chatte

Chatte is a French noun (feminine) with two principal meanings. The common, non-vulgar sense designates a female cat, i.e., a female member of the species Felis catus. In this usage, it is used in everyday speech and in contexts such as pet care or veterinary discussions. The second, informal meaning is a vulgar slang term for the female genitalia; this usage is considered crude and is inappropriate in formal, professional, or polite conversation.

Etymology and forms: The word derives from Old French chatte, the feminine of chat, itself from Latin cattus. The masculine form chat refers to a male cat, while the feminine chatte forms the gendered pair. In plural, des chattes means “female cats,” while des chats covers male or mixed groups.

Usage notes: In zoological or domestic contexts, chatte is the correct feminine form when the gender of the cat is known to be female. For references to cats in general or when gender is not specified, the masculine chat is often used, though specifying a known female cat as une chatte is common. When the term is used as slang, it is typically restricted to informal speech, humor, or provocative language, and may offend in formal settings. Translations into English mirror the dual meaning: the first sense is “female cat,” while the second corresponds to a vulgar term for female genitalia.

See also: chat (masculine noun for a male cat or cat in general), feline terminology, French slang and registers.