teleferique: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
LowTechnical/Touristic
Quick answer
What does “teleferique” mean?
A passenger cable car system, typically used to transport people up and down mountains or across steep valleys.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A passenger cable car system, typically used to transport people up and down mountains or across steep valleys.
A transportation system consisting of gondolas or cabins suspended from a continuously moving cable. More broadly, can refer to the cable car itself.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
The word is understood in both varieties but is extremely rare in common speech. It might appear more in British travel writing about Europe. Americans are more likely to use 'gondola', 'aerial tramway', or simply 'cable car'.
Connotations
In both varieties, it connotes a European alpine or ski resort setting, as opposed to a more generic urban 'cable car'.
Frequency
Exceptionally low frequency in both corpora, with slightly higher occurrence in British sources due to geographical proximity to the Alps.
Grammar
How to Use “teleferique” in a Sentence
take the teleferique to [PLACE]the teleferique from [PLACE] to [PLACE]ride/ascend in the teleferiqueVocabulary
Collocations
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Used in the tourism and leisure industry when describing specific resort infrastructure.
Academic
Rare; might appear in historical or engineering texts about transport systems.
Everyday
Virtually unused in everyday conversation outside of specific travel recounting.
Technical
Used in civil engineering and tourism planning to specify a type of cable transport.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “teleferique”
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “teleferique”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “teleferique”
- Misspelling: 'telepherique', 'teleferic'.
- Mispronouncing the final '-ique' as /aɪk/ instead of /ɪk/.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No. A teleferique has cabins suspended from a moving cable. A funicular is a railway on a steep slope where two cars are counterbalanced, connected by a cable running through a pulley.
No, it is a low-frequency loanword. Native speakers are far more likely to say 'cable car' or 'gondola'.
It comes from French 'téléphérique', which is derived from Greek 'tēle-' (far) and 'pherein' (to carry).
No, it is only a noun in English. You cannot 'teleferique' somewhere; you 'take' or 'ride' the teleferique.
A passenger cable car system, typically used to transport people up and down mountains or across steep valleys.
Teleferique is usually technical/touristic in register.
Teleferique: in British English it is pronounced /ˌtɛl.əˈfɛr.ɪk/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˌtɛl.əˈfɛr.ɪk/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think: TELEphone wires carry sound, a TELEferique cable carries cabins. Both have 'tele-' meaning 'distant'.
Conceptual Metaphor
A MOUNTAIN IS AN OBSTACLE; the teleferique is a MECHANICAL BRIDGE over that obstacle.
Practice
Quiz
In which context are you most likely to encounter the word 'teleferique'?