étoile/e.twal/
noun · A1 · Frequency 1329
nounfeminine
Meanings
a celestial star
Refers to stars in the night sky.
a star-shaped symbol
Also in heraldry, a star with wavy rays (estoile).
a white mark on the forehead of a horse or bull
Refers to a white mark on the forehead of an animal, commonly used for identification.
Examples
Une étoile brillante apparaît au-dessus des montagnes.
A bright star appears above the mountains.
Sur le plan, une étoile rouge indique l'entrée du musée.
On the map, a red star symbol marks the museum entrance.
Le poulain a une petite étoile blanche sur le front.
The foal has a small white star-shaped marking on its forehead.
Collocations
- une étoile filantea shooting star
- un cheval marqué d’une étoile blanchea horse marked with a white star
Common mistakes
un étoile
une étoile
'Étoile' is feminine and requires the feminine indefinite article 'une'; using the masculine 'un' is the most common beginner error.
J’ai dessiné une étoile avec cinq pointes.
J’ai dessiné une étoile à cinq branches.
When describing a star-shaped symbol, French conventionally uses 'à cinq branches' (not 'pointes'); 'pointes' refers to sharp tips (e.g., of needles or mountains), not standard star geometry.
Related words
synonymastrecelestial body
synonymétoile filanteshooting star
antonymtrou noirblack hole