tortue
/tɔʁ.ty/feminine
The French word for tortoise is tortue.
tortue refers to a land-dwelling reptile.
Meaning: land-dwelling reptile (noun)
Which one should you use?
The French word tortue is used for both land-dwelling tortoises and water-dwelling turtles.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun tortue is feminine, so it takes the feminine article la or une.
How do you pronounce it?
/tɔʁ.ty/
Did you know?
- The French word tortue is etymologically linked to 'Tartarus', the deep abyss in Greek mythology. It stems from the Ancient Greek word for a 'resident of Tartarus'.
- The French expression à pas de tortue is used to describe someone moving incredibly slowly, similar to the English phrase 'at a snail's pace'.
- The word tortue is a cognate of the Spanish word 'tortuga' and the Italian 'tartaruga', showing how closely related the Romance languages are in naming this creature.
Examples in context
- Le lièvre fut doublé par la tortue.The hare was overtaken by the tortoise.This sentence shows the tortoise overtaking a hare.Tatoeba #537693 by sacredceltic, translation #537039 by tomkun01
- Le monde repose sur un éléphant et l'éléphant repose sur une tortue.The world rests upon an elephant and the elephant rests upon a tortoise.This sentence describes a mythological imagery involving an elephant and a tortoise.Tatoeba #1682480 by sacredceltic, translation #1682338 by Spamster
- De loin, l'îlot ressemblait à une tortue.The small island looked like a tortoise from a distance.This sentence describes a small island that looks like a tortue from a distance.Tatoeba #1113132 by jeo, translation #25855 by AlanF_US
- J'ai vu une tortue dans le zoo.I saw a tortoise in the zoo.
- Les tortues de terre ont besoin d'un environnement chaud pour survivre.Land tortoises need a warm environment to survive.
- Les enfants étaient ravis de voir une cistude dans la rivière.The children were delighted to see a pond tortoise in the river.
- La tortue d'Hermann est en voie de disparition.Hermann's tortoise is endangered.
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chloé and Gabriel are visiting a petting zoo.
- ChloéRegarde cette tortue, elle est énorme !Look at this tortoise, it is huge!
- GabrielC'est vrai, elle marche très lentement.It's true, it walks very slowly.
- ChloéEst-ce qu'on peut lui donner un légume ?Can we give it a vegetable?
- GabrielOui, la tortue adore les feuilles de salade.Yes, the tortoise loves lettuce leaves.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “tortoise” translations and entries tortue, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries tortue, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
