professeur
/pʁɔ.fɛ.sœʁ/
The English word "professor" is translated into French as professeur.
The term professeur refers to a teacher or faculty member at a college or university, regardless of their formal rank. While professeur is used for university faculty, the more general term for any kind of teacher is enseignant.
Meaning: teacher or faculty member at a college or university, regardless of formal rank (noun)
Which one should you use?
In an academic context, particularly in France, some professors are specifically referred to as maître de conférences. Additionally, a professor acting as a thesis advisor may be referred to as directeur/directrice de thèse.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word has a feminine form, professeure, used when referring to a female professor.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has three syllables and is pronounced /pʁɔ.fɛ.sœʁ/.
Did you know?
- In French schools, students almost never call their teacher Monsieur le professeur or Madame la professeure. Instead, they simply use Monsieur or Madame.
- The word professeur shares its roots with the Latin 'profiteri', which means 'to declare openly' or 'to profess'.
- The use of the feminine form professeure has become common in Canada and France, but some traditionalists still prefer the masculine professeur for both genders.
Examples in context
- Tu es professeure ?Are you a professor?This sentence is useful for asking if someone is a professeure.Tatoeba #7339889 by Micsmithel, translation #12010645 by shekitten
- Écoute le professeur !Listen to the professor!This sentence is useful for telling someone to listen to the professeur.Tatoeba #8736789 by Julien_PDC, translation #12916477 by rul
- Le professeur lit un livre.The professor is reading a book.This sentence is useful for describing how the professeur is reading a book.Tatoeba #3452606 by mouche, translation #10060023 by ddnktr
- Professeur DupontProfessor Dupont
- Chère Professeure LerouxDear Professor Leroux
- Monsieur le ProfesseurMr. Professor
- Cher Professeur Martin, Je vous remercie pour votre aide.Dear Professor Martin, I thank you for your help.
- 95 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Manon and Hugo are walking across the university campus.
- ManonEst-ce que le professeur est déjà là ?Is the professor already there?
- HugoOui, je le vois dans le couloir.Yes, I see him in the hallway.
- ManonIl a l'air très sérieux, ce professeur.This professor looks very serious.
- HugoNe t'inquiète pas, il est gentil.Don't worry, he is kind.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry professeur, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries professeur, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
