We can’t walk everywhere we go. Sometimes we do require vehicles to travel. In this article, you will learn about different types of vehicles, and their names in French.
Vehicles don’t only carry people from place to place, but they also carry goods from place to place. Learn about different types of vehicles in France and use them when you want to talk to anyone in French.
1. le vélo
Meaning: a vehicle with two wheels in tandem, usually propelled by pedals connected to the rear wheel by a chain, and having handlebars for steering and a saddle like seat
English: bicycle
Example: Les enfants apprennent généralement à faire du vélo à l’âge de trois ou quatre ans. (Kids usually learn to ride a bicycle when they are three to four years old.)
2. le bateau
Meaning:a vessel for transport by water, constructed to provide buoyancy by excluding water and shaped to give stability and permit propulsion
English:boat
Example: Chaque fois que nous allons au bord de la rivière, nous nous assurons de faire une promenade en bateau. (Whenever we go to the river side we ensure we have a boat ride.)
3. le bus
Meaning: a large motor vehicle, having a long body, equipped with seats or benches for passengers, usually operating as part of a scheduled service
English:bus
Example: Elle prend généralement le bus pour se rendre à l’école. (She usually takes the bus to school.)
4. la voiture
Meaning:an automobile
English:car
Example: Ils ont eu peur quand leur voiture est tombée en panne au milieu de la nuit.(They were scared when their car broke down in the middle of the night.)
5. l’hélicoptère
Meaning :a type of aircraft without wings, that has one or two sets of large blades that go round very fast on top. It can land and take off vertically and can stay in one place in the air
English:helicopter
Example: Il l’a demandée en mariage en l’emmenant faire un tour en hélicoptère. (He proposed to her by taking her on a helicopter ride.)
6. la moto
Meaning a small, lightweight motorcycle
English:motorbike
Example: Elle a acheté une moto, mais ne la conduit pas beaucoup. (She has bought a motorbike, but doesn’t ride it much.)
7. l’avion
Meaning: a vehicle designed for air travel, with wings and one or more engines
English:plane
Example: Il était très nerveux lors de son premier voyage en avion. (He was very nervous on his first plane journey.)
8. le métro
Meaning the underground electric railway of Paris, France, Montreal, Canada, Washington, D.C., and other cities.
English:metro
Example:Nous nous sommes perdus dans le métro à Paris – c’était toute une aventure.) (We got lost on the Metro in Paris – it was quite an adventure.)
9. le taxi
Meaning :a car with a driver who you pay to take you somewhere
English:taxi
Example: Elle a réservé un taxi pour se rendre chez sa mère. (She booked a taxi to go to her mom’s place.)
10. le train
Meaning: a railway engine connected to carriages for carrying people or to wheeled containers for carrying goods
English:train
Example: Il était si en retard qu’il a également raté le dernier train pour aller à Mumbai. (He was so late he missed the last train to go to Mumbai too.)
11. le camion
Meaning :a large road vehicle that is used for transporting large amounts of goods
English:truck
Example: Le camion transportait un chargement de fruits. (The truck was carrying a load of fruits.)
12. le ferry
Meaning:a boat or ship for taking passengers and often vehicles across an area of water, especially as a regular service
English: ferry
Example:Vous pouvez traverser la rivière en ferry. (You can cross the river by a ferry.)
13. le tramway
Meaning: an electric vehicle that transports people, usually in cities, and goes along metal tracks in the road
English: tram
Example: Le dernier tramway a traversé Glasgow en septembre 1962. (The last tram ran through Glasgow in September 1962.)
15.le canoë
Meaning: a small, light, narrow boat, pointed at both ends and moved using a paddle
English:canoe
Example: Nous avons loué un canoë lors de notre dernier voyage. (We rented a canoe on our last trip.)
16.le téléphérique
Meaning: a vehicle that hangs from and is moved by a cable and transports people up steep slopes
English:cable car
Example: Depuis le village, un trajet de 10 minutes en téléphérique vous emmène sur les pistes de Gulmarg. (From the village, a 10-minute cable car ride delivers you to the slopes of Gulmarg.)
17.le camping-car
Meaning: a motor caravan
English: camper van
Example: Un jour, j’aimerais voyager avec tous mes amis à travers le pays dans un camping-car. (Someday I’d like to travel with all my friends around the country in a camper van.)
18.le tracteur
Meaning a powerful motor-driven vehicle with large, heavy treads, used for pulling farm machinery, other vehicles, etc.
English: tractor
Example: Le tracteur était chargé de nombreuses marchandises à livrer dans tout le pays. (The tractor was loaded with many goods to be delivered around the country.)
Now that you have learnt the meanings of these words in French, be sure to use them while you visit France. For more such vocabulary in French, keep following our blog.
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