maire
/mɛʁ/masculine
The French word for mayor is maire. Wiktionary also lists mairesse and bourgmestre.
Meaning: leader of a city (noun)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| maire | /mɛʁ/ | masculine |
| mairesse | /mɛ.ʁɛs/ /me.ʁɛs/ |
feminine |
| bourgmestre | /buʁ.mɛstʁ/ /buʁɡ.mɛstʁ/ |
Belgium, feminine, masculine |
The term refers to the leader of a city.
Which one should you use?
maire is the standard term and is grammatically masculine. It is often used for both male and female mayors in many formal contexts. In contrast, mairesse specifically denotes a woman.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Belgium, the term bourgmestre is used for mayor instead of maire.
How does it change in a sentence?
The feminine form of mayor is mairesse.
How do you pronounce it?
/mɛʁ/
Did you know?
- While maire and maigre (meaning 'thin') look similar, they are doublets from the same Latin root macer.
- The use of mairesse can be controversial in France, as some female mayors prefer maire to emphasize the neutrality of the office.
- The term mairesse was traditionally used to denote a female mayor, but its usage has shifted in some regions to sometimes imply the wife of a mayor.
Examples in context
- Es-tu le maire ?Are you the mayor?Tatoeba #5347991 by Aiji, translation #773387 by marloncori
- Est-ce le maire ?Is he the mayor?Tatoeba #8487472 by felix63, translation #13847144 by rul
- Il a été élu maire.He was elected mayor.Tatoeba #132159 by TRANG, translation #297172 by CK
- Monsieur le Maire, je vous remercie pour votre hospitalité.Mr. Mayor, thank you for your hospitality.
- 78 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Manon and Nathan are discussing local politics in the city center.
- ManonQui est le nouveau maire de la ville ?Who is the new mayor of the city?
- NathanC'est un homme très dynamique, Nathan.He is a very dynamic man, Nathan.
- ManonLe maire a-t-il déjà commencé son travail ?Has the mayor already started his work?
- NathanOui, il a pris ses fonctions lundi.Yes, he took office on Monday.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “mayor” translations and entries maire, mairesse, bourgmestre, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bourgmestre, maire, mairesse, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
