chat

cat

noun SHAH Less Common

Usage Note

Chat has a silent final t — the word rhymes with English 'Shah'. The feminine form is chatte. The phrase il n'y a pas un chat ('there's not a soul around') uses chat idiomatically. In online French, chat is also borrowed directly from English to mean an internet chat or messaging session.

Examples

"Le chat dort sur le canapé."

Natural Translation

The cat is sleeping on the sofa.

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 Numbers 1 to 100: Count With Confidence

French numbers 1 to 100 in one complete chart, with pronunciation, the et-un rule, hyphens, and the four-twenties system explained so you can count anywhere.

June 4, 2026 6 min read

FrenchNow

French Greetings: Bonjour, Salut, Coucou Explained

Bonjour, salut, or coucou? Pick the right French greeting every time with a simple two-axis guide to formality and time of day, plus how to say goodbye.

June 4, 2026 5 min read

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

How to Say "I Miss You" in French (Without Errors)

"I miss you" in French is Tu me manques, not Je te manque. Learn the subject-flip behind manquer so you never text the opposite of what you mean.

June 4, 2026 6 min read