What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the preposition à (meaning "to" or "at") and the feminine noun droite (meaning "right side").
Which one should you use?
While à droite is the standard translation, you may encounter sur la droite, which means "on the right" and is used in conversational contexts. To indicate the opposite direction, "to the left", use à gauche.
How does it change in a sentence?
In the phrase à droite, the word droite is the feminine form of the adjective droit (which can mean "straight" or "right") being used as a noun to represent the direction or side.
How do you pronounce it?
/a dʁwat/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Be careful not to omit the final "e" and say à droit. While droit (without the "e") means "straight" or "law", droite is the word required to indicate the direction "right".
Did you know?
- The word droite also means 'the right wing' in French politics. This is used to describe conservative parties and ideologies, mirroring the seating arrangement in the French National Assembly.
- In French, the adjective droit meaning 'straight' is a homonym for the word for 'law'. For example, someone studying le droit is studying law, not the direction right.
- In many Romance languages including French, the concept of 'the right' is linguistically linked to being 'straight' or 'upright', implying a sense of correctness or morality.
Examples in context
- Le séjour est à droite.The living room is to the right.This sentence is useful for stating the location of the living room using à droite.Tatoeba #12911391 by lbdx, translation #8464480 by shekitten
- Il déplaça le bureau à droite.He moved the desk to the right.This sentence shows the movement of a desk using à droite.Tatoeba #131804 by Aiji, translation #295072 by CK
- Le bureau de poste est à droite.The post office is to the right.This sentence shows the location of the post office using à droite.Tatoeba #3258700 by Aiji, translation #3258701 by CM
- Excusez-moi, vous devez tourner à droite / du côté droit après le pont.Excuse me, you need to turn to the right / on the right side after the bridge.
- Le supermarché est à droite / sur la droite, après le feu.The supermarket is to the right / on the right, after the traffic light.
- Quand tu verras la boulangerie, tourne à ta droite.When you see the bakery, turn to your right.
- 27 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Manon and Nathan are looking for a specific shop in the street.
- ManonOù est la boulangerie, Nathan ?Where is the bakery, Nathan?
- NathanElle est juste à droite.It is just to the right.
- ManonAh, je la vois !Ah, I see it!
- NathanParfait, on y va.Perfect, let's go.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry à droite, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
