poison
/pwa.zɔ̃/masculine
The English phrase poison is translated into French as poison.
poison refers to a substance harmful to a living organism. In technical, scientific or medical contexts, the term substance toxique is a formal way to say poison.
Meaning: substance harmful to a living organism (noun)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When referring to poison as an uncountable substance, such as in the phrase 'That stuff is poison', French often uses the partitive article du instead of the indefinite article un.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has 2 syllables and is pronounced /pwa.zɔ̃/.
Did you know?
- While poison is common, French has a specific word venin for toxins produced by animals, such as snakes, which is never used for man-made chemicals.
- The word poison shares its history with the English word 'potion'. Both come from the Latin word pōtiōnem, which simply meant 'a drink'.
- French speakers use the expression c'est un poison to describe someone who is incredibly difficult to get along with or who is 'a pain' to be around.
Examples in context
- C'est un poison mortel.It's a deadly poison.This example shows how to use poison to describe something deadly.Tatoeba #11642695 by Aiji, translation #4494748 by CK
- Ce truc, c'est du poison.That stuff is poison.This example shows how to use poison with the partitive article du when referring to an uncountable substance.Tatoeba #3599330 by sacredceltic, translation #3594022 by CK
- Le sucre est-il un poison ?Is sugar a poison?This example shows how to use poison when asking a question about a substance.Tatoeba #5203226 by davidcfres, translation #5201662 by Hybrid
- Il faut faire attention, ce serpent a un venin très puissant.Be careful, this snake has a very potent poison.
- Fais attention à ce produit ménager, c'est du poison.Be careful with this cleaning product, it's poison.
- 42 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
In a chemistry lab, a colleague warns another.
- ManonHugo, ne touche pas à ce flacon.Hugo, do not touch this flask.
- HugoPourquoi ? Est-ce un poison ?Why? Is it a poison?
- ManonOui, c'est un poison très dangereux.Yes, it is a very dangerous poison.
- HugoMerci de me prévenir, Manon.Thanks for warning me, Manon.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “poison” translations and entries poison, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries poison, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
