Learn French: L'encre est sous la peau. - The ink is under the skin.

L'encre est sous la peau.

The ink is under the skin.

Breakdown of L'encre est sous la peau.

Questions & Answers about L'encre est sous la peau.

Is encre masculine or feminine here?

It is feminine (une encre). The article is l' instead of la because encre starts with a vowel, so the a is dropped for smoother pronunciation.

I sometimes confuse sous and sur. Which is which?

Sous means "under", and sur means "on". A helpful trick is that sur sounds like the beginning of "surface" (meaning on top), while sous sounds a bit like "sub", meaning below (like in submarine).

What happens to la peau in the plural?

It becomes les peaux. Nouns ending in -eau typically take an x in the plural instead of an s, just like un oiseau (a bird) becomes des oiseaux.

Can encre refer to tattoo ink as well as pen ink?

Yes! Just like in English, l'encre is a versatile word. It can be used for the ink in a pen, printer ink, or the ink used for a tattoo, which fits the context of being under the skin.