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[halcyon quest]

Please be patient

Our volunteers look into many questions every day; sometimes it takes them a little while to answer.

Pro tip: you can rename the thread title with `.tr <thread name>`

Make it descriptive, including relevant context, but also to the point. This way you improve your chances of getting a more relevant and specific answer.

[spiral elk]

Rivière is sometimes used to mean fleuve, but generally it’s more for talking about the banks of a river

[nova pulsar]

"Un fleuve" is big and wide and ends in the ocean.
"Une rivière" is smaller and ends in a fleuve.

Visually it's mostly about how big it is.

this is an obvious fleuve

this is a rivière

and a really small one like this is "un ruisseau" (a stream)

[spiral elk]

Oh jeez just realized I was thinking of rives not rivière. Yes agreed with kitties

But fleuve is the most common for the general term “river” in my experience

[hearty raptor]

The distinction we were always taught in Canada is un fleuve feeds a body of salt water and une rivière feeds a body of fresh water

That's why you have le fleuve St Laurent