The main school subjects in French are les maths (maths), le français (French), l’anglais (English), l’histoire-géo (history and geography), les sciences (science), la technologie (technology), les arts plastiques (art), la musique (music) and l’EPS (PE). Use the article for opinions (J’aime les maths) but not on a timetable (J’ai maths à dix heures).
School subjects in French
In the pronunciation column, capitals mark the syllable to lean on slightly (French stress is light and falls on the last syllable). (n) marks a nasal vowel: air goes through the nose and the n itself is not pronounced. “zh” is the s in “measure”, “uh” is the short vowel in “the”, and “ü” is “ee” said with rounded lips.
| French | English | Say it like |
|---|---|---|
| les maths (f.) | maths | lay MAT |
| le français | French | fra(n)-SAY |
| l’anglais (m.) | English | lah(n)-GLAY |
| l’espagnol (m.) | Spanish | les-pa-NYOL |
| l’allemand (m.) | German | lal-MAH(N) |
| l’histoire (f.) | history | lees-TWAR |
| la géographie, la géo | geography | zhay-o-gra-FEE, zhay-OH |
| l’histoire-géo (f.) | history and geography | lees-twar-zhay-OH |
| les sciences (f.) | science | lay SYAH(N)SS |
| les SVT (f.) | biology (life and earth sciences) | lay ess-vay-TAY |
| la physique-chimie | physics and chemistry | fee-ZEEK shee-MEE |
| la technologie, la techno | technology, DT | tek-no-lo-ZHEE |
| l’informatique (f.) | computing, ICT | la(n)-for-ma-TEEK |
| les arts plastiques (m.) | art | lay-zar plas-TEEK |
| la musique | music | mü-ZEEK |
| l’EPS (f.) | PE | luh-pay-ESS |
| le latin | Latin | la-TA(N) |
| le théâtre | drama | tay-AH-truh |
The s of maths is silent, and so is the h: “mat”. French state schools do not teach RE, apart from in Alsace and Moselle; la religion or l’éducation religieuse is what you would call it.
Words that come with school
| French | English | Say it like |
|---|---|---|
| l’emploi du temps (m.) | timetable | lah(n)-plwa dü TAH(N) |
| le cours | lesson | koor |
| la récré(ation) | break | ray-KRAY |
| la cantine | school canteen | kah(n)-TEEN |
| les devoirs (m.) | homework | lay duh-VWAR |
| le contrôle, l’interro (f.) | test | ko(n)-TROL, la(n)-tay-ROH |
| la note | mark | not |
| le / la prof | teacher | prof |
| le collège | secondary school (ages 11–15) | ko-LEZH |
| le lycée | upper secondary school (ages 15–18) | lee-SAY |
Grammar for subjects
- On a timetable, no article. J’ai maths à neuf heures, Le lundi, on a anglais et EPS.
- For opinions, the article. J’aime le français, Je déteste les maths, Ma matière préférée, c’est l’histoire.
- Adjectives agree with the subject. Les maths sont difficiles (feminine plural), L’histoire est intéressante, Le théâtre est amusant.
- Good at, bad at: fort en, nul en. Je suis fort en maths, Elle est forte en anglais, Je suis nul en musique, with en and no article. Bon en works too: Il est bon en sciences.
- The teacher of: de, no article. le prof de maths, la professeure d’anglais, le cours de musique.
- Lower case. Subjects and languages take no capital in a sentence: le français, l’anglais.
Talking about school
Quelle est ta matière préférée ?What’s your favourite subject?
Ma matière préférée, c’est l’anglais, parce que la prof est sympa.My favourite subject is English because the teacher is nice.
J’aime bien les sciences, mais je trouve la physique-chimie difficile.I quite like science, but I find physics and chemistry hard.
Le mardi, j’ai deux heures de français.On Tuesdays I have two hours of French.
Je suis forte en histoire, mais nulle en maths.I’m good at history but useless at maths.
J’ai eu quinze sur vingt au contrôle de géo.I got fifteen out of twenty in the geography test.
