un tiers
The English phrase "one third" is translated into French as un tiers.
un tiers is used to express the fraction 1/3.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of un (one) and tiers (third).
Which one should you use?
While un tiers refers to the fraction 1/3, le tiers is often used to refer to "the third party" or "the third part" in a specific context.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word tiers is a noun and remains in its singular form even when expressing a fraction. When un tiers is used as a subject followed by de and a plural noun, the verb usually agrees with the plural noun rather than the singular un tiers.
Did you know?
- Historically, the Tiers État or 'Third Estate' represented the common people in the French social hierarchy before the French Revolution. It was the lowest of the three estates, contrasting with the clergy and the nobility.
- The word tiers is the root of the French word tiers-monde, which translates to 'Third World'. This refers to the geopolitical grouping of nations that remained non-aligned during the Cold War.
- In French music theory, an interval of a 'third' is called une tierce. While tiers is used for fractions and parties, the language switches to tierce when discussing harmony and chords.
Examples in context
- Un tiers de la surface de la Terre est désert.One third of the earth's surface is desert.Tatoeba #1053548 by sacredceltic, translation #19556 by Whiskkebarr
- Seul un tiers des membres s'est pointé au rendez-vous.Only one third of the members turned up at the meeting.Tatoeba #12088 by sysko, translation #49154 by CK
- Un tiers des amis avec lesquels j'ai grandi sont morts.One third of the friends I grew up with are dead.Tatoeba #4962072 by franlexcois, translation #246701 by CM
- Un tiers des étudiants ont réponduOne third of the students answered.
- Un tiers de la populationOne third of the population
- Je peux avoir un tiers de bouteille de vin?Can I have one third of a bottle of wine?
- Un tiers des étudiants parlent couramment une langue étrangère.One third of the students speak a foreign language fluently.
- La crise économique a affecté un tiers de la population.The economic crisis has affected one third of the population.
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Emma are dividing a cake.
- LucasJe vais prendre un tiers du gâteau.I will take one third of the cake.
- EmmaC'est beaucoup, Lucas !That's a lot, Lucas!
- LucasD'accord, je prends seulement un quart.Okay, I'll only take one quarter.
- EmmaComme ça, c'est plus juste.That way, it's more fair.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
