{"id":111,"date":"2026-09-30T18:33:34","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T17:33:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leweb2ks.dev\/vitrine-vocadial\/en\/resources\/school-subjects-in-french\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T18:33:34","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T17:33:34","slug":"school-subjects-in-french","status":"publish","type":"vd_ressource","link":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/resources\/school-subjects-in-french\/","title":{"rendered":"School subjects in French: vocabulary, opinions and a classroom routine"},"content":{"rendered":"

School subjects in French<\/h2>\n\n

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 “\u00fc” is “ee” said with rounded lips.<\/p>\n\n

French<\/th>English<\/th>Say it like<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
les maths (f.)<\/td>maths<\/td>lay MAT<\/td><\/tr>
le fran\u00e7ais<\/td>French<\/td>fra(n)-SAY<\/td><\/tr>
l’anglais (m.)<\/td>English<\/td>lah(n)-GLAY<\/td><\/tr>
l’espagnol (m.)<\/td>Spanish<\/td>les-pa-NYOL<\/td><\/tr>
l’allemand (m.)<\/td>German<\/td>lal-MAH(N)<\/td><\/tr>
l’histoire (f.)<\/td>history<\/td>lees-TWAR<\/td><\/tr>
la g\u00e9ographie, la g\u00e9o<\/td>geography<\/td>zhay-o-gra-FEE, zhay-OH<\/td><\/tr>
l’histoire-g\u00e9o (f.)<\/td>history and geography<\/td>lees-twar-zhay-OH<\/td><\/tr>
les sciences (f.)<\/td>science<\/td>lay SYAH(N)SS<\/td><\/tr>
les SVT (f.)<\/td>biology (life and earth sciences)<\/td>lay ess-vay-TAY<\/td><\/tr>
la physique-chimie<\/td>physics and chemistry<\/td>fee-ZEEK shee-MEE<\/td><\/tr>
la technologie, la techno<\/td>technology, DT<\/td>tek-no-lo-ZHEE<\/td><\/tr>
l’informatique (f.)<\/td>computing, ICT<\/td>la(n)-for-ma-TEEK<\/td><\/tr>
les arts plastiques (m.)<\/td>art<\/td>lay-zar plas-TEEK<\/td><\/tr>
la musique<\/td>music<\/td>m\u00fc-ZEEK<\/td><\/tr>
l’EPS (f.)<\/td>PE<\/td>luh-pay-ESS<\/td><\/tr>
le latin<\/td>Latin<\/td>la-TA(N)<\/td><\/tr>
le th\u00e9\u00e2tre<\/td>drama<\/td>tay-AH-truh<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

The s of maths<\/span> is silent, and so is the h: “mat”. French state schools do not teach RE, apart from in Alsace and Moselle; la religion<\/span> or l’\u00e9ducation religieuse<\/span> is what you would call it.<\/p>\n\n

Words that come with school<\/h3>\n\n
French<\/th>English<\/th>Say it like<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
l’emploi du temps (m.)<\/td>timetable<\/td>lah(n)-plwa d\u00fc TAH(N)<\/td><\/tr>
le cours<\/td>lesson<\/td>koor<\/td><\/tr>
la r\u00e9cr\u00e9(ation)<\/td>break<\/td>ray-KRAY<\/td><\/tr>
la cantine<\/td>school canteen<\/td>kah(n)-TEEN<\/td><\/tr>
les devoirs (m.)<\/td>homework<\/td>lay duh-VWAR<\/td><\/tr>
le contr\u00f4le, l’interro (f.)<\/td>test<\/td>ko(n)-TROL, la(n)-tay-ROH<\/td><\/tr>
la note<\/td>mark<\/td>not<\/td><\/tr>
le \/ la prof<\/td>teacher<\/td>prof<\/td><\/tr>
le coll\u00e8ge<\/td>secondary school (ages 11\u201315)<\/td>ko-LEZH<\/td><\/tr>
le lyc\u00e9e<\/td>upper secondary school (ages 15\u201318)<\/td>lee-SAY<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

