pneu
/pnø/
The French word pneu means tire.
pneu refers to the rubber ring that fits around a vehicle's wheel. If you need to express the action of changing a tire, the standard phrase is changer un pneu.
What does it mean word for word?
The word pneu is an abbreviation of the original French word pneumatique.
How does it change in a sentence?
To form the plural, add an -s to the end: pneus means tires.
How do you pronounce it?
/pnø/
Did you know?
- The word pneu shares its root with the English medical term 'pneumonia', as both derive from the Greek word for 'breath'.
- The root of pneu is the Greek 'pneuma', meaning 'breath' or 'spirit', which is why the word relates to the air inside the tire.
- When talking about the vehicle's spare, you should use the phrase roue de secours rather than calling it a pneu de secours. In French, the 'spare' is conceptualized as a 'wheel of help' rather than just a spare rubber ring.
Examples in context
- La voiture a besoin de nouveaux pneusThe car needs new tires
- J'ai besoin de changer mes neumsI need to change my tires
- J'ai besoin d'acheter des pneus pour ma voiture.I need to buy tires for my car.
- Les pneus de cette voiture sont usés, il faut les changer.The tires on this car are worn out, you need to change them.
- Ma voiture a une crevaison. Je dois réparer le pneu.My car has a flat tire. I have to fix the tire.
- J'ai un pneu crevé.I have a flat tire.
- Il faut changer ce pneu.This tire needs to be changed.
- Le pneu est complètement usé.The tire is completely worn out.
Example conversation
Emma and Lucas are standing by their car on the side of the road.
- EmmaLucas, regarde, on a un pneu plat !Lucas, look, we have a flat tire!
- LucasAh mince, c'est vraiment pas de chance.Ah shoot, that is really bad luck.
- EmmaTu as le pneu de secours dans le coffre ?Do you have the spare tire in the trunk?
- LucasOui, je vais aller le chercher.Yes, I am going to go get it.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry pneu, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
