métropole

metropolis

noun meh-tro-POL Rare

Origin: Greek 'metropolis' (mother city), via Latin and French.

Also means

mainland (France)

Usage Note

Métropole has two common uses in French: a large city region (e.g. la métropole lyonnaise) and, when said alone, mainland France as opposed to its overseas territories — la métropole vs les DOM-TOM. The adjective métropolitain follows both senses.

Examples

"Paris est la plus grande métropole du pays."

Natural Translation

Paris is the largest metropolis in the country.

Related Words

Explore French by topic

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

FrenchNow

Je t'aime vs Je t'adore: I Love You in French

Je t'aime is the real romantic I love you; je t'adore means warm fondness, not romance. Here's the person-vs-thing rule and the bien trap that flips it.

June 4, 2026 6 min read

FrenchNow

French Silent Letters: The CaReFuL Rule

Final consonants in French are silent by default — except C, R, F, L. The CaReFuL rule, the silent -e, the plural-s trap, and liaison, explained simply.

June 4, 2026 5 min read

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