French word

tramway

Pronunciation

IPA/tʁamwɛ/

Meaning

  • masculine nountram

Example

Je prends le tramway pour aller au travail.

I take the tram to go to work.

Illustration for tramway (tram)

More examples

Le tramway s'arrête ici.

The streetcar stops here.

Core concept

A street vehicle on embedded rails that carries passengers between closely spaced stops.

Common phrases

  • prendre le tramway

    take the streetcar

  • monter dans le tramway

    get on the streetcar

  • descendre du tramway

    get off the streetcar

Similar words

tram: A shortened name for a street-running railway vehicle that stops for passengers.
bus: A vehicle that travels on roads and collects and sets down passengers at stops.
métro: A high-capacity urban railway operating on underground or elevated dedicated lines.
train: A railway vehicle used for longer journeys between cities, with fewer stops.

Definition in French

Véhicule urbain circulant sur des rails en surface, destiné au transport collectif et desservant des arrêts rapprochés.

Word origin

French tramway is borrowed from English tramway, combining tram, from Middle Low German tram meaning 'beam', with way.

Usage tips

  • The noun is masculine, so standard usage is le tramway and often the shorter le tram.

Word lists with this word