In France, marks are usually out of 20, and 10 is the pass mark.
School years in France
| France | Age at the start | UK equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| la sixième (6e) | 11 | Year 7 |
| la cinquième (5e) | 12 | Year 8 |
| la quatrième (4e) | 13 | Year 9 |
| la troisième (3e) | 14 | Year 10 |
| la seconde | 15 | Year 11 |
| la première | 16 | Year 12 |
| la terminale | 17 | Year 13 |
French pupils count down through collège. The brevet comes at the end of troisième, and the bac at the end of terminale. Belgium, Switzerland and Quebec organise their schools differently: in Quebec, for example, l’école secondaire is followed by the cégep.
Idioms about school
| French | Literally | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| sécher un cours | to dry a lesson | to skip a lesson |
| faire l’école buissonnière | to do the bush school | to play truant |
| avoir la bosse des maths | to have the maths bump | to have a gift for maths |
| bosser, bûcher | (informal verbs) | to work hard, to swot |
Typical mistakes of English-speaking learners
- “J’ai les maths le lundi”: on a timetable, j’ai maths.
- “Je suis bon à maths”: it is bon en maths or fort en maths.
- “Les maths est facile”: plural verb, feminine plural adjective: sont faciles.
- “Le Français”: no capital for a language or subject.
- Collège is not college, and la physique is physics, not “physique”.
- Pronouncing the s of maths, or saying chimie with a k: it is “shee-MEE”.
In class: subjects as a word of the day
School subjects are the one topic pupils live every day, and the class timetable is a ready-made word bank.
- Show the picture (a globe) and the English word: “geography”.
- Ask Comment dit-on “geography” en français ? Pupils write their guess; the cognate helps, but watch the spelling.
- Reveal la géographie with its pronunciation, then its short form la géo. The class repeats both.
- Show the example sentence: J’ai géo le jeudi et j’adore ça.
- Give the reuse task: each pupil gives an opinion with a reason: J’aime la géo parce que c’est intéressant. Pupils who pick les maths or les sciences must make the adjective agree.
- Recall yesterday’s subject: On a ça quand ? The class checks the timetable.
That is exactly what a daily routine does: one word a day, reused in a sentence that is true for the pupils.
Timetable games
Project a French timetable and ask Qu’est-ce qu’on a le mercredi à dix heures ? Pupils answer On a… At A2, pupils design their ideal timetable: Dans mon emploi du temps idéal, j’ai EPS tous les jours et je n’ai jamais de contrôle.
- A1The subject with its article: J’aime la musique.
- A2Timetable and reasons: Le lundi, j’ai sciences. C’est intéressant.
- B1Results and school life in the past: L’année dernière, j’étais nul en anglais, mais j’ai fait des progrès.
- B2Opinions on school: Il faudrait que les élèves puissent choisir plus de matières.
At KS2, a picture and j’aime are enough. At KS3, insist on the timetable/opinion contrast and on adjective agreement. At GCSE, school life is a core theme: compare French and British schools, then move on to past and future study.
The “Le mot” module does it for you
A picture and the word in the pupils’ language: the class works out how to say it, then the word is revealed with its pronunciation and an example sentence to reuse. No preparation needed: try everything free for 15 days of use.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say "school subject" in French?
Une matière. “What’s your favourite subject?” is Quelle est ta matière préférée ?
What is PE in French?
L’EPS, short for éducation physique et sportive, said “uh-pay-ESS”. Pupils often just say le sport: On a sport cet après-midi.
Are school subjects capitalised in French?
No, not in a sentence: J’aime le français et les maths. Timetables and official documents often give them a capital, as headings.
What is SVT in French?
Les SVT, sciences de la vie et de la Terre: biology and earth science, taught in French secondary schools. Chemistry and physics are taught together as la physique-chimie.
Is collège the same as college?
No. In France, le collège is the secondary school for ages 11 to 15, roughly Years 7 to 10. Le lycée follows, up to the bac.