tige
/tiʒ/feminine
The English word 'stem' translates to the French noun tige.
In a botanical context, tige refers to the above-ground stalk of a vascular plant. The word 'Radical' is a formal term for 'stem'. The word 'Base' can refer to the stem of a word in formal contexts.
Meaning: botany: above-ground stalk of a vascular plant (noun)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun tige is feminine, so it is preceded by the feminine article la (la tige). The plural form is tiges (les tiges).
How do you pronounce it?
/tiʒ/
Did you know?
- The French word tige shares its ancestry with the English word 'tibia', which refers to the shin bone. They both derive from the Latin 'tibia', originally meaning a flute or a hollow tube.
- While 'stem' in English can mean a part of a glass, in French, the part of a wine glass is called a pied, which literally translates to 'foot'.
- The word tige can also be used in a technical sense to describe a 'rod' or 'shaft' in mechanical engineering, moving from biology into machinery.
Examples in context
- La fleur a une longue tige.The flower has a long stem.This sentence is useful for describing the length of a flower's tige.Tatoeba #12948158 by lbdx, translation #10021550 by Nylez
- Une rose a des épines sur sa tige.A rose has thorns on its stem.This sentence is useful for describing thorns on a rose's tige.Tatoeba #13116 by nimfeo, translation #35070 by CM
- La racine du mot 'marcher' est 'march-'.The stem of the word 'marcher' is 'march-'.
- As-tu compris le radical de ce verbe ?Did you understand the stem of this verb?
- La tige de cette plante est très fragile.The stem of this plant is very fragile.
Example conversation
Gabriel and Chloé are examining a plant in a garden.
- GabrielRegarde comme la tige est fine.Look how thin the stem is.
- ChloéOui, elle semble très fragile.Yes, it seems very fragile.
- GabrielIl faut faire attention en la manipulant.We must be careful when handling it.
- ChloéTu as raison, Gabriel.You are right, Gabriel.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “stem” translations and entries tige, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries tige, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
