FlexiLingoIn one line
The French system does not line up with the English one:
le collègeis secondary school, not college, andle lycéeis the sixth form.
Nouns
Stages
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
l'école maternelle (f.) | /e.kɔl ma.tɛʁ.nɛl/ | nursery school |
l'école primaire (f.) | /e.kɔl pʁi.mɛʁ/ | primary school |
le collège | /kɔ.lɛʒ/ | lower secondary (ages 11–15) |
le lycée | /li.se/ | upper secondary (ages 15–18) |
l'université (f.) | /y.ni.vɛʁ.si.te/ | university |
la faculté la fac | /fa.kyl.te/ · /fak/ | faculty, uni |
la grande école | /ɡʁɑ̃d e.kɔl/ | elite specialist school |
le master | /mas.tɛʁ/ | master's |
la licence | /li.sɑ̃s/ | bachelor's degree |
le doctorat | /dɔk.tɔ.ʁa/ | doctorate |
le baccalauréat le bac | /ba.ka.lo.ʁe.a/ · /bak/ | school-leaving exam |
le bacis the end-of-school examination and it decides a great deal.avoir son bacis to pass it.
Five words here mean something else in English, and the mistake is embarrassing rather than trivial.
French Actually English "same" word le collègeages 11–15 college = university la licencea bachelor's degree licence = a permit le baccalauréatthe school-leaving exam at 18 baccalaureate (IB) is post-16 too, but not the same qualification passer un examento sit an exam to pass = réussirassister àto attend to assist = aider
J'ai passé mon examensays nothing about whether you passed. It means you sat it.J'ai réussi mon examenis the good news. This single pair has cost learners job interviews.
In class
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
le cours | /kuʁ/ | lesson, course |
la matière | /ma.tjɛʁ/ | subject |
la classe | /klas/ | class |
la salle de classe | /sal də klas/ | classroom |
l'élève (m./f.) | /e.lɛv/ | pupil |
l'étudiant (m.) | /e.ty.djɑ̃/ | student |
le professeur le prof | /pʁo.fɛ.sœʁ/ · /pʁɔf/ | teacher |
l'emploi du temps (m.) | /ɑ̃p.lwa dy tɑ̃/ | timetable |
le devoir | /də.vwaʁ/ | homework, assignment |
l'exercice (m.) | /ɛɡ.zɛʁ.sis/ | exercise |
l'examen (m.) | /ɛɡ.za.mɛ̃/ | exam |
le contrôle | /kɔ̃.tʁol/ | class test |
la note | /nɔt/ | mark |
la moyenne | /mwa.jɛn/ | average |
le diplôme | /di.plom/ | qualification |
le cahier | /ka.je/ | exercise book |
le manuel | /ma.nɥɛl/ | textbook |
le stylo | /sti.lo/ | pen |
la bourse | /buʁs/ | scholarship |
la rentrée | /ʁɑ̃.tʁe/ | start of the school year |
les vacances scolaires | /va.kɑ̃s sko.lɛʁ/ | school holidays |
Subjects
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
les mathématiques les maths | /ma.te.ma.tik/ · /mat/ | maths |
le français | /fʁɑ̃.sɛ/ | French literature |
l'histoire (f.) | /is.twaʁ/ | history |
la géographie la géo | /ʒe.ɔ.ɡʁa.fi/ · /ʒe.o/ | geography |
les sciences (f. pl.) | /sjɑ̃s/ | science |
la physique | /fi.zik/ | physics |
la chimie | /ʃi.mi/ | chemistry |
la biologie | /bjo.lo.ʒi/ | biology |
l'informatique (f.) | /ɛ̃.fɔʁ.ma.tik/ | computing |
les langues (f. pl.) | /lɑ̃ɡ/ | languages |
la philosophie la philo | /fi.lo.zo.fi/ · /fi.lo/ | philosophy |
l'économie (f.) | /e.ko.no.mi/ | economics |
le droit | /dʁwa/ | law |
la médecine | /me.də.sin/ | medicine |
Verbs
| Verb | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
étudier | /e.ty.dje/ | to study |
apprendre | /a.pʁɑ̃dʁ/ | to learn |
apprendre à quelqu'un | /a.pʁɑ̃dʁ a kɛl.kœ̃/ | to teach someone |
enseigner | /ɑ̃.sɛ.ɲe/ | to teach |
s'inscrire à | /sɛ̃s.kʁiʁ a/ | to enrol in |
passer un examen | /pa.se œ̃n ɛɡ.za.mɛ̃/ | to sit an exam |
réussir à | /ʁe.y.siʁ a/ | to pass |
rater échouer à | /ʁa.te/ · /e.ʃwe a/ | to fail |
réviser | /ʁe.vi.ze/ | to revise |
redoubler | /ʁə.du.ble/ | to repeat a year |
obtenir un diplôme | /ɔbt.niʁ œ̃ di.plom/ | to graduate |
assister à un cours | /a.sis.te a œ̃ kuʁ/ | to attend a class |
sécher un cours | /se.ʃe œ̃ kuʁ/ | to skip a class |
passer un examenmeans to sit it, not to pass it. Passing isréussir. A genuinely dangerous false friend.
