phoque
/fɔk/masculine
The English word seal is translated into French as phoque.
The term phoque refers to the pinniped animal. It is a masculine noun.
Meaning: pinniped (noun)
Which one should you use?
In French, a biological distinction is made between a seal, which is a phoque and a sea lion, which is an otarie.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
/fɔk/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers should be aware that the word phoque is a homophone for a common French profanity. However, in the context of marine biology, it is the correct term for the animal.
Did you know?
- While phoque refers to the animal, the French word for a wax seal used on a letter is sceau, which sounds identical to ceau but has no linguistic connection to the pinniped.
- The Greek origin of the word, φώκη, is believed to be an onomatopoeia, potentially imitating the barking sounds made by the animal.
- Due to the phonetic similarity between phoque and a common French swear word, the animal is often the subject of puns and wordplay in French pop culture and internet memes.
Examples in context
- Le phoque est un mammifère marin.A seal is a marine mammal.Tatoeba #4468592 by Mutusen, translation #13052513 by araneo
- Peux-tu faire la différence entre un phoque et une otarie ?Can you tell the difference between a seal and a sea lion?Tatoeba #8925744 by lbdx, translation #8926338 by carlosalberto
- J'ai aperçu un phoque lors de ma promenade sur la plage. Il était si mignon avec ses grands yeux noirs !I spotted a seal during my walk on the beach. It was so cute with its big black eyes!
- Regarde ce petit phoque sur le rocher.Look at that little seal on the rock.
Example conversation
Chloé and Lucas are walking along a beach in Brittany.
- ChloéRegarde là-bas, Lucas, il y a un phoque !Look over there, Lucas, there is a seal!
- LucasOh oui, il est vraiment mignon.Oh yes, he is really cute.
- ChloéEst-ce qu'il va nager bientôt ?Is he going to swim soon?
- LucasJe pense qu'il va rester sur le sable.I think he is going to stay on the sand.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “seal” translations and entries phoque, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
