# bicyclette / vélo



## wendybendy

est-ce que la seule difference est celle de "bike" vs "bicycle" (en anglais?) merci!

*Moderator note: *multiple threads merged to create this one


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## Gil

> vélo [velo] n. m.
> • 1890; « postillon » 1837; abrév. de vélocipède
> ¨ Bicyclette. Acheter un vélo de course. À vélo; en vélo; sur son vélo.


C'est ce que je comprends.


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## tiss

Bicyclette is the same thing as vélo. Only you would use vélo more.


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## michael1234567890

vélo = bike
bicyclette = bicycle

Et bécane, comment est-ce qu'on le traduirait ?  Motorbike ou moped, oui, mais aussi ça donne le sens de bike...


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## tmf54

I've seen both 'Velo' and 'Bicyclette' used for 'bicycle'. Are they basically two words describing the exact same thing? Is there a difference?


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## Stefan Ivanovich

No difference in meaning.
Very little difference in usage as well. _Vélo_, being shorter, is also more frequent.


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## DearPrudence

Answer from the younger generation: same thing but:
"*vélo*" is what is commonly used
"*bicyclette*" now sounds old-fashioned and I can't remember ever having said it seriously.
Yet it is more formal and I supposed that in some texts, it will be preferred to "vélo" (trying to think what they say on TV but I think they also say "vélo")
But just my opinion 

edit: just to add that I posted before I had seen Stefan's answer. J'espère que je n'ai pas encore fait de gaffe dans ma formulation


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## tmf54

Thanks you for the responses Stefan and DearPrudence - I will definitely remember to use 'Vélo'!


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## Stefan Ivanovich

Answer from the older generation: When I was young in 1912 we use to say *vélocipède*, but these young fellas can't pay proper respect even to words...


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## francais_espanol

tmf54: i think it's the equivalent of saying "bike" or "bicycle" (bike = vélo and bicycle = bicyclette). i hardly ever use the word "bicycle", does sound kind of old...


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## Lany

Around here we will often use Bicycle even in French, but it would be more of slang, and even though it is written the same, we pronounce it exactly as we would read it in French. I guess it is kind of halfway between say vélo and bicyclette.


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## Punky Zoé

Just another thing, vélo is the only word used in sports. Don't say to a racing cyclist "elle est belle ta bicyclette". You can say "un vélo de course" not "une bicyclette de course".


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## eclypse

michael1234567890 said:


> Et bécane, comment est-ce qu'on le traduirait ? Motorbike ou moped, oui, mais aussi ça donne le sens de bike...


As far as I know, bécane is slang for bicycle, but I could be wrong ?


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## Fred_C

Hi,
Is "bike" more colloquial than "bicycle"? 
Because "vélo" is not colloquial at all.
It is a perfect synonym for "bicyclette", more often used than the latter.
"Bécane" is a colloquial synonym of "moto".

Although originally, "vélo" and "moto" were abbreviations of the words "vélocipède" and "motocyclette", they are not perceived as abbreviations any longer, since nobody uses the word "vélocipède", and "motocyclette" is very very rare.


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## SomeWordsOfAdvice?

Trikes, or tricycles, are most often ridden by little tykes who advance to "two-wheelers" with training wheels.
A child's bike = a child's bicycle (perfect synonyms)
In the U.S., the shortened form "bike" is more frequently used. A "mountain-biker" will become a "cyclist" on a road bike like those in the Tour de France.
Harley-Davidson drivers on "hogs" are called "bikers" and in wry understatement, they call their enormous vehicles "bikes."


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## SteveD

eclypse said:


> As far as I know, bécane is slang for bicycle, but I could be wrong ?


 
Explanation of "bécane": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motobécane

How about "petite reine" - where does that come from?


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## francais_espanol

Fred_C said:


> Is "bike" more colloquial than "bicycle"?
> Because "vélo" is not colloquial at all.


ah oui? je ne savais pas ça... à mon avis, "bike" est beaucoup plus familier que "bicycle"


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## jforres1

Bike and Bicycle are synonymous. 

Bike is just used to abbreviate the word Bicycle.


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## antiphon

SteveD said:


> How about "petite reine" - where does that come from?


