French word

terrien

Pronunciation

IPA/tɛʁjɛ̃/

Meaning

  • masculine nounearthling

Example

Je suis un terrien.

I am an earthling.

Illustration for terrien (earthling)

More examples

Les terriens regardent les étoiles la nuit.

Earthlings look at the stars at night.

Core concept

A human identified by Earth as a place of origin rather than by an alien world.

Common phrases

  • un terrien

    an earthling

  • les terriens

    earthlings

Similar words

humain: A member of the human species.
personne: A single human being.
habitant: Someone who resides in a particular place.

Definition in French

Habitant de la Terre, employé pour marquer l'origine terrestre en contraste avec des êtres venus d'ailleurs.

Word origin

French formed terrien from terre and the suffix -ien, which commonly marks a person or thing associated with a place.

Usage tips

  • The noun terrien is distinct from the adjective terrestre, which more often describes earthly or terrestrial things.

Other meanings

  • terrestrialadjective
  • land-basedadjective

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word