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French · Vocabulary · A2 to B1

French school vocabulary: from la maternelle to le bac, and marks out of 20

Le parcours scolaire · tap a school year
L’école primaire
Le collège
Le lycée
la troisième3e · age 14 · UK Year 10 · US 9th grade
Ma fillemy daughterestisenintroisième.Year 10
ma FEE ay ton trwa-ZYEM · “My daughter is in Year 10.”Why: Ends with the brevet exam. Use en for the school year: en troisième.

Short answer: French schooling runs la maternelle (3–6), l’école primaire (6–11), le collège (11–15) and le lycée (15–18), ending with le bac. Secondary years count down: la sixième (6e) is the first year of collège and la terminale the last of lycée. Say a child’s year with en: il est en CM2. Marks are out of 20: une note sur 20, where 10 is a pass. A pupil is un élève; a university student, un étudiant.

School subjects

Les maths, le français, l’histoire-géo

Subjects take the definite article in French: j’aime les maths, je suis fort en (good at) + subject with no article. Tap a subject.

Marks out of 20

Quinze sur vingt, mention très bien

French marks run from 0 to 20, and 20 is almost never given. Drag the slider to see what each mark means.

410 · pass19
14/20
quatorze sur vingtquatorze sür VANVery good: mention bien at the bac.
Exam verbs

Passer, réussir, rater

English “take” and “pass” an exam split into French verbs with very specific meanings.

passerto sit, to take
JeIpassesitle bacthe bacen juin.in June
zhuh PASS luh BAK on ZHWAN
“I’m taking the bac in June.”
réussirto pass
J’aiI-haveréussisucceededmon examen !my exam
zhay ray-ü-SEE mon neg-za-MAN
“I passed my exam!”
avoirto get (a mark, a qualification)
J’aiI-haveeuhadquinzefifteenen maths.in maths
zhay Ü KANZ on MAT
“I got fifteen in maths.”
raterto fail (casual)
Ilhea ratéhas failedson permis.his licence
eel a ra-TAY son pair-MEE
“He failed his driving test.”
réviserto revise
JeIréviserevisepourforle contrôle.the test
zhuh ray-VEEZ poor luh kon-TROHL
“I’m revising for the test.”
After the bac

La fac, la licence, le master

Higher education uses its own words. Degrees follow the European pattern of three, five and eight years.

School life

La rentrée, la récré, la cantine

The words every French pupil uses every day. Several are short forms: la récré is la récréation, break time.

Talking about your studies

Tu es en quelle classe ?

A short conversation between two students. French uses être en + the class (je suis en terminale) and faire + a subject at university (je fais du droit).

Léa
Tu esyou areen quelle classe ?in which class
tü ay on kel KLASS · “Which year are you in?”
Hugo
Je suisI amen terminale.in final-year
zhuh swee on tair-mee-NAL · “I’m in my final year.”
Léa
Tu passesyou sitle bacthe baccette année ?this year
tü PASS luh BAK set a-NAY · “Are you taking the bac this year?”
Hugo
Oui,yeset après,and afterje veux faireI want to-dodu droit.some law
WEE, ay a-PRAY, zhuh vuh FAIR dü DRWA · “Yes, and then I want to study law.”
Léa
Moi,meje suisI amà la facat the unien première année.in first year
MWA, zhuh swee a la FAK on pruh-MYAIR a-NAY · “I’m in my first year at uni.”
Hugo
Tu faisyou doquoi ?what
tü fay KWA · “What are you studying?”
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Related guides

20Numbers →Read every mark and year.J’aiPassé composé →J’ai réussi, j’ai eu quinze.DELFExams →DELF and DALF for French learners.filsFamily vocabulary →Talking about your children.