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A compound noun ("un nom composé") is a noun made up of several words, linked together by a hyphen ("le centre-ville"), a preposition ("un va-et-vient") or simply a space ("une pomme de terre"). Some compound words are also written as a single word (un extraterrestre, un portefeuille). In this article, I give you a list of some surprising compound nouns and explain how to form their plurals!
There are compound nouns whose meaning is quite clear:
Un ouvre-boîte - a tin opener
Un porte-clé - a key ring
Un tire-bouchon - a corkscrew
Un porte-monnaie - a wallet
Un pare-chocs - a bumper
Le bouche-à-oreille - word of mouth
L'après-midi - afternoon
Le centre-ville - city centre
Un nouveau-né - a newborn
Le chemin de fer - railway
Une machine à laver - a washing machine
Un lave-vaisselle - a dishwasher
Un sans-abri - a homeless
Un rouge-gorge - a robin
Une arrière-boutique - a back store
Le savoir-faire - the know-how
With these words, you can understand the function of the object if you know the meaning of each word. If you translate each word independently, you can guess the meaning of the name.
But there are other, more surprising compound names too!
There are compound nouns whose meaning is less obvious. You can't translate them literally - they wouldn't make sense! If you don't know the meaning of each word, it will be difficult to understand the name. Here are a few examples and their literal English translation:
Une pomme de terre ("an apple from the soil"): a potato
Une pomme de pin ("an apple from the pine"): a pine cone
Une chauve-souris ("a bald mouse"): a bat
Un cul-de-poule ("hen's ass"): a mixing bowl
Un bateau-mouche ("a boat-fly"): a typical Parisian river boat for tourists
Un oiseau-mouche ("a bird-fly"): hummingbird
Un pot-de-vin ("a pot of wine"): a bribe
Un cerf-volant ("a flying deer"): a kite
Une tomate cerise ("a tomato cherry"): a cherry tomato
Un nœud papillon ("a knot butterfly"): a bow tie
Les montagnes russes ("the Russian mountains"): roller coasters
Un arc-en-ciel ("a bow in the sky": a rainbow
Un cul-de-sac ("bag's ass"): a dead end
Un gagne-pain ("a win-bread"): livelihood
Un chef-d'œuvre ("a chef of work"): a masterpiece
Un pied de biche ("doe's foot"): a crowbar
Un coffre-fort ("a strong chest"): a safe-deposit box
Un chou-fleur ("a cabbage-flower"): cauliflower
Un pied-à-terre ("a feet on the ground"): a pied-a-terre
Un cache-nez ("a hide-nose"): a scarf
Un croque-mort ("a crunch-dead"): an undertaker
Un couvre-chef ("a cover-chef"): un hat
The plural of compound nouns in French
Things get even more complicated when it comes to writing these compound nouns in the plural. Even the French have their doubts! The plural of compound nouns depends on their composition. Remember that verbs and adverbs are never given the plural form (only nouns and adjectives).
noun + noun: the 2 nouns are in the plural
Ex: des choux-fleurs, des cerfs-volants, des bateaux-mouches
noun + adjective (ou adjective + noun) : the noun and the adjective are in the plural
Ex: des coffres-forts, des chauves-souris, des rouges-gorges
Note: "Demi" is invariable when it begins a compound noun.
Ex: des demi-heures
verb + noun: only the noun is in the plural
Ex: des tire-bouchons, des ouvre-boîtes, des pare-chocs
verb + verb: the 2 words are invariable
Ex: des laisser-passer, des savoir-faire
adverb + noun (ou noun + adverb): only the noun is in the plural
Ex: des arrière-boutiques, des nouveau-nés (here "nouveau" is used as an adverb, it means "recently"), des après-midis
noun + preposition + noun : only the first noun is in the plural
Ex: des arcs-en-ciel (there is only one sky), des pommes de terre (they grow in the soil, int the singular), des culs-de-poule
Exercise
Find the plural of the following compound nouns:
Une tomate cerise
Un porte-clé
Le centre-ville
Un cache-nez
Un pied de biche
Une demi-finale
Une arrière-pensée
Une eau-de-vie
Un rond-point
Un aide-soignant
Un croque-mort
Un cul-de-sac
Un nœud papillon
Une pomme de pin
Un sous-sol
Answers and explanations
Des tomates cerises ("tomate" and "cerise" are 2 nouns so they are both in the plural)
Des porte-clés ("porte" is a verb so it is invariable)
Les centres-villes ("centre" and "ville" are 2 nouns so they are both in the plural)
Des cache-nez ("porte" is a verb so it is invariable ; "nez" ends by the letter "z" so it is also invariable.)
Des pieds de biche ("biche" is invariable because it follows the preposition "de")
Des demi-finales ("demi" is invariable ; "finale" is a noun so it is in the plural)
Des arrière-pensées ("arrière" is an adverb so it is invariable)
Des eaux-de-vie ("vie" is invariable because it follows the preposition "de")
Des ronds-points ("rond" is an adjective and "point" is a noun so they are both in the plural)
Des aide-soignants ("aide" is a verb so it is invariable)
Des croque-morts ("croque" is a verb so it is invariable)
Des culs-de-sac ("sac" is invariable because it follows the preposition "de")
Des nœuds papillons ("nœud" and "papillon" are 2 nouns so they are both in the plural)
Des pommes de pin ("pin" is invariable because it follows the preposition "de")
Des sous-sols ("sous" is an adverb so it is invariable)