What does cadeau in French mean?

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

The word cadeau in French means present, free, a piece of cake, voucher, gift voucher, freebie, freebee, business gift, birthday present, birthday gift, Christmas present, Christmas gift, godsend, poisoned chalice, group gift, joint gift, gift from a group, gift tax, gift card, gift voucher, gift box, as a gift, give as a gift, give as a present, give a present, give a gift, gift-wrap, nothing in life is free, wrapping paper, gift wrap, gift bag, surprise gift bag, without making any concessions, Lucky me!. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word cadeau

present

nom masculin (présent, offrande)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Les petits cadeaux entretiennent l'amitié. Lise offre beaucoup de cadeaux à ses petits-enfants.
Lisa gives a lot of gifts to her grandchildren.

free

adjectif (gratuit)

(adjective: Describes a noun or pronoun--for example, "a tall girl," "an interesting book," "a big house.")
Allez, prenez ces gâteaux, c'est cadeau !
Go ahead, take the cakes; they're free!

a piece of cake

adjectif (donné, facile) (figurative, informal)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Une question pareille, c'est cadeau !
A question like that is a piece of cake!

voucher, gift voucher

nom masculin (chèque offert, remise)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Cette promotion sur les pâtes offre un bon cadeau pour le prochain achat.

freebie, freebee

nom masculin (article offert en promotion) (informal)

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

business gift

nom masculin (cadeau de relation professionnelle)

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

birthday present, birthday gift

nom masculin (présent)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Comme cadeau d'anniversaire pour ses 20 ans, Jean a eu un nouvel appareil photo.

Christmas present, Christmas gift

nom masculin (présent)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
A l'occasion des fêtes, les enfants reçoivent leurs cadeaux de Noël.

godsend

nom masculin (don)

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

poisoned chalice

nom masculin (figuré (malédiction) (idiom, figurative)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Attends, pour elle, recevoir un aquarium, c'est un cadeau empoisonné.

group gift, joint gift, gift from a group

nom masculin (cadeau groupé)

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

gift tax

nom masculin (remise d'impôt)

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

gift card

nom féminin (crédit dans un commerce)

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

gift voucher

nom masculin (bon de valeur fixe)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
L'entreprise nous offre des chèques-cadeaux que nous dépensons dans les magasins qui les acceptent.

gift box

nom masculin (boîte avec un cadeau à offrir)

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

as a gift

locution adjectivale (offert en sus d'un achat)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Si vous achetez pour plus de 100 € de meubles, vous recevrez ce magnifique porte-clés en cadeau.

give as a gift, give as a present

locution verbale (ne pas faire payer [qch] à [qqn])

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Mon frère m'a fait cadeau de sa voiture précédente.

give a present, give a gift

locution verbale (offrir [qch] à [qqn])

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Jessica a fait un cadeau inattendu à son frère pour son anniversaire.
Jessica gave her brother a surprise present for his birthday.

gift-wrap

locution verbale (emballer [qch] dans un papier cadeau)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")

nothing in life is free

(la vie est dure)

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

wrapping paper

nom masculin (papier d'emballage)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Il faut acheter du papier cadeau pour Noël.

gift wrap

nom masculin (emballage d'un cadeau)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Pouvez-vous me faire un paquet-cadeau ?
Can you gift-wrap it for me?

gift bag

nom féminin (emballage cadeau)

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

surprise gift bag

nom féminin (pochette surprise)

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

without making any concessions

locution adverbiale (sans concession)

Lucky me!

(familier, ironique (Ce n'est pas un avantage.) (ironic)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Ma belle-mère vient passer le week-end chez nous : tu parles d'un cadeau !
My mother-in-law is coming to spend the weekend with us. Lucky me!

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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.