fil
/fil/masculine
The English word yarn is translated into French as fil.
fil refers to a fiber strand used for knitting or weaving. In a knitting context, French speakers often use the word laine (wool) to refer to yarn, even if the material is not strictly sheep's wool. Additionally, a ball of yarn is commonly referred to as a pelote de fil.
Meaning: fiber strand for knitting or weaving (noun)
Which one should you use?
While fil can mean yarn for knitting, it is also the standard word for sewing thread.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Canada, French speakers may refer to knitting yarn as laine à tricoter and crochet yarn as laine à crochet.
How do you pronounce it?
/fil/
Did you know?
- In French, the word fil is used to describe the 'feed' of a social media timeline, called le fil d'actualité.
- The word fil is used in many common French expressions that have nothing to do with knitting, such as avoir un fil à la patte which means to be stuck or caught in a difficult situation.
- The word fil is used to describe the electrical wires in a house, meaning the same word covers both soft knitting yarn and rigid copper cabling.
Examples in context
- Voici une pelote de fil magique. Suis sans crainte cette pelote, dans quelque direction qu'elle roule !Here is a magic ball of yarn. In whatever direction this ball rolls, follow without fear.This sentence is useful for seeing how to describe a pelote de fil.Tatoeba #3762017 by sacredceltic, translation #3759422 by Hybrid
- J'adore travailler avec du fil doux et coloré.I love working with soft and colorful yarn.
- Pour ce projet, j'ai besoin de laine à tricoter de haute qualité.For this project, I need high-quality knitting wool.
- Je vais acheter du fil à tricoter pour mon prochain projet.I'm going to buy some yarn for my next project.
- Tu as de la laine de différentes couleurs ?Do you have yarn in different colors?
- Je vais acheter de la laine à tricoter pour mon écharpe, et de la laine à crochet pour mon napperon.I'm going to buy knitting yarn for my scarf, and crochet yarn for my doily.
- Ce fil est très doux.This yarn is very soft.
- Elle a acheté du fil bleu.She bought some blue yarn.
Example conversation
Emma and Lucas are in a craft store.
- EmmaEst-ce que tu aimes ce fil ?Do you like this yarn?
- LucasOui, la couleur est magnifique.Yes, the color is beautiful.
- EmmaJe vais le prendre pour mon projet.I am going to get it for my project.
- LucasC'est une bonne idée, Emma.That is a good idea, Emma.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “yarn” translations and entries fil, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
