école primaire
/e.kɔl pʁi.mɛʁ/feminine
Primary school in French is école primaire.
école primaire is the first level of compulsory schooling, for children aged about 6 to 11.
Meaning: first formal, obligatory school (noun)
Is it said differently in some regions?
The same term is used in Quebec.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase is feminine. Because école starts with a vowel, the definite article shortens to l', as in l'école primaire.
How do you pronounce it?
In IPA it is /e.kɔl pʁi.mɛʁ/.
Did you know?
- French has a specific term for the 'primary school' period of one's life called l'âge de raison, meaning the 'age of reason', usually starting at age seven.
- The word école shares a surprising ancestor with the Greek word σχολή, which originally meant 'leisure' or 'free time'.
- If a French person refers to a concept as primaire, they might be insulting its quality by calling it 'primitive' or 'crude'. Unlike in English, where 'primary' is almost always neutral, in French, it can imply a lack of sophistication.
Examples in context
- Ce problème est trop difficile pour être résolu par des enfants de l'école primaire.This problem is too difficult for primary school children to solve.l'école primaire shows the shortened article before the vowel.Tatoeba #337016 by sysko, translation #56676 by CK
- Mon deuxième professeur à l'école primaire (1941) était une belle blonde appelée Helena.My second primary school teacher (1941) was a beautiful blonde named Helena.à l'école primaire means at primary school.Tatoeba #11673563 by carlosalberto, translation #11673492 by carlosalberto
- Un jour, quand j'étais à l'école primaire, un gamin était harcelé, et ça me chamboulait tellement que j'ai explosé de colère.Once, when I was in primary school, a kid was being bullied and it bothered me so much that I exploded with anger.j'étais à l'école primaire means when I was in primary school.Tatoeba #480864 by Goofy, translation #457952 by blay_paul
- Je suis professeur dans une école primaire .I am a teacher in a primary school.
Example conversation
Gabriel and Léa are talking about their children's education.
- GabrielEst-ce que ton fils commence l'école primaire cette année ?Is your son starting primary school this year?
- LéaOui, il commence l'école primaire en septembre.Yes, he starts primary school in September.
- GabrielC'est une grande étape pour lui !That is a big step for him!
- LéaC'est vrai, il est un peu nerveux.It is true, he is a little nervous.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “primary school” translations and entries école primaire, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries primaire, école, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
