French Conversation · Level 35
75 words
French word
piège
Pronunciation
IPA/pjɛʒ/
Meaning
- masculine nountrap
Example
Attention, c'est un piège.
Look out, it's a trap.
More examples
Ne tombe pas dans ce piège.
Don't fall into this trap.
Core concept
A concealed snare that catches an animal or person, or a deceptive setup that catches someone off guard.
Common phrases
tomber dans le piège
fall into the trap
tendre un piège
set a trap
Similar words
tromperie: An act of deceiving someone to conceal the truth.
ruse: A crafty trick used to deceive someone.
Definition in French
Dispositif ou stratagème destiné à attraper, retenir ou tromper une personne ou un animal, au sens concret comme au sens figuré.
Word origin
French piège comes through Old French from Latin pedica, a fetter or snare for the foot, and later extended from hunting devices to figurative deception.
Usage tips
- In tomber dans un piège, the article remains uncontracted, while tendre un piège à quelqu'un uses à for the target.