prière
/pʁi.jɛʁ/feminine
The French word for prayer is prière.
prière refers to the practice of communicating with God. In a religious context, specific well-known prayers include Le Pater for the Lord's Prayer and L'Ave Maria for the Hail Mary.
Meaning: practice of communicating with one's God (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun is feminine, so you use the articles la or une (e.g., une prière). If you wish to use the verb form, use prier, which means "to pray".
How do you pronounce it?
/pʁi.jɛʁ/
When do people say it?
In formal religious settings, speakers often address God using the greeting Seigneur.
Did you know?
- The word prière is used in a common polite expression je vous en prie to say 'you are welcome' or 'please go ahead'.
- The word prière shares a deep linguistic root with the English word 'prayer', but it also relates to the English word 'precarious', which describes something uncertain or unstable.
- While prière is the general word for prayer, the term oraison is used specifically for meditative or silent prayer, particularly in mystical traditions.
Examples in context
- La prière est finie.Prayer is over.This sentence shows the use of prière to state that prayer has ended.Tatoeba #10297389 by Amastan, translation #9959454 by Amastan
- Dieu, entends ma prière.God, hear my prayer.This sentence uses prière in a direct address to God.Tatoeba #1196743 by sacredceltic, translation #1196590 by nadsat
- La prière de Sami fut exaucée.Sami's prayer was answered.This sentence demonstrates how prière is used to describe an answered prayer.Tatoeba #6478943 by GB3, translation #6476438 by OsoHombre
- Faisons une prière pour la paix dans le mondeLet's say a prayer for world peace
- Notre Père qui es aux cieuxOur Father who art in heaven
- Je vous salue, MarieHail Mary, full of grace
- Seigneur, fais de moi un instrument de ta paixLord, make me an instrument of your peace
- Je vais dire une prière pour que tout se passe bienI'm going to say a prayer for everything to go well
- Que toutes vos prières soient exaucéesMay all your prayers be answered!
- 13 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Nathan and Léa are talking about their morning routines.
- NathanTu commences ta journée par une prière ?Do you start your day with a prayer?
- LéaOui, la prière m'aide à rester calme.Yes, prayer helps me stay calm.
- NathanC'est une belle habitude, Léa.That is a beautiful habit, Léa.
- LéaMerci, Nathan. Ça me fait du bien.Thank you, Nathan. It does me good.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “prayer” translations and entries prière, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries prière, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
