Pakistanais
/pa.kis.ta.nɛ/masculine
The English word "pakistani" can be translated into French as Pakistanais, which refers to a person from Pakistan or of Pakistani descent.
As a noun, it refers to a Pakistani person and as an adjective, it describes something pertaining to Pakistan or its people.
Meaning: a person from Pakistan or of Pakistani descent (noun)
Which one should you use?
There is a distinction between the noun and the adjective in terms of capitalization. When you are using the word as a noun to refer to a person, you must capitalize it: Pakistanais. When using it as an adjective, it is written in lowercase: pakistanais.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The masculine singular form is Pakistanais. To refer to a woman, use the feminine form Pakistanaise. For the masculine plural adjective, the form remains identical to the singular: pakistanais.
How do you pronounce it?
The word consists of 4 syllables and is pronounced /pa.kis.ta.nɛ/.
Did you know?
- The capitalization rule for Pakistanais differs from English, where 'Pakistani' is always capitalized regardless of whether it is a noun or an adjective.
- While the adjective pakistanais ends in a silent 's', the feminine form Pakistanaise requires you to pronounce the 's' as a /z/ sound due to the 'e' at the end.
- In French, the suffix -ais used in Pakistanais is the same one used to create many common demonyms, such as Français for someone from France.
Examples in context
- Il est pakistanais.He is Pakistani.
- Elle est pakistanaise.She is Pakistani.
- Une femme pakistanaise.A Pakistani woman.
- Le thé pakistanais est excellent.Pakistani tea is excellent.
- Mon voisin est un Pakistanais.My neighbor is a Pakistani man.
- Ce Pakistanais habite à Paris.This Pakistani man lives in Paris.
Example conversation
Gabriel and Chloé are discussing a new coworker at the office.
- GabrielTu connais le nouveau collègue ?Do you know the new colleague?
- ChloéOui, c'est un Pakistanais très sympathique.Yes, he is a very friendly Pakistani man.
- GabrielEst-ce qu'il vient de Lahore ?Is he from Lahore?
- ChloéJe ne sais pas, mais il est Pakistanais.I don't know, but he is Pakistani.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “pakistani” translations and entries Pakistanais, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Pronunciation from the Wiktionary entry pakistanais.
