musique
/my.zik/feminine
The English word music is translated into French as musique.
musique refers to sound organized in time in a melodious way. To describe the act of listening to music, you can use the phrase écouter de la musique. If you are in a formal setting, the word composition can also be used to mean composition.
Meaning: sound, organized in time in a melodious way (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
Because musique is a feminine noun, it is used with the feminine definite article la to form la musique.
How do you pronounce it?
/my.zik/
Did you know?
- French has a specific term, musique d'ameublement, created by Erik Satie to describe 'furniture music' designed to be ignored as background sound.
- French music theory uses 'do, ré, mi, fa, sol, la, si' instead of the 'C, D, E, F, G, A, B' system common in English-speaking countries.
- The word musique traces its lineage back to the Greek word for the 'Muses', the goddesses who inspired all arts.
Examples in context
- Baisse la musique !Turn down the music.This sentence is useful for practicing the command to lower the volume of musique.Tatoeba #4997088 by sacredceltic, translation #4645714 by Sladey
- Il parla de musique.He talked about music.This sentence is useful for practicing the phrase talking about musique.Tatoeba #1833571 by sacredceltic, translation #804633 by hrin
- Tu aimes la musique.You like music.This sentence is useful for expressing a preference for musique.Tatoeba #2551592 by Amastan, translation #6704035 by AlanF_US
- J'adore la musique classiqueI love classical music
- Ce son est vraiment entraînantThis music is really catchy
- J'adore écouter de la musique en faisant du sportI love listening to music while exercising
- 682 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chloé and Nathan are talking about their hobbies.
- ChloéEst-ce que tu joues de la musique ?Do you play music?
- NathanOui, je joue du piano.Yes, I play the piano.
- ChloéQuelle musique préfères-tu ?What music do you prefer?
- NathanJ'adore la musique classique.I love classical music.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “music” translations and entries musique, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries musique, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
