suie
/sɥi/feminine
The English word soot is translated into French as suie.
The word suie refers to fine black or dull brown particles, which are often described as being black and powdery. It is commonly found in chimneys and can leave dirty marks on surfaces.
Meaning: fine black or dull brown particles (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
suie is a feminine noun, so it is used with the feminine article la to say "the soot" (la suie).
How do you pronounce it?
/sɥi/
Did you know?
- The word suie does not come from Latin, but from a Proto-Celtic root *sūdyā. This makes it a rare survivor of the Gaulish language in modern French.
- In French, the word suie is used in the expression noir comme la suie to describe something that is intensely black.
Examples in context
- Écris cela avec de la suie dans la cheminée !Write that with soot from the chimney!This sentence shows how to use suie when referring to soot from a chimney.Tatoeba #966317 by sacredceltic, translation #13816221 by tieguy
- La neige est blanche, mais la suie est noire.Snow is white, but soot is black.This sentence uses suie to contrast the color of snow and soot.Tatoeba #10364130 by lbdx, translation #5369955 by Objectivesea
- On peut voir à la suie sur les murs que le feu a aussi atteint cet étage.You can see from the soot on the walls that the fire reached this floor as well.This sentence describes seeing suie on walls to identify the reach of a fire.Tatoeba #10364135 by lbdx, translation #5138419 by AlanF_US
- La suie s'est accumulée dans la cheminée.The soot has accumulated in the chimney.
- Les murs étaient couverts de noir de fumée.The walls were covered in soot.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Hugo are cleaning the fireplace after a fire.
- EmmaHugo, regarde toute cette suie !Hugo, look at all this soot!
- HugoC'est vrai, c'est très salissant.It's true, it's very messy.
- EmmaEst-ce que je dois nettoyer la suie ?Should I clean up the soot?
- HugoOui, s'il te plaît, Emma.Yes, please, Emma.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “soot” translations and entries suie, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries suie, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
