crinière
/kʁi.njɛʁ/feminine
The French word for mane is crinière.
crinière refers to the longer hair growth around head of male lions. It can be used informally to describe a person's long and flowing hair.
Meaning: longer hair growth around head of male lions (noun)
Which one should you use?
The informal word tignasse is used to describe a wild or messy head of hair resembling a mane.
How does it change in a sentence?
crinière is feminine. The noun crinière is feminine, so it is preceded by the feminine article 'la' or the adjective 'longue'.
How do you pronounce it?
/kʁi.njɛʁ/
Did you know?
- In French, the word crin used to form crinière refers specifically to horsehair and not just any hair. This is why the same word is used for the stiff bristles of high-quality brushes and traditional upholstery.
- The suffix -ière in crinière is typically used in French to denote a container or an object linked to a specific material. In this case, it transforms the material 'crin' into the structural feature of the mane.
- While crinière is a compliment for voluminous hair, the word tignasse is a much more informal and potentially insulting way to describe a wild head of hair. Using tignasse implies the hair is a messy thicket rather than a majestic mane.
Examples in context
- Les lionnes n'ont pas de crinière.Lionesses have no mane.Tatoeba #10561281 by lbdx, translation #6122939 by carlosalberto
- Les chevaux ont une crinière et une longue queue épaisse.Horses have a mane and a thick, long tail.Tatoeba #12467439 by Rovo, translation #6122981 by carlosalberto
- Ses longs cheveux ébouriffés ressemblaient à la crinière d'un lion.His long, untidy hair resembled a lion's mane.Tatoeba #8977388 by Aiji, translation #5707112 by AlanF_US
- Le cheval a une crinière magnifiqueThe horse has a magnificent mane.
- Il a une belle tignasse boucléeHe has a beautiful curly mane.
- Elle a une superbe crinière blondeShe has a stunning blond mane.
- Sa crinière brune resplendissait au soleil.His mane shone in the sunlight.
- Regarde sa tignasse ondulée, elle est magnifique !Look at her beautiful wavy mane!
Example conversation
Léa and Hugo are watching a wildlife documentary about Africa.
- LéaRegarde la crinière de ce lion !Look at that lion's mane!
- HugoElle est vraiment impressionnante, sa crinière.His mane is truly impressive.
- LéaIl a l'air très puissant avec sa crinière.He looks very powerful with his mane.
- HugoC'est vrai, il est magnifique.It's true, he is magnificent.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “mane” translations and entries crinière, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries crinière, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
