French word

personne

Pronunciation

IPA/pɛʁsɔn/

Meaning

  • feminine nounperson

Example

Je connais cette personne.

I know this person.

Illustration for personne (person)

More examples

Nous avons rencontré une personne sympathique hier.

We met a nice person yesterday.

Core concept

One human figure identified separately from the surrounding group.

Common phrases

  • rencontrer une personne

    meet a person

  • se souvenir d'une personne

    remember a person

  • plusieurs personnes

    several people

Similar words

homme: An adult male.
femme: An adult female.
gens: A group of many people.

Definition in French

Désigne un être humain ou un individu; s'emploie aussi comme pronom indéfini dans les négations (ne...personne) pour signifier l'absence de personnes.

Word origin

French inherited personne from Old French, whose source is Latin persona for a mask or role, with the meaning later extending to an individual human being.

Usage tips

  • In informal speech, ne is often omitted in negative clauses, producing forms such as Je vois personne.

Other meanings

  • no onepronoun

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word