lèvre

lip

noun LEH-vruh Less Common

Usage Note

Lèvre is nearly always used in the plural lèvres when referring to the lips of the face. The singular appears in anatomical or figurative contexts, such as au bord des lèvres ('on the tip of one's tongue'). The related adjective labial shares the Latin root labium.

Examples

"Elle a du rouge à lèvres."

Natural Translation

She is wearing lipstick.

Literal Translation

She has some red for lips.

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 Object Pronouns: le, la, lui, leur Order

Le lui or lui le? Use the à-name test to pick le/la vs lui/leur, then one slot chart to order two French object pronouns — plus the command exception.

June 4, 2026 6 min read

FrenchNow

French Filler Words: Euh, Bah, Du Coup, Quoi

French filler words like euh, bah, du coup, and quoi make you sound fluent, not lazy. Learn what each one does, where it goes, and how to use them naturally.

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

En, Au, Aux: French Prepositions for Countries

Use en for feminine countries, au for masculine, aux for plural, and à for cities. Full French preposition rule for countries, with a lookup table and traps.

June 4, 2026 5 min read