_The phrase "la petite reine" has passed into the French language as a term for a bicycle. The origins are in 1891, when Giffard wrote a history of bicycle development, "La Reine Bicyclette"._

I can't post a link but look up Pierre Giffard on Wikipedia!


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## Nathalie1963

"bicyclette" is more formal than "vélo" but conceptually they are the same thing.


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## wildan1

_bicycle_ - standard and still quite widely used
_bike_ - slightly colloquial
_two-wheeler_ - small child's word for a bicycle (especially when compared to _a tricycle--a three-wheeler_)


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## Cath.S.

_Bicyclette_ is getting more old-fashioned by the hour.


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## dificilima

Unless you happen to be in certain parts of India where both two-wheelers and bikes are assumed to be motorized.


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## antiphon

Are there any other terms for bicycle - e.g. in Dutch you [a word for the] granny bike?  I imagine the typical _vélo_ is probably a racing/road bike though [...]

(J'ai un Peugeot fabriqué en France!  Mais pour les Britanniques)


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## Cath.S.

J'ai un VTT. Lorsque j'en parle, je ne dis pas _mon vélo_.

Ajout
Familièrement, on dit parfois _un biclou_, ce terme est assez vielli.


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## wildan1

egueule said:


> J'ai un VTT. Lorsque j'en parle, je ne dis pas _mon vélo_.


_VTT = trail bike_


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## antiphon

Verlan aussi: _une canebé_, _un lové_!  Et un _clou_ de _biclou_.  Merci à Google!


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## Punky Zoé

Bonjour

En sport cycliste on parle exclusivement de vélo. Essayez de dire au vainqueur du Tour de France qu'il a une belle bicyclette !


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## Nicomon

Trouvé... et c'est un peu la nuance que je fais moi-même entre un vélo et une bicyclette.  Une bicyclette est à mon avis plus « pépère ».



> * « Une silhouette profilée mauve fluo dévale à soixante-dix à l'heure : c'est du vélo. Deux lycéennes côte à côte traversent un pont à Bruges : c'est de la bicyclette. » *


   Yves Montand roulait  À bicyclette

J'associe _bicyclette_ au « bicycle CCM 3 vitesses » de mon enfance. Véhicule à deux roues avec freins à rétropédalage, pas trop performant dans les côtes.
Verte, qu'elle était, avec une belle clochette.


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## antiphon

I've just remembered another English term - it would be ridiculous to say a pro cyclist rides a _pushbike_, too.


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## yaragendy

what's the difference between vélo and bicyclette??


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## Lépido

It's the same... It's like voiture and automobile (auto): you can use both.


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## Loutre

I would say that nowadays it is the same ("vélo" being more common). 

But historically, "vélo" is the reduction of "vélocipède" which described these old bikes with a huge front wheel and a small back one.


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## paulfg42

What is the difference between these two. Is vélo more common or are they interchangeable. Thanks.


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## marotte

vélo is more common nowadays

and notice that the other word is spelled "bicyclette" (from bi-cycle)


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## Juan Jacob Vilalta

En fait, c'est vélocipède:
[...]

Personne utilise *vélocipède.*

Vélo, très commun.
Bicyclette, bof, pas souvent.


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## ManPaisa

Which of the two terms is more common for _bicycle _in your country or region, _vélo _or _bicyclette_?

Merci d'avance.


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## ufoseeker

Vélo is more common


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## Quaeitur

_Vélo_. _Bicyclette _is seldom used nowadays in France.


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## Guilhem 128

Bicyclette can sound a bit old-fashioned...


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## ManPaisa

Merci à tous de vos réponses !


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## xiancee

Le tour de France se fait a vélo
Une promenade à bicyclette (chanson célèbre !)


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## naïveté

Nous utilisons bicyclette au Quebec!!

[...]


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## Nicomon

xiancee said:


> Le tour de France se fait a vélo
> Une promenade à bicyclette (chanson célèbre !)


 Je fais la même nuance. Voir le post. 

En fait au Québec - tout au moins à Montréal - on utilise plus le québécisme « _bicycle_ » que « _bicyclette_ », mais on entend de plus en plus _vélo_. J'associe _vélo _à « performance/sport » et _bicyclette_ à « balade tranquille ».


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## ManPaisa

Merci aussi aux Québécois pour vos contributions !


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