toile
/twal/
The French word toile means cloth, canvas or web.
The term toile refers to a piece of cloth, a canvas or a web. In an art context, it is used specifically to refer to the canvas used for painting. You can use it in specific phrases such as toile d'araignée for a spider web or toile de jute to refer to burlap.
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, toile means cloth, canvas or web.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun toile is feminine, meaning it is preceded by the feminine article la (as in la toile).
How do you pronounce it?
/twal/
Did you know?
- While English speakers use 'web' for the internet, French speakers often use la toile to refer to the World Wide Web itself.
- In the world of cinema, la toile is used to describe the movie screen because early projection surfaces were made of heavy canvas cloth.
- The term toile de Jouy refers to a highly specific style of monochromatic printed fabric from the town of Jouy-en-Josas and is treated as a proper noun in design.
Examples in context
- La toile de ce peintre est incroyablement belle.The canvas of this painter is incredibly beautiful.
- La toile est très douce.The canvas is very soft.
- Il a peint sur une grande toile.He painted on a large canvas.
- J'ai acheté de la toile pour mes projets.I bought some canvas for my projects.
Example conversation
Léa and Lucas are in an art studio.
- LéaRegarde ma nouvelle toile, Lucas !Look at my new canvas, Lucas!
- LucasC'est magnifique, Léa.It is magnificent, Léa.
- LéaJe ne sais pas quelle toile choisir.I don't know which canvas to choose.
- LucasPrends la plus petite toile.Take the smallest canvas.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry toile, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
