thym
/tɛ̃/masculine
The French word for thyme is thym.
thym refers to the plant of the genus Thymus.
Meaning: plant of the genus Thymus (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun is masculine, so it is used with the definite article le (e.g., le thym).
How do you pronounce it?
/tɛ̃/
Did you know?
- The word thym shares its root with the English word 'thymus', referring to the gland in the chest, because both words relate to the Greek concept of 'smoke' or 'fragrance'.
- Despite its spelling, the pronunciation of thym is identical to the French word 'teint', which means 'complexion' or 'hue'.
- In a French kitchen, you will rarely find a recipe calling for just thym alone. It is almost always part of a 'bouquet garni', a classic bundle of herbs that includes bay leaf and parsley.
Examples in context
- Le basilic, la sauge, le romarin, le thym et l'origan sont des herbes populaires.Basil, sage, rosemary, thyme and oregano are popular herbs.This sentence is useful for listing common popular herbs such as thym.Tatoeba #7346591 by Micsmithel, translation #1490328 by niceguydave
- Laissez mijoter pendant 5 minutes 5 belles tomates pelées et hachées, avec l'ail, le thym et le laurier.Simmer five carefully peeled and chopped tomatoes with the garlic, thyme and bay leaf for five minutes.This sentence shows how to use thym when describing ingredients in a recipe.Tatoeba #9213562 by Micsmithel, translation #8919902 by sundown
- Ajoutez une pincée de thym à la sauce.Add a pinch of thyme to the sauce.
- La tisane au thym est apaisante.Thyme herbal tea is soothing.
- Le thym est très parfumé.The thyme is very fragrant.
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Manon are cooking dinner together.
- LucasEst-ce qu'on a encore du thym ?Do we have any thyme left?
- ManonOui, il y en a dans le placard.Yes, there is some in the cupboard.
- LucasParfait, ça ira très bien avec le poulet.Perfect, that will go very well with the chicken.
- ManonJe suis d'accord, Lucas.I agree, Lucas.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “thyme” translations and entries thym, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
