petit
/pə.ti/
The French word for small is petit. Wiktionary also lists minuscule.
Meaning: not large (adj)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA |
|---|---|
| petit | /pə.ti/ /p.ti/ |
| minuscule | /mi.nys.kyl/ |
In French, petit can mean both 'small' in size and 'little' in terms of age or importance.
Which one should you use?
While petit means small, minuscule is used to describe something extremely small or tiny.
How does it change in a sentence?
The feminine form of petit is petite. The masculine plural form of petit is petits. The feminine plural form of petit is petites.
How do you pronounce it?
The word petit is pronounced /pə.ti/ and has two syllables.
Did you know?
- In French, petit is often used as a term of endearment, such as in mon petit chou, which literally means 'my little cabbage'.
- The word minuscule is actually a shortened form of the phrase lettre minuscule, which was used to distinguish lowercase letters from capital letters.
- In certain contexts, calling a man petit can be seen as a slight to his masculinity or authority, as it implies a lack of importance.
Examples in context
- Grand ou petit ?Large or small?This example shows how to ask if something is large or small using petit.Tatoeba #7499495 by Micsmithel, translation #275473 by CM
- Tu es trop petit.You're too small.This sentence uses petit to describe someone being too small.Tatoeba #8456615 by felix63, translation #5743904 by Cainntear
- Ce pain est petit.This loaf of bread is small.This sentence uses petit to describe the size of a loaf of bread.Tatoeba #1771785 by gillux, translation #1771771 by gone2bacolod
- La maison est petite mais charmante.The house is small but charming.
- Cette pizza est trop petite pour nous deux.This pizza is too small for both of us.
- J'ai besoin d'un espace réduit pour ranger ces livres.I need a small space to store these books.
- J'ai trouvé un appartement minuscule au centre-ville de Montréal.I found a tiny apartment in downtown Montreal.
- 717 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Hugo are looking at apartments.
- EmmaLe salon est vraiment petit.The living room is really small.
- HugoOui, mais la cuisine est grande.Yes, but the kitchen is large.
- EmmaC'est trop petit pour nous, Hugo.It is too small for us, Hugo.
- HugoJe suis d'accord, cherchons ailleurs.I agree, let's look elsewhere.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “small” translations and entries petit, minuscule, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries minuscule, petit, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
