French Conversation · Level 2
83 words
French word
vache
Pronunciation
IPA/vaʃ/
Meaning
- feminine nouncow
Example
La vache est dans le pré.
The cow is in the meadow.
More examples
On élève des vaches pour le lait.
Cows are raised for milk.
Core concept
A milk-producing female farm animal whose solid, uncompromising presence supports both the literal animal sense and the insult for a mean person.
Common phrases
une vache
a cow
une vache laitière
a dairy cow
les vaches
the cows
Similar words
bœuf: The meat of cattle used as food.
veau: A very young calf, newly born and still small.
taureau: A powerful male bovine used for breeding.
Definition in French
Animal bovin femelle domestiqué, élevé pour le lait, la viande ou comme bête de somme ; familièrement, personne méchante.
Word origin
Inherited from Latin vacca through Old French, vache has kept its basic female-cattle meaning and later acquired a figurative personal sense.
Usage tips
- Calling a person vache is strongly insulting, whereas La vache! is a separate familiar exclamation expressing surprise or emphasis.
Other meanings
- meanadjective
Opposites
- taureaubullnoun
Related words
- vachementveryadverb
- vachardmeanadjective
- vacheriemeannessnoun