romain
/ʁɔ.mɛ̃/
The English adjective 'roman' is translated into French as romain.
The term is an adjective meaning 'of or from Rome'. Note that when the word is used as a noun to mean the literary genre 'a novel', it is written as roman without an accent on the 'a'.
Meaning: of or from Rome (adj)
Which one should you use?
When used as an adjective meaning 'of or from Rome', the word is romain. However, the French noun for the literary genre 'novel' is roman, which is spelled without an accent on the 'a'.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The masculine singular form is romain, the feminine singular is romaine, the masculine plural is romains and the feminine plural is romaines. If you wish to specify 'the novel' in a sentence, you should add the definite article to form Le roman.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has two syllables and is pronounced /ʁɔ.mɛ̃/.
Did you know?
- The word roman for 'novel' comes from the word for the 'Romance' languages. In the Middle Ages, stories written in the vernacular instead of Latin were called romans because they were written in a language derived from Rome.
- While roman means 'novel' in French, the English word 'romance' is a direct descendant of this term. Originally, a 'romance' was not a love story, but simply a tale written in the roman tongue.
- The word romain is used in the phrase chiffres romains for 'Roman numerals'. Interestingly, French uses these not just for clocks or dates, but often to denote centuries, such as le XXIe siècle.
Examples in context
- Je suis citoyen romain.I am a Roman citizen.This sentence is useful for expressing Roman citizenship using romain.Tatoeba #1188514 by sacredceltic, translation #432966 by jerom
- Il était catholique romain.He was a Roman Catholic.This sentence shows how to describe someone as Roman Catholic using romain.Tatoeba #1806870 by sacredceltic, translation #802929 by Source_VOA
- Sais-tu les chiffres romains ?Do you understand Roman numerals?This sentence demonstrates the use of romain when discussing Roman numerals.Tatoeba #939196 by sacredceltic, translation #1487661 by marshmallowcat
- Je vais lire un roman passionnant ce week-end.I am going to read an exciting novel this weekend.
- 43 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hugo and Emma are at a museum looking at artifacts.
- HugoRegarde cette statue romaine.Look at this Roman statue.
- EmmaElle est magnifique, Hugo.It is magnificent, Hugo.
- HugoL'art romain est fascinant.Roman art is fascinating.
- EmmaJe suis d'accord avec toi.I agree with you.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “roman” translations and entries romain, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
