What does face à in French mean?

What is the meaning of the word face à in French? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use face à in French.

The word face à in French means facing , in front of , opposite, in front of, facing , faced with, to the world, face to face, be faced with , be confronted with, faced with this situation, face to face, face to face with, face to face with, faced with the threat, confrontation, face-off, head-to-head, confrontation, head-on collision, lorgnette, be facing, face, cope with demand, meet demand, meet the demand, seafront hotel, hotel with sea views, play heads or tails, flip a coin for , toss a coin for, find yourself face to face with, talk to face to face, flip a coin, toss a coin. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word face à

facing , in front of , opposite

(en vis-à-vis de, devant un lieu)

(preposition: Relates noun or pronoun to another element of sentence--for example, "a picture of John," "She walked from my house to yours.")
L'arrêt de bus est face à la mairie. Je n'ai pas envie de jouer face au soleil.
I don't want to play facing the sun.

in front of

(en vis-à-vis de)

(preposition: Relates noun or pronoun to another element of sentence--for example, "a picture of John," "She walked from my house to yours.")
Face à moi se trouve l'immensité de l'océan. À ma gauche, Robert Dupont, le champion en titre et face à lui, son challenger, Patrick Martin.
Before me is the wide sweep of the ocean.

facing , faced with

(confronté à)

(preposition: Relates noun or pronoun to another element of sentence--for example, "a picture of John," "She walked from my house to yours.")
Le gouvernement se trouve face à un défi de taille.
The government is faced with a major challenge.

to the world

locution adverbiale (figuré (au su de tous) (figurative)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")

face to face

locution adverbiale (seul avec [qqn])

Je ne pense pas que Christian lui dise ça en face à face.

be faced with , be confronted with

(subir [qch], affronter [qch])

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

faced with this situation

locution adverbiale (confronté à cela)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")

face to face

locution adverbiale (l'un en face de l'autre)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Pour le premier exercice, vous devrez être face à face, et pour le deuxième, dos à dos. Après des années à se poursuivre, les deux ennemis se sont finalement retrouvés face à face, prêts à en découdre.
In the first exercise you will be face to face and in the second one you will be back to back. After years of pursuing each other, the two enemies finally found themselves face to face, ready to rip into each other.

face to face with

(en face de [qqn])

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Lors du procès, lorsque la victime s'est retrouvée face à face avec son agresseur, elle s'est mise à pleurer.
The victim burst into tears when she found herself face to face with her attacker at the trial.

face to face with

(confronté à [qch])

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Le dirigeant s'est retrouvé face à face avec ses responsabilités.
The director found himself face to face with his responsibilities.

faced with the threat

locution adverbiale (en réaction à une menace)

confrontation, face-off, head-to-head

nom masculin invariable (affrontement)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Il y aura un face-à-face télévisé entre les deux candidats.

confrontation

nom masculin invariable (figuré (mise en présence)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Il est gravement malade et le face-à-face avec la mort l'angoisse.

head-on collision

nom masculin invariable (Can (collision frontale)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Ma voiture est au garage car j'ai eu un face-à-face.

lorgnette

nom masculin (vieux (binocle muni d'un manche) (eyeglasses)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
On maintenait son face-à-main devant les yeux au moyen d'un manche.

be facing

locution verbale (être tourné vers)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
L'ennemi nous faisait face.
The enemy were facing us.

face

locution verbale (s'opposer à)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Avant, j'avais peur de lui, mais maintenant, je suis prêt à lui faire face.

cope with demand, meet demand, meet the demand

locution verbale (pourvoir, assumer)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
L'entreprise fait face à la demande en embauchant des intérimaires.

seafront hotel, hotel with sea views

nom masculin (hôtel avec vue sur la mer)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

play heads or tails

locution verbale (s'en remettre au hasard)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Ils ont joué à pile ou face pour désigner un volontaire.

flip a coin for , toss a coin for

locution verbale (mettre en jeu)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Cet idiot a joué sa console à pile ou face et a perdu !

find yourself face to face with

(être en vis à vis)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Monique s'est retrouvé face à face avec son cousin dans le métro.

talk to face to face

(s'expliquer sans intermédiaire)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Il sera plus facile de nous expliquer si nous nous retrouvons face à face avec eux.

flip a coin, toss a coin

locution verbale (tirer au sort)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
On a tiré à pile ou face pour savoir qui commencerait.

Let's learn French

So now that you know more about the meaning of face à in French, you can learn how to use them through selected examples and how to read them. And remember to learn the related words that we suggest. Our website is constantly updating with new words and new examples so you can look up the meanings of other words you don't know in French.

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French (le français) is a Romance language. Like Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish, it comes from popular Latin, once used in the Roman Empire. A French-speaking person or country can be called a "Francophone". French is the official language in 29 countries. French is the fourth most spoken native language in the European Union. French ranks third in the EU, after English and German, and is the second most widely taught language after English. The majority of the world's French-speaking population lives in Africa, with about 141 million Africans from 34 countries and territories who can speak French as a first or second language. French is the second most widely spoken language in Canada, after English, and both are official languages at the federal level. It is the first language of 9.5 million people or 29% and the second language of 2.07 million people or 6% of the entire population of Canada. In contrast to other continents, French has no popularity in Asia. Currently, no country in Asia recognizes French as an official language.