la maison
In French, "the house" is la maison.
The phrase refers to a building used as a place for people to live.
Which one should you use?
While la maison is the standard term, you may encounter L'habitation when referring to a dwelling or residence in a more generic sense and la baraque is used in casual speech.
How does it change in a sentence?
maison is a feminine noun, which is why it uses the definite article la. To say "the houses" in the plural, use les maisons.
Did you know?
- In France, the phrase fait maison is a legal designation on menus. It means the food was prepared on the premises from raw ingredients, not just assembled from industrial products.
- In French, la maison is often used to refer to a family business or a fashion brand, such as la maison Chanel. In this context, it means 'the firm' or 'the company' rather than a building.
- The English word 'mansion' is a distant linguistic cousin to the French maison. Although 'mansion' sounds much grander, both words stem from the same Latin root meaning 'to remain' or 'to stay'.
Examples in context
- On vend la maison.We're selling the house.This sentence is useful for expressing that a house is being sold.Tatoeba #6945566 by felix63, translation #6948431 by kaiperkins271
- J’ai vu la maison.I saw the house.This sentence is useful for stating that you saw the house.Tatoeba #10693983 by AutoBot, translation #5564429 by zumley
- Entre à la maison.Go in the house.This sentence is useful for giving the instruction to go inside the house.Tatoeba #11963974 by Amastan, translation #3880301 by Amastan
- La maison de ma grand-mère est très grande.My grandmother's house is very big.
- On a loué une petite bicoque près du lac pour les vacances.We rented a small cottage near the lake for the holidays.
- 659 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Manon are standing in front of a new property.
- LucasLa maison est vraiment grande.The house is really big.
- ManonOui, elle est magnifique.Yes, it is magnificent.
- LucasEst-ce que la maison te plaît ?Do you like the house?
- ManonOui, je l'adore !Yes, I love it!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries la, maison, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
