patte
/pat/feminine
The French word for paw is patte.
patte is used to refer to the limbs of animals like dogs, cats or bears, rather than human feet.
Meaning: soft foot of an animal (noun)
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Quebec, the informal term patoune is used to mean paw.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of patte is pattes.
How do you pronounce it?
/pat/
Did you know?
- In French, patte is used to describe the legs of furniture, such as the 'paw' of a table or chair.
- The phrase avoir la patte lourde describes someone who is clumsy or lacks a delicate touch.
- The word patte is a distant relative of the English words 'pad' and 'path'.
Examples in context
- Il a une patte cassée.He has a broken paw.This sentence shows how to describe an injured patte.Tatoeba #7707609 by felix63, translation #11614091 by tieguy
- Cookie glisse sa patte sous la porte.Cookie's sticking her paw under the door.This sentence describes an action involving a patte.Tatoeba #13988409 by Rovo, translation #13988258 by rul
- Le chien de Tom a laissé des empreintes boueuses de pattes sur toute sa nouvelle moquette.Tom's dog left muddy paw prints all over his new carpet.This sentence illustrates the use of the plural form pattes regarding muddy prints.Tatoeba #4447173 by Scorpionvenin14, translation #4446914 by patgfisher
- La chatte léchait sa patte.The cat was licking her paw.
- Mon chien a une patte blessée.My dog has an injured paw.
- Son chaton a une jolie petite patoune.Her kitten has a cute little paw.
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hugo and Chloé are watching a cat sleep on the sofa.
- HugoRegarde sa petite patte rose.Look at its little pink paw.
- ChloéElle est vraiment mignonne.It is really cute.
- HugoElle dort avec la patte levée.She is sleeping with her paw raised.
- ChloéQuel chat adorable !What an adorable cat!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “paw” translations and entries patte, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries patte, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
