étudiants
The French phrase for "students" is étudiants.
étudiants refers specifically to people studying at a college or university. If you wish to emphasize the act of learning in a more formal way, you may use apprenants. For young students attending grade school, the term écoliers is used.
Which one should you use?
The form étudiants is the masculine plural and is used to refer to a group of male students or a mixed-gender group of students. If the group consists entirely of females, use the feminine plural form étudiantes.
How does it change in a sentence?
The feminine singular form is étudiante, while the feminine plural form is étudiantes. The masculine plural form is étudiants, which covers both males and mixed groups.
Did you know?
- French uses inclusive writing in some universities, where étudiant·e·s is written to represent all genders in a single word using a middle dot.
- In France, the word étudiant is often used as a social category to claim specific legal rights, such as discounted public transport or cheaper museum entry.
- In French, you might hear someone referred to as an élève even if they are quite old, as this term is common for any student under the direction of a teacher.
Examples in context
- Ce sont des étudiants.They're students.This sentence is useful for identifying a group of people as étudiants.Tatoeba #4729734 by sacredceltic, translation #2111238 by CK
- Ce sont mes étudiants.These are my students.This sentence is useful for showing possession regarding one's étudiants.Tatoeba #7060896 by Aiji, translation #2547056 by CK
- Je connais ces étudiants.I know these students.This sentence is useful for expressing familiarity with specific étudiants.Tatoeba #4049761 by mouche, translation #4003500 by chenglong
- Les étudiants ont travaillé dur pour réussir leurs examens.The students worked hard to pass their exams.
- Les apprenants sont encouragés à participer activement aux cours.The students are encouraged to actively participate in classes.
- Les écoliers ont hâte de partir en vacances d'été.The students are excited to go on summer vacation.
- Les étudiants adorent se retrouver dans le parc pendant leur pause déjeuner.The students love gathering in the park during their lunch break.
- Les élèves sont impatients de voir leur professeur préféré.The students are excited to see their favorite teacher.
- 394 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Manon and Hugo are walking across a university campus.
- ManonIl y a beaucoup d'étudiants ici aujourd'hui.There are a lot of students here today.
- HugoOui, c'est la rentrée pour les étudiants.Yes, it is the start of the term for the students.
- ManonEst-ce que tu connais certains étudiants ?Do you know any of the students?
- HugoNon, je ne connais aucun des étudiants.No, I don't know any of the students.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
