deuxième étage
The English phrase "second floor" is translated into French as deuxième étage.
The phrase refers to the level of a building located above the first floor. In written French, you will often see the ordinal number abbreviated as 2e étage.
How does it change in a sentence?
When expressing that something is "on" the second floor, use the contraction au (which is a combination of à and le) instead of a preposition like sur. For example, you would say au deuxième étage.
When do people say it?
In France and several other French-speaking countries, the numbering of floors follows a specific pattern. The ground floor is called rez-de-chaussée, meaning the premier étage is actually the level above the ground and the deuxième étage is the third level of the building.
Did you know?
- While deuxième is the standard ordinal for 'second', French speakers occasionally use second when there are only two items in a series.
- French uses the word étage for levels of a building, but also uses it to describe different levels of a rocket or the stages of a process.
- The word étage shares a linguistic ancestor with the English word 'stage', both stemming from the Latin 'stare', meaning 'to stand'.
Examples in context
- Mon bureau est au deuxième étage.My office is on the second floor.This sentence shows how to use deuxième étage to state the location of an office.Tatoeba #11898492 by zogwarg, translation #11359127 by sundown
- L'ascenseur s’arrêta au deuxième étage.The elevator stopped on the second floor.This sentence uses deuxième étage to describe where an elevator stopped.Tatoeba #5273866 by Marieexchange, translation #5273830 by cliff900
- Notre appartement est au deuxième étage.Our flat is on the second floor.This sentence demonstrates using deuxième étage to describe the location of an apartment.Tatoeba #3378653 by sacredceltic, translation #10083688 by sundown
- Je suis au deuxième étage de l'hôtel.I'm on the second floor of the hotel.
- Les bureaux sont situés au deuxième.The offices are located on the second floor.
- 9 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chloé and Nathan are looking for a specific shop in a mall.
- ChloéOù est la librairie, Nathan ?Where is the bookstore, Nathan?
- NathanJe crois qu'elle est au deuxième étage.I think it is on the second floor.
- ChloéEst-ce qu'elle est près de l'escalator ?Is it near the escalator?
- NathanOui, elle est juste à côté.Yes, it is right next to it.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries deuxième, étage, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
