crayons
The English word pencils is translated into French as crayons.
crayons refers to writing instruments made of wood with a graphite core.
Which one should you use?
While crayons is commonly used by itself to mean pencils, if you need to specify a standard graphite pencil (as opposed to colored pencils), you might use crayons de papier or crayons à papier.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In parts of Canada, les crayons de plomb may be used instead of les crayons à papier.
How does it change in a sentence?
The singular form is crayon and the plural form is crayons.
Did you know?
- The word crayon is a cognate of the English word 'crayon', but in modern English, a 'crayon' is almost exclusively wax, whereas in French it is the standard word for a graphite pencil.
- French speakers use the verb tailler to describe sharpening a crayon, which literally means 'to cut' or 'to carve'.
- The expression crayonner is a verb derived from crayon that means to sketch something roughly or to make a draft of a text.
Examples in context
- As-tu des crayons ?Do you have any pencils?This sentence is useful for asking if someone has any crayons.Tatoeba #468728 by sacredceltic, translation #16284 by xtofu80
- Avez-vous des crayons ?Do you have pencils?Tatoeba #468729 by sacredceltic, translation #2741885 by MSWindowsinside
- L'élève a onze crayons.The pupil has eleven pencils.This sentence is useful for stating that a pupil has eleven crayons.Tatoeba #13374229 by Rovo, translation #12709070 by Barend
- J'ai besoin d'acheter des crayonsI need to buy some pencils
- Mon ami m'a offert de beaux crayons de dessinMy friend gave me some nice drawing pencils
- 36 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Lucas are preparing for an art class.
- EmmaEst-ce que tu as des crayons ?Do you have any pencils?
- LucasOui, j'ai des crayons dans mon sac.Yes, I have some pencils in my bag.
- EmmaPeux-tu me prêter un de tes crayons ?Can you lend me one of your pencils?
- LucasBien sûr, tiens.Of course, here.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
