livre
/livʁ/feminine
The English word pound is translated into French as livre.
The term livre is used to refer to the pound as a unit of currency and also as a unit of weight. While it is a feminine noun, it is the standard term for pound in French.
Meaning: unit of currency (noun)
Which one should you use?
The word livre covers two different meanings: the unit of currency (the pound) and the unit of weight (the pound).
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural of livre is livres.
How do you pronounce it?
/livʁ/
Did you know?
- The word livre is a homonym for the French word for 'book'. While they are spelled and pronounced the same, the word for 'book' is masculine while the 'pound' is feminine.
- If you ask for a 'livre' of fruit in a French market, you are requesting a weight of approximately 500 grams rather than a British pound.
- The symbol for the British pound sterling is '£', which is derived from the letter 'L'. This stands for livre in French and 'libra' in Latin.
Examples in context
- Le colis pèse plus d'une livre.The parcel weighs more than one pound.This sentence is useful for describing the weight of a parcel using livre.Tatoeba #1002958 by chtof, translation #46498 by CK
- Nous achetâmes une livre de thé.We bought a pound of tea.This sentence shows how to use livre when buying a specific quantity of tea.Tatoeba #571222 by sacredceltic, translation #23251 by CK
- Une livre est une unité de poids.A pound is a unit of weight.This sentence provides a definition of a pound as a unit of weight using livre.Tatoeba #13396 by sacredceltic, translation #33066 by CM
- Le prix du produit est de 10 livres.The price of the product is 10 pounds.
- 10 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Manon and Gabriel are discussing a price in British pounds.
- ManonCombien coûte ce livre ?How much does this book cost?
- GabrielIl coûte dix livres sterling.It costs ten pounds sterling.
- ManonC'est cher pour une livre !That is expensive for a pound!
- GabrielOui, Gabriel est d'accord avec toi.Yes, Gabriel agrees with you.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “pound” translations and entries livre, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
