mouton

sheep, mutton

noun moo-TOHN Less Common

Also means

sheepskin (material)

Usage Note

Mouton covers both the live animal and the meat on the plate — unlike English which has 'sheep' vs 'mutton'. Un mouton can also refer informally to a prison informer (a police plant). Revenons à nos moutons ('let's get back to our sheep') is a famous idiom meaning 'let's get back to the subject'.

Examples

"Le fermier compte ses moutons."

Natural Translation

The farmer counts his sheep.

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

Sorry in French: Désolé vs Pardon vs Excusez-moi

Use désolé for genuine regret, pardon to bump or squeeze past, and excusez-moi to get attention. A situation-by-situation guide to saying sorry in French.

June 4, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

Faire in French: To Make, To Do, and More

Faire in French means more than make and do: master faire vs rendre, weather and sports idioms, the causative, and the mistakes English speakers make.

June 4, 2026 6 min read

FrenchNow

Aller + Infinitive: The Easy French Future

Form the French near future in seconds: conjugate aller in the present and add an infinitive. Learn futur proche rules, negation, pronouns, and when to use it.

June 4, 2026 6 min read