racine
/ʁa.sin/feminine
The English word 'root' is translated into French as racine.
racine refers to the part of a plant. It is also used metaphorically to talk about one's ancestral roots or origins. In a mathematical context, you will see it used in the phrase racine carrée for 'square root'. In informal settings, speakers may simply use racine on its own to refer to a square root.
Meaning: part of a plant (noun)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
racine is a feminine noun. Its plural form is racines.
How do you pronounce it?
/ʁa.sin/
Did you know?
- In French, the term racine is also the surname of a very famous 17th-century playwright, Jean Racine, who is a pillar of classical French literature.
- While racine refers to the biological root of a tooth, the base of a hair follicle is called a bulbe.
- In French linguistics, the 'root' of a verb is called a radical rather than a racine.
Examples in context
- La racine carrée de neuf est trois.The square root of nine is three.This sentence is useful for learning how to express the square root of a number using racine.Tatoeba #5132784 by nimfeo, translation #11562732 by carlosalberto
- La racine carrée de 3 est √3 ou -√3.The square root of 3 is √3 or -√3.This sentence shows how to express the square root of a number using racine.Tatoeba #5402168 by alexisslay, translation #5402764 by OjisanSeiuchi
- La racine carrée de quatre est deux.The square root of four is two.Tatoeba #6820027 by Rockaround, translation #4490411 by Joseph
- Les racines de cet arbre sont profondesThe roots of this tree are deep
- La racine du problème se trouve dans la gestionThe root of the problem lies in the management
- La racine de 16, c'est 4The (square) root of 16 is 4
- Je vais cuisiner des légumes racines, comme des patatesI'm going to cook some root vegetables, like potatoes
- 18 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Gabriel are gardening in the backyard.
- EmmaRegarde cette racine, elle est énorme !Look at this root, it is huge!
- GabrielElle bloque complètement le passage de l'eau.It is completely blocking the water flow.
- EmmaOn doit couper la racine avec an outil.We must cut the root with a tool.
- GabrielJe vais chercher les cisailles tout de suite.I will go get the shears right away.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “root” translations and entries racine, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
