tramway
/tʁa.mwɛ/masculine
The English phrase 'tram' can be translated into French as tramway or tram.
Meaning: passenger vehicle (noun)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| tramway | /tʁa.mwɛ/ | masculine |
| tram | /tʁam/ | masculine |
A tram is a passenger vehicle. To express the act of using the tram, you can use the phrase prendre le tram.
Which one should you use?
While tram is the common shortened form, tramway is the more formal or technical term used to refer to the system or the vehicle itself.
How do you pronounce it?
/tʁa.mwɛ/. It has 2 syllables.
Did you know?
- The word 'tram' shares a distant, ancient ancestor with the Middle Dutch word 'trame', which relates to the concept of a woven fabric or a web.
- France experienced a 'tramway renaissance' starting in the 1980s, as many cities that had ripped up their tracks in the mid-20th century began reinstalling them to reduce pollution.
- Depending on the city, a tramway might be referred to as a tram-train if it is designed to run both on urban streets and on heavy rail tracks between towns.
Examples in context
- Le tram te conduira au cœur de la ville.The tram will take you into the city centre.This sentence is useful for seeing how to use tram to describe transportation to a city centre.Tatoeba #1464219 by Rovo, translation #11042105 by sundown
- Il est possible de prendre un bus ou un tram.You can take a bus or a tram.This sentence shows how to use tram when discussing options like a bus.Tatoeba #13812761 by unetoilebrille, translation #3651750 by furoraceltica
- À Montpellier j'étais réveillé tous les jours par le bruit métallique du tram sur les rails.In Montpellier, the tram clattering along used to wake me up every day.This sentence provides an example of using tram in the context of its sound on rails.Tatoeba #672171 by qdii, translation #672168 by qdii
- Où se trouve la station de tramway ?Where is the tram station?
- Quel est l'horaire du tramway ?What is the tram's schedule?
- Les lignes de tramway sont très pratiques pour se déplacer en ville.The tram lines are very convenient for getting around the city.
- 4 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Lucas are waiting at a station in Bordeaux.
- EmmaEst-ce que le tramway arrive bientôt ?Is the tram arriving soon?
- LucasOui, je vois le tramway arriver là-bas.Yes, I see the tram arriving over there.
- EmmaSuper, Lucas, on va être à l'heure.Great, Lucas, we are going to be on time.
- LucasC'est un tramway très rapide.It is a very fast tram.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “tram” translations and entries tramway, tram, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries tram, tramway, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
