aval

downstream

noun ah-VAL Rare

Also means

approval, endorsement

Usage Note

Aval has two distinct lives in French: in geography it means 'downstream' (opposite of amont), and in administrative or business language it means official approval or backing, as in donner son aval — 'to give one's sign-off'. The preposition en aval de means 'downstream from' or figuratively 'further along in the process'. The two meanings rarely cause confusion in context.

Examples

"Le village est en aval du barrage."

Natural Translation

The village is downstream from the dam.

Literal Translation

The village is in the downstream of the dam.

Free starter pack

Building your French vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common French words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Related Words

Explore French by topic

FrenchNow

French Noun Gender: Rules to Guess Right 80%

Guess French noun gender right 80% of the time using word endings: -age, -ment, -eau are masculine; -tion, -té, -ette are feminine. A high-yield system.

June 3, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

Ordering Food in French: Restaurant Phrases That Work

Order food in French with confidence: greet first, say je voudrais not je veux, ask for a carafe d'eau, answer quelle cuisson, and request the bill yourself.

June 4, 2026 6 min read

FrenchNow

Avoir or Être? Picking the Right Past-Tense Helper

Use avoir for the passé composé unless the verb is reflexive or one of ~16 DR MRS VANDERTRAMP motion verbs, which take être and force agreement.

June 4, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

How to Pronounce the French R (Step by Step)

The French R is a back-of-the-throat sound, not a rolled R. Learn the exact tongue position and a step-by-step drill to build it from sounds you already make.

June 4, 2026 6 min read