List 3 - Talking about school
Languages.Org.Au Home → French → French Language → Talking about schoolSchool - general
la bibliothèque; le CDI (centre de documentation et d'information) etc | library; resource centre |
le cahier | exercise book |
la cantine | canteen, school cafeteria |
le cartable; le sac | school bag; bag |
le casier | locker |
la chaise | chair |
une colle | detention |
le collège / un collège | junior high school (about Years 6 to 9) |
un contrôle | formal test |
la cour | school yard, playground |
des cours de (ex: elle suit des cours d'anglais) | classes in (eg: she's taking English classes) |
le crayon | pencil |
les devoirs | homework |
l'école / une école | school |
un(e) élève | school student, pupil |
un(e) étudiant(e) | (tertiary/university) student |
la fenêtre | window |
la gomme | eraser, rubber |
la grande salle | the hall |
le gymnase | gymnasium |
la leçon | lesson |
le livre | book |
sortir | to go out |
le lycée | senior secondary school (about Years 10-12) |
le lycée | senior secondary school (like a secondary college in the A.C.T., about Years 10 to 12) |
le navigateur | web browser |
un ordinateur | a computer |
la porte | door |
le professeur (formal, traditionally uses masc. article) / le/la prof (informal, can use either masc. or fem. article) | teacher |
le proviseur | principal of a lycee |
le proviseur-adjoint | deputy principal of a lycee |
la règle | ruler |
la rentrée | the return to school at the start of the school year |
la salle de classe | classroom |
la salle de permanence | supervised study centre for students without a class scheduled |
le stylo | (ballpoint) pen |
la table | table |
le tableau blanc |
whiteboard |
les toilettes (on le dit au pluriel: "Je peux aller aux toilettes s'il vous plaît?") | the toilets (you say it in the plural: "Can I go to the toilets please?") |
la trousse (aussi: trousse à outils; trousse de secours) | pencil case, satchel for stationery, tool bag, kit bag (also: tool kit; first aid kit) |
School subjects
Adjectival "proper names" like "English" do not require an initial capital in French – like the days of the week and the months.l'anglais | English |
l'allemand | German |
l'art | art |
EPS (Education Physique et Sport) | PE |
le français | French |
histoire-géo (histoire-géographie) | history-geography |
l'informatique | computing |
les maths | maths |
les sciences (note plural usage) | science |
la technologie | technology |
School activities
aller | to go |
allumer la lumière | to switch on the light |
casser la croûte |
to have a bite to eat |
chercher | to look for |
se connecter, ouvrir une session |
to log in |
écouter | to listen |
écrire | to write |
entrer |
to go in |
écrire |
to write |
éteindre la lumière | to switch off the light |
faire (eg "faites l'exercice 5 ce soir") | to do (eg "do exercise 5 tonight") |
(faire) démarrer, mettre en marche | to start (machine/computer) |
lire |
to read |
mettre (eg "mettez vos cartables ici") | to put (eg "put your bags here") |
prendre (eg "prenez vos stylos") | to take (eg "take your pens" |
partir, s'en aller ("je pars", "je m'en vais') | to leave ("I'm leaving", "I'm heading off") |
poser une question (eg "poser une question à un(e) camarade de classe" – à noter, on ne dit pas "demander une question") | to ask a question (eg "ask a classmate a question" |
regarder | to watch(eg "take your pens" |
rentrer (eg "je rentre chez moi maintenant" – the "chez moi" is redundant but sometimes included) | to go home (eg "I'm going home now") |
répondre (eg "répondez en français") | to reply (eg "reply in French" |
sortir | to go out |
venir | to come |