piège à souris
The English phrase "mouse trap" is translated into French as piège à souris.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of piège (trap) and à souris (for mice/with mice), where the preposition à indicates the purpose of the object.
How does it change in a sentence?
In this specific compound noun construction, the word souris remains in the singular form, even if the trap is intended for multiple mice.
Did you know?
- In French the word souris is a homonym with another word meaning 'smile' or 'grin'. While they are spelled the same today they come from entirely different Latin roots.
- The word piège shares a linguistic root with the Latin word for 'foot' pēs. This reflects the ancient design of traps intended to snare an animal by its leg.
- The term for a computer mouse souris was borrowed from English. French speakers used the word for the animal to describe the device because of its similar shape and tail.
Examples in context
- J'ai trouvé une souricière dans le garage.I found a mouse trap in the garage.
- Pouvez-vous me recommander un bon piège à souris ?Can you recommend a good mouse trap?
- Où est le piège à souris ?Where is the mouse trap?
- Il faut acheter un piège à souris.We need to buy a mouse trap.
- Le piège à souris est dans le garage.The mouse trap is in the garage.
Example conversation
Emma and Nathan are in the kitchen.
- EmmaRegarde, il y a une souris !Look, there is a mouse!
- NathanJe vais installer un piège à souris.I will set a mouse trap.
- EmmaEst-ce que tu en as un ?Do you have one?
- NathanOui, j'en ai un dans le garage.Yes, I have one in the garage.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries piège, souris, à, CC BY-SA 4.0.
