médaille
/me.daj/feminine
The English word medal is translated into French as médaille.
The word refers to a stamped metal disc.
Meaning: stamped metal disc (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun médaille is feminine, so you must use feminine articles like une or la.
How do you pronounce it?
/me.daj/
Did you know?
- The English word 'median', used in statistics to find the middle value, shares the same ancient root as the French médaille.
- The French word médaille is a linguistic doublet of maille, a word used for a stitch or a link in a chain.
- In the phrase médaille d'or, the word for 'gold' remains masculine even though médaille is feminine, because or is a noun acting as a complement.
Examples in context
- J'ai reçu une médaille.I was given a medal.Tatoeba #5959604 by MarieAnne, translation #5958206 by CK
- Tu mérites une médaille.You deserve a medal.Tatoeba #1589192 by sacredceltic, translation #1588737 by Spamster
- Elle mérite une médaille.She deserves a medal.Tatoeba #12165070 by lbdx, translation #6033841 by mailohilohi
- Elle a reçu une médaille pour son courage.She received a medal for her bravery.
- Sa décoration militaire est impressionnante.His military medal is impressive.
- 27 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Gabriel are looking at a museum exhibit.
- LéaRegarde cette médaille antique, Gabriel.Look at this antique medal, Gabriel.
- GabrielElle est vraiment magnifique.It is truly magnificent.
- LéaLa médaille est très lourde.The medal is very heavy.
- GabrielOui, elle semble être en bronze.Yes, it looks like it is made of bronze.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “medal” translations and entries médaille, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries médaille, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
