Bas or faible: a low shelf, a weak signal and a quiet voice

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Compare bas and faible with household pictures, adjective agreement and quiet voices. See where both work for volume, then answer four questions.

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In short

Bas describes a low position or level: une étagère basse, un prix bas. Faible describes limited strength, intensity or amount: un signal faible, une faible quantité. With sound, they can overlap: un volume bas and un volume faible both describe low volume.

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn

Look around the room

Height and intensity

bas / basselow

Focus: height, position or a level

Le plafond est bas.
The ceiling is low.

Le prix de cette lampe est bas.
The price of this lamp is low.

faibleweak / faint / small

Focus: strength, intensity or amount

Le signal est trop faible pour passer un appel.
The signal is too weak to make a call.

Une faible quantité suffit.
A small amount is enough.

Adjective agreement
basfaible
Masculine singularun plafond basun signal faible
Feminine singularune étagère basseune lumière faible
Masculine pluraldes plafonds basdes signaux faibles
Feminine pluraldes étagères bassesdes lumières faibles

Bas changes to basse in the feminine; the masculine plural stays bas. Faible has the same singular form for both genders and adds -s in the plural. Learn the whole phrase: une table basse is the usual name for a coffee table.

How do you say a sound is quiet in French?

Un message difficile à entendre
  1. Lina

    Tu entends le message ?

    Can you hear the message?

  2. Marc

    Non, le volume est trop bas.

    No, the volume is too low.

  3. Lina

    Je vais l’augmenter un peu.

    I’ll turn it up a little.

  4. Marc

    Merci. Et parlons bas : les enfants dorment.

    Thanks. And let’s speak quietly: the children are asleep.

Le volume est trop faible ; je n’entends pas le message.

The volume is too low; I can’t hear the message.

Trop faible also works for the sound level in this scene. In parler bas (speak quietly), bas describes how someone speaks and stays unchanged: Elles parlent bas. Compare the adjective with agreement: Elles ont des voix basses.

Keep the property clear
FrenchEnglishProperty
une étagère bassea low shelving unitheight
un prix basa low priceprice level
un signal faiblea weak signalstrength
une faible différencea small differenceamount
Question 1No account needed
Complete the feminine singular adjective.Cette étagère est très ___.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

basse. étagère is feminine singular, so the adjective is basse.

Question 2No account needed
A phone has poor reception. Choose the ordinary phrase.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

un signal faible. Faible describes the signalés limited strength: un signal faible.

Question 3No account needed
Complete “They speak quietly”.Elles parlent ___.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

bas. In parler bas, bas is an adverb and stays unchanged.

Question 4No account needed
Which pair can both describe low sound volume?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

un volume bas / un volume faible. For sound intensity, both un volume bas and un volume faible are natural.

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