robinet
The English phrase water tap is translated into French as robinet.
The word robinet is used for both household faucets and outdoor water taps.
Meaning: a spout connected to a socket to provide water from the main water supply (noun)
Which one should you use?
Vanne d'eau is a formal way to refer to a water tap in the context of plumbing or waterworks engineering.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun is masculine, so it is preceded by the masculine article un robinet. The plural form of robinet is robinets.
Did you know?
- The word robinet is a diminutive of robin, which means 'sheep', because early taps were often shaped like sheep's heads.
- The word robinet is also used metaphorically in French to describe a flow of money or resources, such as fermer le robinet when funding is cut off.
- Although tourner le robinet literally means 'to turn the tap', French speakers typically say ouvrir le robinet to mean turning the water on.
Examples in context
- Vous pouvez fermer le robinet après avoir utilisé de l'eau chaude.You can turn off the tap after using hot water.
- N'oublie pas de fermer le robinet d'eau ! Il fuit encore.Don't forget to turn off the water tap! It's still leaking.
- Le robinet de la cuisine fuit.The kitchen tap is leaking.
- Il faut fermer le robinet d'eau.You must turn off the water tap.
- Le robinet est cassé.The tap is broken.
Example conversation
Lucas and Manon are in the kitchen.
- LucasEst-ce que le robinet est cassé ?Is the tap broken?
- ManonOui, l'eau coule tout le temps.Yes, the water is running all the time.
- LucasJe vais essayer de réparer le robinet.I will try to fix the tap.
- ManonMerci beaucoup, Lucas !Thank you very much, Lucas!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries robinet, CC BY-SA 4.0.
