French word

refrain

Pronunciation

IPA/ʁəfʁɛ̃/

Meaning

  • masculine nounchorus

Example

Le refrain reste dans la tête.

The chorus stays in your head.

Illustration for refrain (chorus)

More examples

Le refrain revient tout de suite.

The chorus comes back right away.

Core concept

The recurring central passage that gives a song or poem its familiar return.

Common phrases

  • le refrain

    the chorus

  • chanter le refrain

    sing the chorus

Similar words

paroles: The complete set of words sung in a song.
couplet: A self-contained section of a song or poem, usually several lines long.
reprise: A section of a song that is sung again later.

Definition in French

Partie d'une chanson ou d'un poème qui revient plusieurs fois avec la même mélodie ou les mêmes paroles.

Word origin

The noun refrain is inherited from Old French refrain and is related to refraindre, a verb ultimately derived from Latin refrangere.

Usage tips

  • English also uses refrain for a repeated passage, but its verb meaning "abstain" does not carry over to French refrain.

Other meanings

  • refrainnoun
  • catchphrasenoun

Opposites

  • stropheversenoun

Word lists with this word