How to Say "Skyscraper" in French

gratte-ciel

/ɡʁat.sjɛl/masculine

The English word skyscraper is gratte-ciel in French.

The word gratte-ciel refers to a tall building.

Meaning: tall building (noun)

What does it mean word for word?

The term is a compound of the verb gratter (to scrape) and the noun ciel (sky).

The plural form is gratte-ciels. In this compound, only the second part takes an s.

/ɡʁat.sjɛl/. It has 2 syllables.

In a poetic or religious context, ciel is used to mean 'heaven', making gratte-ciel literally 'heaven-scraper'.
France has strict height limits in the center of Paris, meaning you will find almost no gratte-ciel in the historic heart of the city.
The French word gratte-ciel is an example of a compound noun where the verb retains its infinitive form, a structure also used for tools like gratte-langue (tongue scraper).

Le gratte-ciel est trop grand.
The skyscraper is too tall.
The first sentence is useful for describing the size of the gratte-ciel.
Tatoeba #6090327 by Selenyt, translation #6069398 by sergiomelo
C'est le plus haut gratte-ciel du monde.
This is the world's tallest skyscraper.
The second sentence is useful for identifying the tallest gratte-ciel.
Tatoeba #6465925 by lapinhibou, translation #6454688 by OsoHombre
Le gratte-ciel se trouve au centre-ville.
The skyscraper is in the center of the city.
The third sentence is useful for stating the location of the gratte-ciel.
Tatoeba #1967483 by sacredceltic, translation #1400254 by Balamax
Le quartier d'affaires est célèbre pour ses gratte-ciel impressionnants.
The business district is famous for its impressive skyscrapers.
Les immeubles de grande hauteur contribuent à la beauté architecturale de la ville.
Skyscrapers contribute to the architectural beauty of the city.
La ville est célèbre pour ses nombreuses tours qui percent le ciel.
The city is famous for its numerous skyscrapers piercing the sky.
8 more sentences on Tatoeba

Chloé and Hugo are visiting New York City.

Sources

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