spa
masculine
In French, "spa" can be translated as spa or ville d'eau to refer to a health resort near a mineral or hot spring.
Meaning: health resort near a mineral spring or hot spring (noun)
Ways to say it
| French | Note |
|---|---|
| spa | masculine |
| ville d'eau | feminine |
Which one should you use?
The masculine form spa is used when you are talking about the facility itself or a specific spa treatment. The feminine phrase ville d'eau is used specifically to describe a town characterized by its mineral springs.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In coastal regions, you may encounter the term thalasso, which refers to spas that focus on using seawater and marine resources.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun is masculine when referring to the establishment or treatment, such as un spa. The phrase ville d'eau is feminine.
Did you know?
- While spa is used as a common noun today, it began as the name of a specific town in Belgium. French adopted this proper noun to describe any mineral spring resort.
- In France, a visit to a ville d'eau can be a formal medical prescription. A doctor may prescribe a cure thermale as a clinical treatment for specific health conditions.
- The ville in ville d'eau is a doublet of the English word 'villa'. Both derive from the Latin vīlla, which meant a 'country house' instead of a town.
Examples in context
- Spa est une ville thermale.Spa is a spa town.This sentence uses the proper noun Spa to show it is a spa town.Tatoeba #1618271 by sacredceltic, translation #1617668 by Spamster
- Mary va au spa chaque semaine.Mary goes to the spa each week.This sentence shows the use of spa for a weekly visit.Tatoeba #7752561 by lbdx, translation #4080052 by Hybrid
- Après ton opération chirurgicale, tu dois passer quelques jours à une ville d'eau et te donner une cure thermale.After your surgery, you must spend a few days in a spa town and recover in thermal springs.This sentence shows how to use ville d'eau when referring to a town for thermal cures.Tatoeba #8818620 by marioo, translation #8818622 by marioo
- Nous allons passer une journée relaxante au spa .We are going to spend a relaxing day at the spa.
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Manon and Gabriel are discussing their vacation plans.
- ManonJe veux aller dans un spa ce week-end.I want to go to a spa this weekend.
- GabrielC'est une excellente idée pour se détendre.That is an excellent idea to relax.
- ManonConnais-tu un bon spa dans la région ?Do you know a good spa in the region?
- GabrielOui, je peux t'en conseiller un, Manon.Yes, I can recommend one to you, Manon.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “spa” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ville, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
