vitre

pane of glass

noun VEE-truh Less Common

Also means

window

Usage Note

Vitre refers specifically to a pane of glass, such as a windowpane or car window, rather than the window frame itself (la fenêtre). Casser une vitre means to break a pane of glass. The related adjective vitré means glass-panelled, and une vitrine is a shop window or display case.

Examples

"La balle a cassé la vitre du salon."

Natural Translation

The ball broke the living-room windowpane.

Related Words

Explore French by topic

FrenchNow

French Liaison Rules: When to Link Words (and Not To)

French liaison links a silent final consonant to the next vowel. Learn the obligatory, forbidden, and optional rules, plus the s→z and d→t sound shifts.

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

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

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