chien tacheté
The English phrase "spotted dog" is translated into French as chien tacheté.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of chien (dog) and tacheté (spotted/marked with spots).
How does it change in a sentence?
If the dog is female, the noun changes to chienne and the adjective must agree in gender to become tachetée (une chienne tachetée). To make the phrase plural, both the noun and the adjective take an s (des chiens tachetés).
Did you know?
- In French, the word chien can be used as an adjective to describe something of very poor quality, such as un temps de chien for 'terrible weather'.
- When describing a 'spotted' pattern in other contexts, French might use à pois for clothing, but tacheté is reserved for organic marks like those on a chien.
- The word chien shares a common ancestor with the English word 'canine', as both stem from the Latin 'canis'.
Examples in context
- C'est un chien tacheté.This is a spotted dog.Tatoeba #4101225 by sbamsbamsbam, translation #2268936 by _undertoad
- J'ai vu un magnifique chien tacheté au parc.I saw a magnificent spotted dog in the park.
- Je cherche un chien tacheté.I am looking for a spotted dog.
- Regarde ce joli chien tacheté.Look at this pretty spotted dog.
Example conversation
Chloé and Nathan are at a pet shelter.
- ChloéLequel préfères-tu, Nathan ?Which one do you prefer, Nathan?
- NathanJe veux bien le chien tacheté.I would like the spotted dog.
- ChloéIl est vraiment mignon.He is really cute.
- NathanOui, j'adore ses taches.Yes, I love his spots.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries chien, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
