French Phrase
Nombre d'appareils connectés.
Meaning
Literally ‘Number of connected devices.’ The phrase is used to refer to how many electronic devices (phones, tablets, smart home gadgets, etc.) are linked to a network or the internet.
When to use
Use this expression when you are presenting statistics, discussing the Internet of Things (IoT), or simply asking how many gadgets are online in a given environment – a home, an office, or a data centre.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Nombred'appareilsconnectés
Nombre (noun)
‘Nombre’ is a masculine singular noun meaning ‘number’; it is used with the preposition ‘de’ to introduce what is being counted.
d' (contraction)
‘d'’ is the contracted form of ‘de’ before a vowel or mute ‘h’; it links ‘nombre’ to the noun that follows.
appareils (plural noun)
‘Appareils’ is the plural of ‘appareil’, a masculine noun meaning ‘device’ or ‘appliance’.
connectés (past participle adjective)
‘Connectés’ is the past participle of ‘connecter’ used as an adjective; it must agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies (masc. plural here).
🗨In Conversation
Quel est le nombre d'appareils connectés dans votre maison ?
What is the number of connected devices in your house?
Nous en avons six : deux téléphones, une tablette, un thermostat et deux enceintes intelligentes.
We have six: two phones, a tablet, a thermostat and two smart speakers.
✕Common Mistakes
Nombre d'appareil connectés.
The noun must be plural because you are counting more than one device.
Nombre des appareils connectés.
After ‘nombre’, the preposition is ‘de’, not the article ‘des’.
Nombre d'appareils connecté.
The adjective must agree with the plural noun ‘appareils’.
↔Alternatives
Quantité d'appareils connectés
Quantity of connected devices
Total d'appareils connectés
Total of connected devices
Nombre d'appareils reliés
Number of linked devices
Cultural Tip
In French technical writing, ‘appareil’ is preferred over the Anglicism ‘device’. Also, ‘nombre’ is used for countable items; if you were talking about data volume you would use ‘quantité’. Be careful with the agreement of ‘connectés’: it must match the gender and number of the noun it describes.