coing
/kwɛ̃/
The English word "quince" is translated into French as coing.
If you are referring to the tree itself, the word cognassier is used instead. Common culinary terms include Pâte de coings for quince paste and Tarte aux coings for quince tart.
Meaning: fruit (noun)
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Quebec, the term Cognassier du Japon is used to describe the Japanese quince.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of coing is coings.
How do you pronounce it?
/kwɛ̃/
Did you know?
- The French word coing is a homophone of coin, which means 'corner'. This often leads to puns in French literature and jokes about fruit being pushed into a corner.
- In French folklore, the coing was once believed to have aphrodisiac properties and was often associated with love and fertility in rural traditions.
- The word coing has roots in the Ancient Greek word κυδώνιον, linking the French fruit to much older Mediterranean traditions.
Examples in context
- Manon mangea le coing.Mary ate the quince.This sentence is useful for seeing coing used in a simple past tense sentence.Tatoeba #10020622 by Rovo, translation #6002841 by CannedBread
- Laver soigneusement les coings.Wash the quince thoroughly.This sentence provides an instruction using the plural form coings.Tatoeba #751098 by Cocorico, translation #750871 by sctld
- Le coing est jaune et a la forme d'une poire.The quince is yellow and has the shape of a pear.This sentence describes the color and shape of the coing.Tatoeba #11150165 by lbdx, translation #10027923 by Nylez
- Le coing est un fruit délicieux.Quince is a delicious fruit.
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hugo and Emma are looking at a fruit basket.
- HugoQu'est-ce que c'est que ce fruit ?What is this fruit?
- EmmaC'est un coing, Hugo.It is a quince, Hugo.
- HugoEst-ce qu'on peut le manger cru ?Can we eat it raw?
- EmmaNon, le coing est meilleur cuit.No, the quince is better cooked.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “quince” translations and entries coing, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries coing, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
