l'année dernière
In French, "last year" can be expressed as l'année dernière. Wiktionary also lists l'année passée and l'an dernier.
Meaning: year before this one (adv)
Ways to say it
| French |
|---|
| l'année dernière |
| l'année passée |
| l'an dernier |
| l'an passé |
All provided forms are used to refer to the year before the current one.
What does it mean word for word?
The adjective dernière literally means "last" in a sequence.
How does it change in a sentence?
The choice of adjective depends on the noun used for year. Because année is feminine, it must be paired with the feminine adjectives dernière or passée. Conversely, because an is masculine, it must be paired with the masculine adjectives dernier or passé.
Did you know?
- Using la dernière année instead of l'année dernière changes the meaning from 'last year' to 'the final year' of a specific era or event.
- French distinguishes between the 'year' as a unit of the calendar an and the 'year' as a span of time année. This is why you use l'an for a specific date and l'année for the experience of that year.
- The word dernier comes from the Vulgar Latin *dēretrānus, combining dē and retrō, which literally means 'back' or 'behind'.
Examples in context
- Tom est mort l'an dernier.Tom died last year.This sentence shows how to use l'an dernier to talk about a past event.Tatoeba #5726953 by Yemana, translation #1676706 by Spamster
- Le roi a abdiqué l'an passé.The king abdicated last year.This sentence shows how to use l'an passé to describe an event that occurred in the previous year.Tatoeba #10266029 by lbdx, translation #10014871 by SSibelty
- J'étais SDF l'année dernière.I was homeless last year.This sentence demonstrates the use of l'année dernière in a personal context.Tatoeba #11574531 by Aiji, translation #5850221 by CK
- L'année dernière, j'ai visité Paris pour la première fois.Last year, I visited Paris for the first time.
- En l'an passé, nous avons réalisé de grandes avancées technologiques.Last year, we made great technological advancements.
- L'an passé, j'ai amélioré mes compétences en cuisine.Last year, I improved my cooking skills.
- 271 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Chloé are talking about their vacations.
- LucasOù es-tu allée l'année dernière ?Where did you go last year?
- ChloéJe suis allée au Japon.I went to Japan.
- LucasC'est génial, j'adore ce pays !That's great, I love that country!
- ChloéTu devrais y aller avec Lucas.You should go there with Lucas.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “last year” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries dernier, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
