le

masculine

/ma.ʃɛ̃/

#3189 of 5,000 Core 5000

Translation

thingy, whatsit

Word origin

A familiar shortening of machine, used as a placeholder for an unnamed object or person. Machine comes from Latin machina, from Greek mekhane ('device, contrivance').

Origin: Greek
Root: mekhane
English cognates: machine, mechanic, mechanism

Grammar

Gendermasculine

Pluralmachins

Examples

- , ' .

Pass me that thingy on the table, please.

I don't know how this thingy works.

tiroir.

There's a strange thingy in the drawer.

prêter ?

Can you lend me your whatsit to open the box?

' .

This thingy costs too much for what it is.

Where this fits

The 1,000 most common French words

Where this word sits in the core vocabulary, and what to learn around it.

French vocabulary by CEFR level

How many words each level actually needs, with real counts.

French learning guides

Podcasts, pronunciation traps and the things a word list cannot teach.

Add to review queue

Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.

Go to my review queue

French · Free printables

machin: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the French word "machin" (thingy, whatsit): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

Free for members

The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.

Start your free week

This word is part of lesson 64.