French Conversation · Level 188
15 words
French word
pondre
Pronunciation
IPA/pɔ̃dʁ/
Meaning
- verblay
Example
La poule pond un œuf chaque matin.
The hen lays an egg every morning.
More examples
Les oiseaux pondent au printemps.
Birds lay eggs in spring.
Core concept
An animal places an egg outside its body, a picture extended to turning out a text or other creation.
Common phrases
pondre des œufs
lay eggs
Similar words
accoucher: To give birth to a child.
écrire: To put thoughts or words into written form.
rédiger: To draft and polish a structured piece of writing.
produire: To create a physical object or an outcome.
Definition in French
Pour un animal, déposer un œuf ; par extension, produire ou créer quelque chose, notamment un texte.
Word origin
Pondre ultimately comes from Latin ponere, "to place"; Old French applied this placing idea to an egg, and the verb later extended to making texts and other things.
Usage tips
- For human childbirth, French uses accoucher or donner naissance rather than pondre; pondre un texte often sounds colloquial and slightly mechanical.
Other meanings
- produceverb
Related words
- pondulaidadjective