douche
/duʃ/feminine
The French word for shower is douche.
douche refers to the device used for bathing. To express the act of taking a shower, the most common way in everyday French is to use the phrase prendre une douche. You may also see the reflexive verb se doucher, which is also a valid way to express the same action.
Meaning: device for bathing (noun)
Which one should you use?
While douche is the standard noun, if you want to refer specifically to the shower head, you should use the phrase pomme de douche.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun douche is feminine, meaning you must use feminine articles such as la or une when using it.
How do you pronounce it?
/duʃ/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid using the word douche as a slang insult. In French, it strictly refers to the bathing device or the act of washing.
Did you know?
- In French, the expression douche écossaise (Scottish shower) is a common way to describe a sudden change of temperature or a sudden reversal of fortune.
- The French word douche was borrowed from the Italian word doccia.
- When referring to the shower head, the word pomme literally means 'apple', which is a strange visual for a piece of plumbing.
Examples in context
- Prends une douche !Take a shower.This example shows how to use douche in an imperative command.Tatoeba #4625992 by sacredceltic, translation #2250042 by CK
- Je prends ma douche.I am having a shower.This example uses douche to describe a current personal action.Tatoeba #1047123 by Bruno, translation #1661059 by Amastan
- Je prends une douche.I'm taking a shower right now.This example uses douche to describe an action happening right now.Tatoeba #1497556 by martin9, translation #797562 by CM
- Je vais prendre une doucheI am going to take a shower
- Il faut que je me doucheI need to shower
- Je vais prendre une p'tite douche avant de sortirI'm going to take a quick shower before going out
- Je prends une douche tous les matins avant d'aller travailler.I take a shower every morning before going to work.
- Je me douche rapidement avant de me coucher.I quickly shower before going to bed.
- On a une belle salle de bains avec une douche à l'italienne.We have a beautiful bathroom with a walk-in shower.
- Est-ce que tu as besoin d'un gel douche ?Do you need shower gel?
- 201 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
In a hotel room, Nathan is looking for something to use.
- ChloéOù est la douche ?Where is the shower?
- NathanElle est au bout du couloir.It is at the end of the hallway.
- ChloéMerci, Nathan.Thank you, Nathan.
- NathanDe rien, Chloé.You're welcome, Chloé.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “shower” translations and entries douche, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries douche, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
