contes
contes — noun
1. A short, imaginative story about an adventure, often containing elements of folk
A short, imaginative story about an adventure, often containing elements of folk tradition, magic, or a moral lesson.
The library owns French contes from the 1700s about knights and enchanted forests.
collection of contes about [theme]
Sofie enjoys reading contes filled with talking animals to her younger brother at bedtime.
These contes often end with a moral lesson about honesty or courage.
Lara borrowed a volume of medieval contes from the university library.
Many scholars believe contes helped shape the development of the modern short story.
- tale
more general, everyday word for a story; less literary than contes
- fable
specifically a short story with a clear moral lesson, often featuring animals
- folk tale
emphasises origins in oral tradition rather than a written literary form
- legend
typically associated with heroic or historical figures, often believed to have some basis in fact
文法句型
contes + about + topic
collection / volume of contes
用法筆記
Contes (plural) is the more common form in English; the singular 'conte' also exists but appears less frequently. This term is primarily found in literary criticism and historical discussions of folk literature.