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city
town
urban area
Marseille est une grande ville portuaire.
Marseille is a large port city.
city center
downtown
into town (movement toward the urban centre)
Je vais en ville cet après‑midi pour faire des courses.
I'm going into town this afternoon to run some errands.
Notes
GENERAL INFO
Ville means "city" or "town." It is a feminine noun in French.
USAGE
You'll often hear it with prepositions like "en ville" (in town/in the city) or "à la ville" (to the city). It's used for general urban areas: "Je vais en ville." (I'm going downtown/into the city). For specific cities: "La ville de Lyon." (The city of Lyon).
TRAPS
Be careful not to confuse ville (city, town) with "village" (village, much smaller settlement). Remember that as a feminine noun, adjectives modifying "ville" must also be feminine, e.g., "une grande ville" (a big city).