rue
/ʁy/feminine
The French word for street is rue.
rue refers to a paved part of a road in a village or a town. When describing a narrow alley or lane, you should use the diminutive form ruelle.
Meaning: paved part of road in a village or a town (noun)
Which one should you use?
While rue is the general term for a street, ruelle is specifically used to describe a small, narrow street or an alley.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In France, the term rue piétonne is commonly used to refer to a pedestrian street.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun rue is feminine. Consequently, it is preceded by the feminine article la to form la rue.
How do you pronounce it?
/ʁy/
Did you know?
- The word rue actually shares an ancient ancestor with the English word 'wrinkle'.
- The French word rue is a homonym for a type of perennial herb called 'rue'. This plant was historically used in medicine and as a symbolic plant of repentance.
- In French, the verb 'rue' (to regret) is spelled exactly like the noun for street, though they are unrelated in meaning.
Examples in context
- La rue est vide.The street is empty.This example shows how to describe the state of a rue.Tatoeba #5619283 by Aiji, translation #4703059 by CK
- Dans quelle rue ?In which street?This example demonstrates how to ask for a specific rue.Tatoeba #1158566 by sacredceltic, translation #1364167 by sacredceltic
- La rue est bondée.The street is crowded.This example illustrates how to describe a crowded rue.Tatoeba #8315568 by Julien_PDC, translation #9590070 by shekitten
- La rue principaleThe main street
- Une belle rueA beautiful street
- Marcher dans la rueTo walk in the street
- La voie publiqueThe public street
- Voie sans issueDead-end street
- Tu viens chez moi ? J'habite dans une rue calme.Are you coming to my place? I live on a quiet street.
- Je l'ai rencontré dans la rue.I met him on the street.
- J'adore me promener dans les ruelles de Paris.I love strolling through the streets of Paris.
- La vieille ville est remplie de ruelles pittoresques.The old town is filled with picturesque streets.
- Allons nous balader dans la rue piétonne.Let's take a walk in the pedestrian street.
- Je te rejoins sur l'artère principale.I'll meet you on the main street.
- La rue est belleThe street is beautiful
- 474 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Manon and Nathan are looking for a specific location in a village.
- ManonNathan, tu connais cette rue ?Nathan, do you know this street?
- NathanNon, je ne connais pas cette rue.No, I do not know this street.
- ManonRegarde, la rue est juste devant nous.Look, the street is right in front of us.
- NathanAh oui, elle est très jolie.Oh yes, it is very pretty.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “street” translations and entries rue, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries rue, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
