trentaine
/tʁɑ̃.tɛn/feminine
The English phrase "thirties" (referring to the age 30, 39) is translated into French as trentaine.
In French, trentaine is used to describe the decade of life when a person is between 30 and 39 years old. While the English term "thirties" is a plural noun, the French term is a singular feminine noun.
Meaning: age 30–39 (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word trentaine is formed from trente (thirty) and the suffix -aine, which denotes an approximate number or a group of that size. Literally, it means "a group of thirty".
How does it change in a sentence?
When discussing a person's age, trentaine is used as a singular noun with the definite article la and the verb avoir (to have). For example, you would say avoir la trentaine.
How do you pronounce it?
The word is pronounced /tʁɑ̃.tɛn/ and consists of 2 syllables.
Did you know?
- While trentaine refers to an age group, the word quarantaine has a completely different common meaning as 'quarantine'.
- The word trentaine can also refer to a collection of approximately thirty objects, such as a trentaine de livres (about thirty books), meaning it is not strictly reserved for human ages.
- The suffix -aine is so versatile that it is used for other decades too, such as la quarantaine for the 'forties' and la cinquantaine for the 'fifties'.
Examples in context
- Il a la trentaine.He's in his thirties.This sentence shows how to use trentaine to state someone's age.Tatoeba #10745101 by lbdx, translation #7386664 by CH
- Il est au début de la trentaine.He is in his early thirties.This sentence illustrates how to specify that someone is in the early part of their trentaine.Tatoeba #130612 by dominiko, translation #288521 by CK
- Tom semblait avoir la trentaine.Tom appeared to be in his early thirties.This sentence demonstrates using trentaine to describe someone's apparent age.Tatoeba #6667830 by Micsmithel, translation #1027116 by CK
- Elle est dans la trentaine maintenant.She is in her thirties now.
- Elle est dans la trentaine.She's in her thirties.
- J'ai demandé à Pauline, dans la trentaine, comment elle se sentait.I asked Pauline, in her thirties, how she was feeling.
- 8 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Léa are talking about a new colleague.
- LucasTu connais le nouveau collègue ?Do you know the new colleague?
- LéaOui, je pense qu'il a la trentaine.Yes, I think he is in his thirties.
- LucasC'est vrai, il a l'air assez jeune.That's true, he looks quite young.
- LéaLéa, demande-lui son âge demain !Léa, ask him his age tomorrow!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “thirties” translations and entries trentaine, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
