peindre
/pɛ̃dʁ/
To paint in French is peindre. Wiktionary also lists peinturer.
Meaning: to apply paint to (verb)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| peindre | /pɛ̃dʁ/ | |
| peinturer | /pɛ̃.ty.ʁe/ | Quebec |
The verb refers to the act of applying paint to a surface.
Which one should you use?
peindre is the standard verb used in France and most French-speaking regions.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Quebec, peinturer is a common form used to mean to paint.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The past participle of peindre is peint. The related noun peinture (substance) becomes peintures in its plural form.
How do you pronounce it?
/pɛ̃dʁ/
Did you know?
- In France, using peinturer instead of peindre can sound like a child speaking or imply a clumsy, amateur job. This creates a subtle social distinction between an artist and someone just applying a coat of paint.
- The verb peindre is an irregular verb that shares its conjugation pattern with other 'painting-adjacent' actions like éteindre (to extinguish). Both belong to a specific group of verbs ending in -indre.
- While peindre is used for art, French speakers often use the phrase mettre un coup de peinture (to give a stroke of paint) when talking about home renovation. This is the common way to say they are repainting a room.
Examples in context
- Je dois le peindre.I have to paint it.Tatoeba #570145 by sacredceltic, translation #441953 by CK
- Je n'aime pas peindre.I don't like to paint.Tatoeba #1579530 by Rovo, translation #1579438 by fanty
- Tom m'apprend à peindre.Tom is teaching me to paint.Tatoeba #5155926 by Ceriz, translation #5155548 by CarpeLanam
- Je vais peindre ma maison ce weekend.I'm going to paint my house this weekend.
- Les artistes peignent avec passion.Artists paint with passion.
- Le peintre va effectuer une peinture murale dans le salon.The painter will do a mural painting in the living room.
- Tu devrais peindre ce vieux meuble pour le rafraîchir.You should paint this old piece of furniture to freshen it up.
- J'ai peint cette toile pendant le week-end.I painted this canvas during the weekend.
- J'ai mis de la peinture sur mes chaussures par accident.I accidentally got paint on my shoes.
- Il a mis de la peinture partout dans la pièce en jouant avec son pinceau.He got paint all over the room while playing with his brush.
- 62 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chloé and Lucas are renovating their living room.
- ChloéTu veux peindre le mur en bleu ?Do you want to paint the wall blue?
- LucasOui, c'est une bonne idée.Yes, that is a good idea.
- ChloéJe vais peindre le plafond d'abord.I am going to paint the ceiling first.
- LucasD'accord, je t'aide après.Okay, I will help you afterwards.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “paint” translations and entries peindre, peinturer, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
