Welcome back to our French language learners! In this week’s blog, we’ll be looking at two words – clé and clef. These are two spellings of the same word, which will become clear very soon.
First of all, you can listen to the pronunciation in the audio clip below:
Now, the next most important thing is the translation. Despite some confusion with the alternate spellings, both clé and clef simply mean ‘key’ in English. Either way, this is a feminine noun, so you might see it preceded by the indefinite article une, or definite article la. If you want to learn more, head over to our Easy Learning French Grammar page on working the gender of French nouns.
So, why is clé also spelled as clef? The latter is an older way of spelling the exact same word, with the former being more common and a better reflection of the pronunciation (the ‘f’ is silent in any case). However, it’s important to know both, as you might see either word written down. It will depend on the context or when it was written.
Some of our musically inclined readers might understand ‘key’ in the niche context of music. With this, there’s also the related English word ‘clef’, which we might see in sheet music:
clé/clef de sol treble clef
clé/clef de fa bass clef
But in everyday French, in more general contexts, you’ll mostly use and see the noun as clé:
Si vous perdiez la clé, vous devriez payer. If you lost the key, you would have to pay.
Est-ce que tu as les clés de voiture ? Do you have the car keys?
« Peut-on fermer la porte à clé ?» « Non, Martine n’est pas rentrée. » “Can we lock the door?” “No, Martine isn’t home yet.”
mettre sous clé to put/place under lock and key
clé(s) en main ready to use; turnkey (property)
clé USB USB stick
clé plate spanner
clé Allen Allen key
Finally, it’s also worth knowing that clé might appear as an adjective in the same way we use it in English:
J’aurais aimé comprendre les idées clés avant de décider. I would have liked to understand the key ideas before deciding.
Notre meilleur étudiant joue un rôle clé dans la nouvelle production de Hamlet. Our best student is playing a key role in the new production of Hamlet.
Thanks for joining us to learn a new word, or two in this case. We think the key to improving your French and bolstering your vocabulary is reading our blog every week – see you next time!
Written by Holly Tarbet, freelance copywriter and editor.
All opinions expressed on this blog are those of the individual writers, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Collins, or its parent company, HarperCollins.
