quai
/ke/
The English phrase 'train platform' is translated into French as quai.
A quai is the area at a railway station where passengers wait for and board a train. If you want to specify that you are talking specifically about a railway platform, you can use the phrase quai de gare.
How does it change in a sentence?
quai is a masculine noun, so you would say le quai for 'the platform'. The plural form is les quais.
How do you pronounce it?
/ke/
Did you know?
- In many French cities, you will find a quai that serves as a street name, often following the path of a river, such as the famous quais along the Seine in Paris.
- The word quai is a linguistic doublet of the words age and haie. This means they all share a common ancestor in Old French despite looking entirely different today.
- If you are looking for your train, you must listen for the voie rather than just the quai. A single quai might serve multiple voies, or a single voie might have multiple quais on either side.
Examples in context
- Nous nous sommes rencontrés pour la première fois sur un quai.We met each other for the first time on a train platform.This sentence is useful for showing how to use quai when describing a meeting place.Tatoeba #13856263 by Ioan_Cristian, translation #13856262 by Ioan_Cristian
- Le train arrive sur le quai numéro trois.The train is arriving at platform number three.
- Attends-moi sur le quai de la gare.Wait for me on the station platform.
Example conversation
Lucas and Manon are at a busy train station.
- LucasOù est le quai pour Paris ?Where is the platform for Paris?
- ManonIl est juste là-bas, Lucas.It is right over there, Lucas.
- LucasMerci, on y va.Thanks, let's go.
- ManonFais attention en marchant sur le quai.Be careful walking on the platform.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry quai, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries quai, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
