notaire
/nɔ.tɛʁ/
The French phrase for "public notary" is notaire.
The word notaire can be used for both men and women holding this position.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun notaire is epicene, meaning it has the same form for both male and female notaries. Use le notaire to refer to a male notary and la notaire to refer to a female notary.
How do you pronounce it?
/nɔ.tɛʁ/
Did you know?
- In many French-speaking jurisdictions, a notaire holds a monopoly over certain legal acts, meaning you cannot legally buy real estate without their official involvement.
- The Latin origin of notaire comes from 'notārius', meaning 'one who takes notes', which highlights their historical role as scribes who recorded transactions for the public.
- In France, a notaire is an officer of the state who is appointed by the Minister of Justice. This makes them a 'public officer' rather than a private lawyer.
Examples in context
- Nous devons rencontrer un notaire pour finaliser le contrat de vente.We need to meet with a public notary to finalize the sales contract.
- Je dois prendre rendez-vous chez le notaire.I need to make an appointment with the notary.
- Le notaire a préparé tous les documents.The notary has prepared all the documents.
- Nous allons voir un notaire pour la maison.We are going to see a notary for the house.
Example conversation
Nathan and Manon are discussing the paperwork for their new apartment.
- NathanManon, as-tu appelé le notaire ?Manon, did you call the notary?
- ManonOui, le notaire attend nos signatures demain.Yes, the notary is waiting for our signatures tomorrow.
- NathanC'est parfait, tout est presque prêt.That's perfect, everything is almost ready.
- ManonJe suis soulagée que ce soit enfin fini.I am relieved that it is finally finished.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry notaire, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries notaire, CC BY-SA 4.0.
