Use mirage for the visible effect caused by refraction in layers of air, especially over hot roads, deserts, seas, or cold horizons.
Use mirage for the visible effect caused by refraction in layers of air, especially over hot roads, deserts, seas, or cold horizons.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| Une mirage apparaît sur la route. | Un mirage apparaît sur la route. |
| Les mirage disparaissent vite. | Les mirages disparaissent vite. |
| Le mirage était une hallucination impossible à photographier. | Le mirage était une illusion optique que l'on pouvait photographier. |
Use mirage when a hope or promise draws people on but proves empty, less solid than an ordinary mistake or plan.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| Une mirage de bonheur l'attirait. | Un mirage de bonheur l'attirait. |
| Il court après un mirage à succès. | Il court après un mirage de succès. |
| Le mirage était une promesse sûre. | Le mirage était une promesse trompeuse. |
Use mirage in French poultry and food contexts for checking eggs with light, not for the optical illusion.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| La mirage des œufs se fait à la lampe. | Le mirage des œufs se fait à la lampe. |
| Le mirage pèse les œufs avant la vente. | Le mirage examine les œufs par transparence. |
| On lave les œufs pendant le mirage. | On observe les œufs pendant le mirage. |
Keep the physical and figurative senses separate, and reserve the egg-candling sense for technical food or poultry contexts.
Une mirage uses the wrong gender, and the figurative sense should name a deceptive hope rather than any ordinary goal.
Derived from French mirer, meaning to look at or examine in a reflective surface, with the suffix -age. The optical sense is attested in the eighteenth century, the figurative illusion soon after, and the egg-inspection sense later from the same idea of examining by light.
What does mirage mean in French?
Mirage most often means an optical illusion caused by refraction, and it also means a deceptive hope or the candling of eggs.
Is mirage masculine or feminine?
Mirage is masculine, so French uses un mirage and le mirage.
How is mirage used figuratively?
It describes a hope, promise, or attractive appearance that seems real but proves deceptive.
Can mirage refer to egg inspection?
Yes. In technical French, mirage can mean examining eggs by shining light through the shell.
What causes a physical mirage?
Layers of air at different temperatures bend light, making objects seem displaced or making water seem present.
What is the plural of mirage?
The regular plural is mirages.
Is mirage the same as illusion?
Illusion is broader. A physical mirage is a specific optical illusion, while the figurative sense is close to chimère or leurre.
What are useful French words near mirage?
Useful related words include réfraction, chimère, leurre, ovoscopie, and Fata Morgana.