troisième
/tʁwa.zjɛm/
The English phrase "ninth grade" is translated into French as troisième.
troisième is used to refer to the ninth grade in the French school system. To state that you are in this grade, you can use the sentence structure Je suis en [grade].
Meaning: period in school (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The term troisième literally means third. This is because the French school system counts down towards the final year of middle school.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the Quebec education system in parts of Canada, ninth grade is expressed as troisième secondaire.
How does it change in a sentence?
When saying someone is in ninth grade, use the preposition en followed by the adjective, such as in Il est en troisième. In written French, troisième is frequently abbreviated as 3ème or 3e.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has 2 syllables and is pronounced /tʁwa.zjɛm/.
When do people say it?
In France, troisième refers to the final year of collège (middle school), which is the third year of that specific cycle.
Did you know?
- Students in troisième sit for the brevet, a national diploma that marks the end of their first cycle of secondary education.
- After completing troisième, students must choose between a general, professional, or technological lycée for their next stage of education.
- If you tell a French person you are in troisième, they will assume you are roughly 14 or 15 years old.
Examples in context
- Je suis en neuvième annéeI am in ninth grade
- Tu es en quelle année ?What grade are you in?
- Ma sœur est en troisième cette année.My sister is in ninth grade this year.
- Il est en troisième au collège.He is in ninth grade in middle school.
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their school levels.
- LucasTu es en quelle classe, Léa ?What grade are you in, Léa?
- LéaJe suis en troisième.I am in ninth grade.
- LucasAh, et moi, je suis en quatrième.Ah, and I am in eighth grade.
- LéaOn n'est pas dans la même classe alors.We are not in the same class then.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry troisième, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
