pivoine
/pi.vwan/feminine
The English phrase "peony" is translated into French as pivoine.
pivoine refers to the Paeonia genus of flowering plants.
Meaning: Paeonia genus of flowering plants (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun pivoine is feminine. Because of this, it is preceded by feminine articles such as la or une.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has two syllables and is pronounced /pi.vwan/.
Did you know?
- The Greek root of pivoine comes from 'paion', a physician to the gods, who was said to have discovered the plant's medicinal properties.
- In the French 'langage des fleurs', the pivoine is a symbol of modesty and bashfulness, though it is also used to represent a happy marriage.
- The 'v' sound in pivoine is an epenthetic consonant, meaning it was inserted over time to make the word easier to pronounce.
Examples in context
- Ma fleur préférée est la pivoine.My favourite flower is the peony.contains the form pivoine.Tatoeba #8643634 by Julien_PDC, translation #13823711 by tieguy
- Marie devint rouge comme une pivoine.Mary turned red as a peony.Tatoeba #12771311 by Adelpa, translation #12771325 by Adelpa
- Je viens d'acheter un magnifique bouquet de pivoines.I just bought a magnificent bouquet of peonies.
- Cette pivoine est magnifique.This peony is magnificent.
Example conversation
Manon and Lucas are at a flower market.
- ManonRegarde cette belle pivoine rose.Look at this beautiful pink peony.
- LucasElle est très élégante.It is very elegant.
- ManonTu veux l'acheter pour le vase ?Do you want to buy it for the vase?
- LucasOui, elle sera parfaite.Yes, it will be perfect.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “peony” translations and entries pivoine, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries pivoine, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