Grammar for subjects<\/h2>\n\n
  1. On a timetable, no article.<\/strong> J’ai maths \u00e0 neuf heures<\/span>, Le lundi, on a anglais et EPS.<\/span><\/li>
  2. For opinions, the article.<\/strong> J’aime le fran\u00e7ais<\/span>, Je d\u00e9teste les maths<\/span>, Ma mati\u00e8re pr\u00e9f\u00e9r\u00e9e, c’est l’histoire.<\/span><\/li>
  3. Adjectives agree with the subject.<\/strong> Les maths sont difficiles<\/span> (feminine plural), L’histoire est int\u00e9ressante<\/span>, Le th\u00e9\u00e2tre est amusant.<\/span><\/li>
  4. Good at, bad at: fort en, nul en.<\/strong> Je suis fort en maths<\/span>, Elle est forte en anglais<\/span>, Je suis nul en musique<\/span>, with en<\/span> and no article. Bon en<\/span> works too: Il est bon en sciences.<\/span><\/li>
  5. The teacher of: de, no article.<\/strong> le prof de maths<\/span>, la professeure d’anglais<\/span>, le cours de musique.<\/span><\/li>
  6. Lower case.<\/strong> Subjects and languages take no capital in a sentence: le fran\u00e7ais<\/span>, l’anglais<\/span>.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n

    Talking about school<\/h3>\n\n

    Quelle est ta mati\u00e8re pr\u00e9f\u00e9r\u00e9e ?<\/span>What’s your favourite subject?<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    Ma mati\u00e8re pr\u00e9f\u00e9r\u00e9e, c’est l’anglais, parce que la prof est sympa.<\/span>My favourite subject is English because the teacher is nice.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    J’aime bien les sciences, mais je trouve la physique-chimie difficile.<\/span>I quite like science, but I find physics and chemistry hard.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    Le mardi, j’ai deux heures de fran\u00e7ais.<\/span>On Tuesdays I have two hours of French.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    Je suis forte en histoire, mais nulle en maths.<\/span>I’m good at history but useless at maths.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    J’ai eu quinze sur vingt au contr\u00f4le de g\u00e9o.<\/span>I got fifteen out of twenty in the geography test.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    In France, marks are usually out of 20, and 10 is the pass mark.<\/p>\n\n

    School years in France<\/h2>\n\n
    France<\/th>Age at the start<\/th>UK equivalent<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
    la sixi\u00e8me (6e)<\/td>11<\/td>Year 7<\/td><\/tr>
    la cinqui\u00e8me (5e)<\/td>12<\/td>Year 8<\/td><\/tr>
    la quatri\u00e8me (4e)<\/td>13<\/td>Year 9<\/td><\/tr>
    la troisi\u00e8me (3e)<\/td>14<\/td>Year 10<\/td><\/tr>
    la seconde<\/td>15<\/td>Year 11<\/td><\/tr>
    la premi\u00e8re<\/td>16<\/td>Year 12<\/td><\/tr>
    la terminale<\/td>17<\/td>Year 13<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

    French pupils count down through coll\u00e8ge<\/span>. The brevet<\/span> comes at the end of troisi\u00e8me<\/span>, and the bac<\/span> at the end of terminale<\/span>. Belgium, Switzerland and Quebec organise their schools differently: in Quebec, for example, l’\u00e9cole secondaire<\/span> is followed by the c\u00e9gep<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n

    Idioms about school<\/h2>\n\n
    French<\/th>Literally<\/th>Meaning<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
    s\u00e9cher un cours<\/td>to dry a lesson<\/td>to skip a lesson<\/td><\/tr>
    faire l’\u00e9cole buissonni\u00e8re<\/td>to do the bush school<\/td>to play truant<\/td><\/tr>
    avoir la bosse des maths<\/td>to have the maths bump<\/td>to have a gift for maths<\/td><\/tr>
    bosser, b\u00fbcher<\/td>(informal verbs)<\/td>to work hard, to swot<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

    Typical mistakes of English-speaking learners<\/h2>\n\n
    • “J’ai les maths le lundi”:<\/strong> on a timetable, j’ai maths<\/span>.<\/li>
    • “Je suis bon \u00e0 maths”:<\/strong> it is bon en maths<\/span> or fort en maths<\/span>.<\/li>
    • “Les maths est facile”:<\/strong> plural verb, feminine plural adjective: sont faciles<\/span>.<\/li>
    • “Le Fran\u00e7ais”:<\/strong> no capital for a language or subject.<\/li>
    • Coll\u00e8ge is not college,<\/strong> and la physique<\/span> is physics, not “physique”.<\/li>
    • Pronouncing the s of maths,<\/strong> or saying chimie<\/span> with a k: it is “shee-MEE”.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n

      In class: subjects as a word of the day<\/h2>\n\n

      School subjects are the one topic pupils live every day, and the class timetable is a ready-made word bank.<\/p>\n\n

