French Phrase
La latence, c'est le délai.
Meaning
The sentence means “Latency is the delay.” In a technical context it explains that the term ‘latency’ refers to the amount of time that passes between an action and its effect, essentially a delay.
When to use
Use this sentence when you need to define or clarify the concept of latency in fields such as networking, audio‑visual streaming, or any situation where a time lag is discussed.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Lalatence,c'estledélai.
Definite article (feminine)
« La » is the singular feminine definite article, used because « latence » is a feminine noun.
Noun gender
« latence » (latency) is feminine, while « délai » (delay) is masculine.
c’est = ce + est
« c’est » is the contraction of « ce » (this/that) + « est » (is) and is used to equate two ideas.
Article agreement
The article before « délai » must match its masculine gender: « le », not « la ».
🗨In Conversation
Qu’est‑ce que la latence dans une connexion internet ?
What is latency in an internet connection?
La latence, c'est le délai entre l’envoi d’une requête et la réception de la réponse.
Latency is the delay between sending a request and receiving the response.
✕Common Mistakes
Le latence, c'est le délai.
« Latence » is feminine; the article must be « la ».
La latence, c'est la délai.
« Délai » is masculine; use « le ».
La latence, c’est les délais.
When defining a concept, « c’est » is correct; avoid « c’est » with a plural noun without agreement.
↔Alternatives
La latence correspond au délai.
Latency corresponds to the delay.
La latence, c’est le temps d’attente.
Latency is the waiting time.
La latence, c’est le retard.
Latency is the lag.
Cultural Tip
In French technical jargon, « latence » is a relatively recent borrowing from English and is used mainly in computing, networking and audio‑visual contexts. « Délai » is a more general word that can refer to any kind of waiting period, legal deadline, or processing time. When speaking to non‑technical audiences, you may prefer « temps d’attente » for clarity.