Adjectives
| Masculine | Feminine | English |
|---|---|---|
scolaire /sko.lɛʁ/ | scolaire /sko.lɛʁ/ | school (adj.) |
universitaire /y.ni.vɛʁ.si.tɛʁ/ | universitaire /y.ni.vɛʁ.si.tɛʁ/ | university (adj.) |
obligatoire /ɔ.bli.ɡa.twaʁ/ | obligatoire /ɔ.bli.ɡa.twaʁ/ | compulsory |
facultatif /fa.kyl.ta.tif/ | facultative /fa.kyl.ta.tiv/ | optional |
difficile /di.fi.sil/ | difficile /di.fi.sil/ | hard |
facile /fa.sil/ | facile /fa.sil/ | easy |
doué /dwe/ | douée /dwe/ | gifted |
sérieux /se.ʁjø/ | sérieuse /se.ʁjøz/ | hard-working |
en retard /ɑ̃ ʁə.taʁ/ | — | behind |
diplômé /di.plo.me/ | diplômée /di.plo.me/ | qualified, graduated |
Set phrases
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
Qu'est-ce que vous étudiez ? | /kɛs.kə vuz e.ty.dje/ | what are you studying? |
J'étudie le droit. | /ʒe.ty.di lə dʁwa/ | I study law |
Je suis en licence. | /ʒə sɥi.z‿ɑ̃ li.sɑ̃s/ | I'm an undergraduate |
Je fais des études de… | /ʒə fɛ dez e.tyd də/ | I'm studying… |
passer le bac | /pa.se lə bak/ | to sit the bac |
avoir une bonne note | /a.vwaʁ yn bɔn nɔt/ | to get a good mark |
avoir la moyenne | /a.vwaʁ la mwa.jɛn/ | to get a pass mark |
faire ses devoirs | /fɛʁ se də.vwaʁ/ | to do one's homework |
prendre des notes | /pʁɑ̃dʁ de not/ | to take notes |
être en première année | /ɛtʁ ɑ̃ pʁə.mjɛʁ a.ne/ | to be in first year |
Traps
| Trap | Explanation |
|---|---|
le collège is secondary school | Not college. English "college" is l'université. |
passer un examen means to sit it | Passing is réussir. One of the most costly false friends there is. |
la note is a mark | It also means a note — context decides. |
apprendre works both ways | apprendre le français to learn apprendre le français à Marie to teach. |
la médecine is the science | The drug is le médicament, the doctor le médecin. |
les maths is feminine plural | les mathématiques sont difficiles. |
la licence is a degree | Not a permit — though it means that too. |
The French system — a quick map
and how a foreign qualification gets recognised
| Age | Stage | Ends with |
|---|---|---|
| 3–6 | maternelle /ma.tɛʁ.nɛl/ | — |
| 6–11 | école primaire /e.kɔl pʁi.mɛʁ/ | — |
| 11–15 | collège /kɔ.lɛʒ/ | le brevet /lə bʁə.vɛ/ |
| 15–18 | lycée /li.se/ | le bac /lə bak/ |
| 18–21 | licence /li.sɑ̃s/ (L1, L2, L3) | bachelor's |
| 21–23 | master /mas.tœʁ/ (M1, M2) | master's |
| 23+ | doctorat /dɔk.to.ʁa/ | doctorate |
And the year groups count downwards, which is the opposite of the English convention:
| French | Equivalent | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
la sixième | Year 7 — the first year of collège | /la si.zjɛm/ |
la cinquième | Year 8 | /la sɛ̃.kjɛm/ |
la quatrième | Year 9 | /la ka.tʁi.ɛm/ |
la troisième | Year 10 | /la tʁwa.zjɛm/ |
la seconde | Year 11 | /sə.ɡɔ̃d/ |
la première | Year 12 | /la pʁə.mjɛʁ/ |
la terminale | Year 13 — the bac year | /la tɛʁ.mi.nal/ |
So être en terminale means being in the final year of school.
The direction is what catches you. English counts up — Year 7 to Year 13, Grade 6 to Grade 12. French counts down from sixième to première, and then stops counting and calls the last year la terminale.
Which means la première is the second-to-last year of school, not the first year of anything. A student saying Je suis en première is seventeen, not eleven.
One more: la seconde is a school year, but at university la première année returns to normal upward counting — L1, L2, L3. The downward system applies to collège and lycée only.
To have a foreign qualification recognised, the French authority is ENIC-NARIC and the document is called l'attestation de comparabilité. You will need it for an immigration file and for university enrolment — see administration.