      1. Show the picture (a globe) and the English word: “geography”.<\/li>
      2. Ask Comment dit-on “geography” en fran\u00e7ais ?<\/span> Pupils write their guess; the cognate helps, but watch the spelling.<\/li>
      3. Reveal la g\u00e9ographie<\/span> with its pronunciation, then its short form la g\u00e9o<\/span>. The class repeats both.<\/li>
      4. Show the example sentence: J’ai g\u00e9o le jeudi et j’adore \u00e7a.<\/span><\/li>
      5. Give the reuse task: each pupil gives an opinion with a reason: J’aime la g\u00e9o parce que c’est int\u00e9ressant.<\/span> Pupils who pick les maths<\/span> or les sciences<\/span> must make the adjective agree.<\/li>
      6. Recall yesterday’s subject: On a \u00e7a quand ?<\/span> The class checks the timetable.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n

        That is exactly what a daily routine does: one word a day, reused in a sentence that is true for the pupils.<\/p>\n\n

        Timetable games<\/h3>\n\n

        Project a French timetable and ask Qu’est-ce qu’on a le mercredi \u00e0 dix heures ?<\/span> Pupils answer On a\u2026<\/span> At A2, pupils design their ideal timetable: Dans mon emploi du temps id\u00e9al, j’ai EPS tous les jours et je n’ai jamais de contr\u00f4le.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

        • A1<\/b>The subject with its article: J’aime la musique.<\/span><\/li>
        • A2<\/b>Timetable and reasons: Le lundi, j’ai sciences. C’est int\u00e9ressant.<\/span><\/li>
        • B1<\/b>Results and school life in the past: L’ann\u00e9e derni\u00e8re, j’\u00e9tais nul en anglais, mais j’ai fait des progr\u00e8s.<\/span><\/li>
        • B2<\/b>Opinions on school: Il faudrait que les \u00e9l\u00e8ves puissent choisir plus de mati\u00e8res.<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n

          At KS2, a picture and j’aime<\/span> 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.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          School subjects in French with their article and pronunciation, opinions, timetable phrases, school years and a word of the day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"menu_order":52,"template":"","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"School Subjects in French: List, Opinions | VocaDial","_seopress_titles_desc":"School subjects in French with the article and pronunciation, j'ai maths versus j'aime les maths, fort en, the French school years and a daily routine.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"_vd_topic":"matieres","_vd_target":"fr","_vd_module":"palabra","_vd_level":"A1","_vd_minutes":"7","_vd_card_word":"l\u2019histoire-g\u00e9o","_vd_answer":"The main school subjects in French are les maths<\/span> (maths), le fran\u00e7ais<\/span> (French), l'anglais<\/span> (English), l'histoire-g\u00e9o<\/span> (history and geography), les sciences<\/span> (science), la technologie<\/span> (technology), les arts plastiques<\/span> (art), la musique<\/span> (music) and l'EPS<\/span> (PE). Use the article for opinions (J'aime les maths<\/span>) but not on a timetable (J'ai maths \u00e0 dix heures<\/span>).","_vd_faq":"[{\"q\":\"How do you say \\\"school subject\\\" in French?\",\"a\":\"Une mati\u00e8re<\\\/span>. \\\"What's your favourite subject?\\\" is Quelle est ta mati\u00e8re pr\u00e9f\u00e9r\u00e9e ?<\\\/span>\"},{\"q\":\"What is PE in French?\",\"a\":\"L'EPS<\\\/span>, short for \u00e9ducation physique et sportive<\\\/span>, said \\\"uh-pay-ESS\\\". Pupils often just say le sport<\\\/span>: On a sport cet apr\u00e8s-midi.<\\\/span>\"},{\"q\":\"Are school subjects capitalised in French?\",\"a\":\"No, not in a sentence: J'aime le fran\u00e7ais et les maths.<\\\/span> Timetables and official documents often give them a capital, as headings.\"},{\"q\":\"What is SVT in French?\",\"a\":\"Les SVT<\\\/span>, sciences de la vie et de la Terre<\\\/span>: biology and earth science, taught in French secondary schools. Chemistry and physics are taught together as la physique-chimie<\\\/span>.\"},{\"q\":\"Is coll\u00e8ge the same as college?\",\"a\":\"No. In France, le coll\u00e8ge<\\\/span> is the secondary school for ages 11 to 15, roughly Years 7 to 10. Le lyc\u00e9e<\\\/span> follows, up to the bac<\\\/span>.\"}]","_vd_key":"matieres-fr","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-111","vd_ressource","type-vd_ressource","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource\/111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/vd_ressource"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource\/111\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}