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nounadjectivedeterminer

le mille

thousand

C'est un nombre qui vient après neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf et avant mille un.

Definition & meaning

Mille primarily means “a thousand” or “one thousand.”

  • mille euros — a thousand euros
  • mille personnes — a thousand people

It can also be used figuratively to mean “a great many”, as in mille excuses — “a thousand apologies.”

As a masculine noun, un mille can mean “a mile,” especially a nautical mile.

Grammar & Word origin

As a number, mille is invariable: it never takes a plural -s. It comes from Latin mille, meaning “a thousand.”

As a noun meaning “mile,” it is masculine and takes a plural -s: un mille, deux milles.

Synonyms & antonyms

For the number itself, there is no exact common synonym or antonym. Figuratively, innombrable means “countless” and suggests a number too large to count, rather than a thousand.

For the distance, mille marin means “nautical mile” and is more specific than mille.

Common phrases & collocations

  • mille fois — a thousand times; often used for emphasis
  • mille mercis — a thousand thanks
  • mille excuses — a thousand apologies
  • les mille et une nuits — One Thousand and One Nights

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Examples

Nous avons vu mille oiseaux aujourd’hui.determiner

We saw a thousand birds today.

Il y a mille façons de faire ça.determiner

There are a thousand ways to do that.

J'ai mille raisons de partir.determiner

I have a thousand reasons to leave.

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