tableau blanc
The English phrase "white board" is translated into French as tableau blanc.
tableau blanc refers to a smooth, white surface used in classrooms or offices for writing with erasable markers.
What does it mean word for word?
The term is a literal translation where tableau means "board" or "painting" and blanc means "white".
Which one should you use?
While tableau blanc refers to a modern whiteboard, tableau noir is the term used for a traditional blackboard.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form is tableaux blancs, where both the noun and the adjective take a plural ending.
Did you know?
- The word blanc shares an ancient ancestor with the English word 'blink'. Both stem from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'to shine' or 'to gleam'.
- In French, the word tableau can also refer to a data table or a spreadsheet in a document.
- Because tableau can mean a painting, a French speaker might use the term to describe a visual scene or a 'tableau vivant' (a living picture) created by actors.
Examples in context
- Dans le bureau, nous avons un tableau blanc pour les présentations.In the office, we have a whiteboard for presentations.
- Le professeur écrit les instructions au tableau à feutre effaçable.The teacher writes the instructions on the whiteboard.
- Tu peux écrire ça sur le velleda, s'il te plaît ?Can you write that on the whiteboard, please?
- Il y a un tableau blanc dans la salle.There is a white board in the room.
- Peux-tu nettoyer le tableau blanc, s'il te plaît ?Can you clean the white board, please?
- J'ai besoin d'un nouveau tableau blanc pour le bureau.I need a new white board for the office.
Example conversation
Nathan and Manon are preparing a meeting room.
- NathanOù est le tableau blanc ?Where is the white board?
- ManonIl est juste là, contre le mur.It is right there, against the wall.
- NathanD'accord, je vais l'installer.Okay, I will install it.
- ManonMerci Nathan, c'est très gentil.Thanks Nathan, that is very kind.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry tableau blanc, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries blanc, tableau, CC BY-SA 4.0.
