you studying, Manon?
- ManonJ'étudie le mandarine depuis un mois.I've been studying Mandarin for a month.
- GabrielC'est difficile comme langue ?Is it a difficult language?
- ManonOui, mais le mandarine est passionnant.Yes, but Mandarin is fascinating.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry mandarine, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
