French word

litre

Pronunciation

IPA/litʁ/

Meaning

  • masculine nounliter

Example

J'ai bu un litre d'eau aujourd'hui.

I drank a liter of water today.

Illustration for litre (liter)

More examples

J'ai acheté un litre de lait ce matin.

I bought a liter of milk this morning.

Core concept

A calibrated containerful of liquid, equal to the space inside a 10-centimetre cube.

Common phrases

  • un litre d'eau

    a liter of water

  • un litre de lait

    a liter of milk

  • au litre

    by the liter

Similar words

bouteille: A bottle for carrying or storing drinks, often sold by its capacity.
millilitre: A small unit of liquid volume used in recipes and ingredient lists.
verre: A cup or glass for drinking beverages.
canette: A small, portable metal can designed to hold a drink.

Definition in French

Mesure de volume équivalente à un décimètre cube (1 L = 1 dm³), fréquemment utilisée dans la vie courante pour indiquer la quantité de boissons et de produits liquides.

Word origin

French litre comes through Medieval Latin litra from Greek litra, an ancient measure name adopted for the modern metric volume unit.

Usage tips

  • Litre is masculine, so quantity phrases use un litre and un litre de lait.

Related words

  • millilitremilliliternoun
  • centilitrecentiliternoun

Word lists with this word