notaire
/nɔ.tɛʁ/masculine
The English phrase notary public is translated into French as notaire.
A notaire is an officer who can administer oaths and statutory declarations.
Meaning: officer who can administer oaths and statutory declarations (noun)
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the Canadian province of Québec, the term notaire is used to refer to a notary public.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun is masculine, so the indefinite article used is un notaire.
How do you pronounce it?
The word is pronounced /nɔ.tɛʁ/ and has 2 syllables.
When do people say it?
In many French-speaking countries, a notaire is a highly specialized legal professional with much greater authority and different responsibilities than a common-law notary public in English-speaking countries.
Did you know?
- The word notaire is borrowed from the Latin notārius, which originally meant a 'note-taker'.
- In France, you cannot buy a home without a notaire because they are the only professionals authorized to handle the transfer of property titles.
- Unlike common-law systems, the French legal system relies on the notaire to provide 'authentic acts', which are documents that are legally presumed to be true in court unless proven otherwise.
Examples in context
- Mayas est un notaire.Mayas is a notary public.This sentence is useful for identifying someone's profession with notaire.Tatoeba #9138580 by Rafik, translation #13624524 by menaud
- Cette transaction requiert l'intervention d'un notaire .This transaction requires the involvement of a notary public.
- Je dois prendre rendez-vous avec un notaire.I need to make an appointment with a notary.
- Le notaire a signé les documents officiels.The notary signed the official documents.
Example conversation
Emma and Nathan are discussing the paperwork for buying a house.
- EmmaEst-ce que le notaire a déjà vérifié le contrat ?Has the notary checked the contract yet?
- NathanOui, il a validé tous les documents.Yes, he validated all the documents.
- EmmaC'est une excellente nouvelle pour nous.That is excellent news for us.
- NathanOn peut enfin signer l'acte de vente.We can finally sign the deed of sale.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “notary public” translations and entries notaire, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries notaire, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
