bois vs forêt

[aie0]

Is bois smaller than forêt or is there some other difference between them?

 

[custard apple]

Good question. "Bois" to me is a bit more romantic than "forêt" so in general I would say it is more smaller. "Bois" seems to be slightly less wild than "forêt." What do the natives think ?

 

[janpol]

pour moi, la différence concerne seulement la superficie.

 

[SteveD]

For me, it's just the difference between "a wood" and "a forest", a forest being much bigger than a wood. In decreasing order of size, I would say:

Forest
Wood
Spinney
Copse

although I'm not quite sure about the order of the last two.

 

[Eric75]

d'accord avec janpol : un bois, c'est plus petit qu'une forêt.
I also agree with custard apple: "un bois" is exploited or controlled (men take care of it), while "une forêt" remains mostly wild.

 

[xtrasystole]

.
I would say it is more smaller.
"Bois" seems to be slightly less wild than "forêt."

I feel the same.

 

[custard apple]

Thanks natives because I wasn't sure.
I apologise for my error: I meant "smaller", NOT "more smaller".

 

[mgarizona]

Yes 'forests' are larger than 'woods,' and what the two share is that they are naturally occurring, which separates them from small "plantations of trees" such as a spinney, a grove, an orchard, etc.

A copse is a stand of small trees or brush that is regularly exploited ("coppiced"), sometimes a plantation and sometimes a section of an existing wood or forest.