Ever since I was a child I’ve always loved mountains. Hence, today’s word of the day: montagne (mountain). Let’s jump right into the examples!
la montagne
mountain
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Word origin & pronunciation
The modern French word montagne comes from mons in Latin. The -gn in French almost sounds like the English word “knee”. Hence, montagne sounds like mon-ta-knee-uh or mon-ta-gne [mɔ̃-ta-ɲ].
Example sentences
Many people make the mistake of pronouncing the final -t and -c on Mont Blanc. Both of these consonants are silent. This lesson our site covers the French reading rules in detail.
Le Mont Blanc est la montagne la plus haute de la France et de l’Europe.
Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in France and in Europe.
In French chaîne de montagnes means “mountain range”. The feminine noun chaîne also means chain and channel as in “TV channel”.
Les Pyrénées sont une chaîne de montagnes qui font la frontière entre la France et l’Espagne.
The Pyrenees are a mountain range that make the border between France and Spain.
This last example sentence is autobiographical! I’ve been living at the edge of Grand Teton National Park in Idaho since 2019 (see picture below). This lesson on our site explains how to pronounce les États-Unis (the United States) in detail and this lesson explains how to use depuis (since).
J’habite dans les montagnes rocheuses des États-Unis depuis cinq ans.
I’ve been living in the rocky mountains in the United States for five years.
Conclusion
Et voilà ! Now you know how to use montagne (mountain) in French! Following this lesson, I thought you might also find our lesson covering French geographical prepositions to be helpful!
