Notre-Dame
/nɔ.tʁə.dam/feminine
Notre Dame in French is Notre-Dame, the name of the famous cathedral in Paris. If unsure, use Notre-Dame. Wiktionary also lists Notre-Dame de Paris.
Meaning: French cathedral (name)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Notre-Dame | /nɔ.tʁə.dam/ | feminine |
| Notre-Dame de Paris | feminine |
Many churches share the name, so Notre-Dame de Paris is the full name used for the Paris cathedral.
What does it mean word for word?
Notre-Dame means Our Lady, a title of the Virgin Mary.
How does it change in a sentence?
French writes the name with a hyphen, and it is feminine.
How do you pronounce it?
Notre-Dame is pronounced /nɔ.tʁə.dam/.
Did you know?
- The term Notre-Dame is a calque, meaning it is a word-for-word translation of the Medieval Latin phrase Domina Nostra.
- While Notre-Dame refers to the Virgin Mary, in common French conversation, la dame is often used as a polite or slightly old-fashioned way to refer to any lady.
Examples in context
- Notre-Dame de Paris est le monument historique le plus visité d'Europe.Notre-Dame de Paris is the most visited historic monument of Europe.monument historique means historic monument.Tatoeba #7854325 by Blabla, translation #10593540 by valhentai
- Un incendie s'est déclaré à l'intérieur de la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris.A fire broke out inside Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.Un incendie means a fire.Tatoeba #11038569 by lbdx, translation #7888327 by Hybrid
- Combien d'années faudra-t-il pour reconstruire la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris ?How many years will it take to rebuild the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris?reconstruire means to rebuild.Tatoeba #11235315 by lbdx, translation #11235312 by sundown
- On pourra se retrouver devant Notre-Dame pour prendre une photo.We can meet in front of Notre Dame to take a picture.
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are planning a walking tour of Paris.
- GabrielOn commence la visite par Notre-Dame ?Shall we start the tour with Notre-Dame?
- ManonOui, c'est une excellente idée, Gabriel.Yes, that is an excellent idea, Gabriel.
- GabrielJe veux voir les travaux de Notre-Dame.I want to see the work on Notre-Dame.
- ManonMoi aussi, Manon a hâte de voir ça.Me too, Manon is looking forward to seeing that.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “notre dame” translations and entries Notre-Dame, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries Notre-Dame, Paris, de, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
