grain de beauté
/ɡʁɛ̃ d(ə) bo.te/
The English phrase "skin mole" is translated into French as grain de beauté.
grain de beauté is used to describe a small, permanent dark spot on the skin.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "grain of beauty".
How does it change in a sentence?
When making the phrase plural, you write grains de beauté. Only the word grain takes an s, while beauté remains singular.
How do you pronounce it?
/ɡʁɛ̃ d(ə) bo.te/
Did you know?
- In historical French fashion, people sometimes used cosmetics to paint a fake grain de beauté on their faces to mimic a natural beauty mark.
- While English uses 'mole' for both the skin spot and the animal, grain de beauté separates the two. To talk about the animal, French uses the word taupe.
- The word grain in this phrase shares a common ancestor with the English word 'corn', both originating from the Proto-Indo-European root for 'seed' or 'grain'.
Examples in context
- Mon dermatologue m'a dit que j'ai un grain de beauté sur le visage.My dermatologist told me I have a mole on my face.
- Regarde, j'ai une taupe sur la joue !Look, I have a mole on my cheek!
- Elle s'est fait enlever un grain de beauté chez le dermatologue.She had a mole removed at the dermatologist's.
- J'ai remarqué une taupe sur ton cou hier.I noticed a mole on your neck yesterday.
- Elle a un petit grain de beauté sur la joue.She has a small mole on her cheek.
- Ce grain de beauté est apparu récemment.This mole appeared recently.
- Il a un grain de beauté près de l'œil.He has a mole near his eye.
Example conversation
Chloé and Hugo are looking at a photograph together.
- ChloéRegarde ce grain de beauté sur sa photo.Look at this mole in her photo.
- HugoAh oui, je ne l'avais pas remarqué.Ah yes, I hadn't noticed it.
- ChloéIl est situé juste au-dessus de son sourcil.It is located just above her eyebrow.
- HugoC'est vrai, il est très distinctif.That's true, it is very distinctive.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry grain de beauté, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries beauté, de, grain, CC BY-SA 4.0.
