du - French Definition & Examples

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du

/dy/

contraction (de + le)masculineSing

of the

from the

belonging to the

Je reviens du boulot.

I'm coming back from work.

partitive articlemasculineSing

some (unspecified amount of a mass noun)

Tu veux du café ?

Do you want some coffee?

Synonyms:de la, des

Notes

GENERAL INFO

Du is a French article. It can be a partitive article, meaning "some" or "any" (masculine singular), or a contraction of the preposition "de" (of, from) and the definite article "le" (the), meaning "of the" or "from the".

USAGE

As a partitive: "Je bois du lait." (I drink some milk.)

As a contraction: "Le livre du professeur." (The teacher's book / The book of the teacher.) "Il revient du travail." (He returns from work.)

TRAPS

Remember du is masculine singular. Do not use it for feminine singular (de la), plural (des), or before a vowel/silent 'h' (de l'). "J'ai du courage." vs. "J'ai de la chance."