This is a list of 15 common words for talking about shapes in French, each with IPA, audio, a translation and an example sentence. Play any word to hear it, check yourself in the quiz and download the list for Anki or Quizlet.
Shapes in French: le cercle, le carré, le triangle, le rectangle, l'ovale, l'étoile, le losange. The table below gives all 15 words with IPA, audio, a translation and an example sentence. A quiz of 10 questions checks what you remember, and the list can be downloaded for a spreadsheet, Quizlet or Anki.
| Word | Translation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| le cercle /sɛʁkl/ | circle | Le cercle rouge est au centre du dessin. The red circle is in the center of the drawing. |
| le carré /kaʁe/ | square | Elle dessine un carré sur son cahier. She draws a square in her notebook. |
| le triangle /tʁiɑ̃ɡl/ | triangle | Mon frère colorie le triangle en bleu. My brother colors the triangle blue. |
| le rectangle /ʁɛktɑ̃ɡl/ | rectangle | Le rectangle jaune ressemble à une porte. The yellow rectangle looks like a door. |
| l'ovale /oval/ Ovale is masculine. | oval | L'artiste dessine un ovale sur la feuille. The artist draws an oval on the sheet. |
| l'étoile /etwal/ | star | Une étoile brille sur le dessin de Paul. A star shines on Paul's drawing. |
| le losange /lozɑ̃ʒ/ | rhombus | Le losange vert est facile à reconnaître. The green rhombus is easy to recognize. |
| le pentagone /pɑ̃taɡon/ | pentagon | Nous découpons un pentagone dans le papier. We cut a pentagon out of the paper. |
| l'hexagone /ɛɡzaɡon/ Hexagone is masculine. | hexagon | Cet hexagone possède six côtés égaux. This hexagon has six equal sides. |
| l'octogone /ɔktoɡon/ Octogone is masculine. | octagon | Le panneau rouge forme un octogone. The red sign forms an octagon. |
| le cube /kyb/ | cube | Le petit cube tombe de la table. The small cube falls off the table. |
| la sphère /sfɛʁ/ | sphere | La Terre ressemble à une grande sphère. The Earth looks like a large sphere. |
| le cylindre /silɛ̃dʁ/ | cylinder | Le cylindre roule sur le sol. The cylinder rolls on the ground. |
| le cône /koːn/ | cone | Le cône rouge est posé sur la table. The red cone is placed on the table. |
| la pyramide /piʁamid/ | pyramid | La pyramide ancienne attire beaucoup de visiteurs. The ancient pyramid attracts many visitors. |
The list on this page has 15 words. The first ones are le cercle (circle), le carré (square), le triangle (triangle). Each comes with IPA, audio, a translation and an example sentence.
Take the quiz on this page, then download the list for Anki or Quizlet and review a few words every day. In Lingo7 you can read books in French with a translation under every sentence and meet the same words in context.
Press the play button next to a word or an example sentence to hear it. The IPA under each word shows the sounds too: l'ovale is pronounced /oval/.