enveloppe

envelope

noun ahn-veh-LOP Less Common

Also means

outer casing, layer

Usage Note

Enveloppe is the standard word for a mailing envelope, but it also appears in technical contexts: l'enveloppe budgétaire means the budget envelope or allocation. The plural enveloppes is regular.

Examples

"Elle a collé l'enveloppe avant de l'envoyer."

Natural Translation

She sealed the envelope before sending it.

Literal Translation

She glued the envelope before sending it.

Related Words

Explore French by topic

FrenchNow

French Silent Letters: The CaReFuL Rule

Final consonants in French are silent by default — except C, R, F, L. The CaReFuL rule, the silent -e, the plural-s trap, and liaison, explained simply.

June 4, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

French Noun Gender: Rules to Guess Right 80%

Guess French noun gender right 80% of the time using word endings: -age, -ment, -eau are masculine; -tion, -té, -ette are feminine. A high-yield system.

June 3, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

French Numbers 70, 80, 90 Made Simple

French numbers 70, 80, 90 are soixante-dix, quatre-vingts, and quatre-vingt-dix. Learn three build formulas to make any number 70-99 on the fly.

June 3, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

Avoir or Être? Picking the Right Past-Tense Helper

Use avoir for the passé composé unless the verb is reflexive or one of ~16 DR MRS VANDERTRAMP motion verbs, which take être and force agreement.

June 4, 2026 5 min read