année bissextile
/a.ne bi.sɛk.stil/feminine
The English phrase "leap year" is année bissextile in French.
This term refers to a year in the Julian or Gregorian calendars that includes an intercalary day added to February.
Meaning: year in the Julian or Gregorian calendars with an intercalary day added to February (noun)
Which one should you use?
année intercalaire is another formal alternative used to describe the same concept.
How does it change in a sentence?
année bissextile is a feminine noun phrase, so any accompanying articles or adjectives must be feminine.
How do you pronounce it?
/a.ne bi.sɛk.stil/. The word has 4 syllables.
Did you know?
- The term bissextile comes from the Latin 'bis sextus', meaning 'twice sixth'. This refers to the ancient practice of doubling the sixth day before the Kalends of March to adjust the calendar.
- While English speakers say a year 'leaps', French uses the adjective bissextile, which describes the year as 'double-sixed'. The French language lacks a common verb for the act of leaping in a calendar context.
- In historical French legal documents, the extra day was sometimes called a jour bissextile, emphasizing that the day itself was the 'double' element rather than the year as a whole.
Examples in context
- En année bissextile, février a 29 jours.February has 29 days in a leap year.This sentence is useful for noting that February has 29 days in an année bissextile.Tatoeba #2986903 by nimfeo, translation #12493244 by sundown
- Une année bissextile, ça a combien de jours ?How many days does a leap year have?This sentence is useful for asking how many days are in an année bissextile.Tatoeba #1453773 by Rovo, translation #1454069 by LittleBoy
- Combien de jours compte une année bissextile ?How many days are there in a leap year?This sentence is useful for asking the number of days counted in an année bissextile.Tatoeba #1453764 by Rovo, translation #1453842 by Eldad
- L'année 2024 est une année bissextile.The year 2024 is a leap year.
- Le calendrier grégorien utilise une année intercalaire tous les quatre ans.The Gregorian calendar uses a leap year every four years.
- Il faut attendre quatre ans pour avoir une année qui compte 29 jours en février.You have to wait four years to have a year that has 29 days in February.
- Le XXe siècle a eu 25 années bissextilesThe 20th century had 25 leap years
- 7 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hugo and Chloé are looking at a calendar together.
- HugoEst-ce que cette année est une année bissextile ?Is this year a leap year?
- ChloéOui, février a vingt-neuf jours cette fois.Yes, February has twenty-nine days this time.
- HugoC'est rare, ça arrive tous les quatre ans.It's rare, it happens every four years.
- ChloéC'est vrai, Chloé adore les années bissextiles.That's true, Chloé loves leap years.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “leap year” translations and entries année bissextile, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries année, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
