Vocabulary list
French size and shape words: round, narrow, wide and 50 cm long
Describe shapes and dimensions in French with illustrated objects, labelled measurements and practice. Distinguish longueur, largeur, hauteur and profondeur.
- A2
- 16 words
- Gender marked
- With examples
- Learn this in the A2 notebook →
In short
Use rond, carré or rectangulaire for shape. Name the dimension when giving a measurement: La boîte mesure cinquante centimètres de long et vingt de large. The nouns are la longueur, la largeur, la hauteur and la profondeur.
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Six objects, six useful descriptions
Find:
Shape: look at the outline
Dimensions: which direction?
The measurement nouns
How do you give measurements in French?
| Dimension | French sentence |
|---|---|
| Length · 50 cm | La boîte mesure cinquante centimètres de long. |
| Width · 20 cm | Elle mesure vingt centimètres de large. |
| Height · 15 cm | Elle mesure quinze centimètres de haut. |
In these measurement phrases, keep de long, de large and de haut in their fixed forms, even with a feminine noun. Compare La boîte est longue with Elle mesure cinquante centimètres de long. For a cupboard or shelf, la profondeur tells you the front-to-back space.
| Masculine | Feminine | Feminine plural |
|---|---|---|
| un plateau rond | une table ronde | des tables rondes |
| un cadre carré | une boîte carrée | des boîtes carrées |
| un miroir rectangulaire | une table rectangulaire | des tables rectangulaires |
Shape and size work together: une petite table ronde, une grande boîte carrée. For a person’s height, use grand/grande: Ma sœur est grande. For furniture, haut/haute names the vertical dimension. French large describes width; for an overall impression of size, grand/grande is often useful.