How to Say "The Book" in French

le livre

The English phrase "the book" is translated into French as le livre.

Which one should you use?

While le livre means "the book", be aware that the word livre can also mean "pound" depending on the gender of the article used.

To express the plural "the books", use les livres.

The term livre blanc translates to 'white book', but it is used to describe an official government report or a policy proposal.
French has a specific term bouquin as a slang alternative to livre, which is often used by avid readers or collectors.
The word livre is a 'doublet', meaning it comes from two different Latin roots that evolved into the same spelling in French. One root refers to 'book' from 'librum', while the other refers to 'pound' from 'libra'.

Lis le livre !
Read the book!
This sentence is useful for giving a command to read le livre.
Tatoeba #5244674 by sicerabibax, translation #10060004 by ddnktr
As-tu le livre ?
Do you have the book?
This sentence is useful for asking if someone has le livre.
Tatoeba #2508104 by Aiji, translation #2502611 by irish
Je lis le livre.
I read the book.
This sentence is useful for stating that you are reading le livre.
Tatoeba #5254225 by martin9, translation #989164 by Valodnieks
J'ai acheté le livre que tu m'as recommandé.
I bought the book you recommended to me.
Cet ouvrage est une référence dans le domaine scientifique.
This book is a reference in the scientific field.
Tu peux me prêter ton bouquin ? J'ai envie de le lire.
Can you lend me your book? I feel like reading it.
J'ai hâte de lire ce bouquin-là.
I can't wait to read that book.
498 more sentences on Tatoeba

Lucas and Manon are at a library.

Sources

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