School Vocabulary in French: Essential Classroom Words
Whether you are joining a French class or helping a child with homework, these are the words you hear every day. Learn the article with each noun so that the gender comes automatically.
People and places
- l'école — school
- la salle de classe — classroom
- le professeur / la professeure — teacher
- l'élève — pupil or school student
- la cour de récréation — playground
- la cantine — school cafeteria
Classroom objects
- le cahier — notebook
- le livre — book
- le stylo — pen
- le crayon — pencil
- la gomme — eraser
- la trousse — pencil case
- le tableau — board
- le sac à dos — backpack
Useful classroom phrases
- Ouvrez vos livres. — Open your books.
- Écrivez la réponse. — Write the answer.
- Je n'ai pas compris. — I didn't understand.
- Vous pouvez répéter ? — Can you repeat?
- J'ai oublié mon cahier. — I forgot my notebook.
Élève or étudiant?
Use élève for a child or teenager at school. Use étudiant / étudiante mainly for a university student. English uses “student” for both, but French usually keeps the distinction.
Practise the words in context
Pack an imaginary school bag and name each object in French. Then review the days of the week for a class timetable or continue with the French vocabulary hub.
Practise this on your own
Reading about these words is the easy half — you only own it once you've heard it and used it yourself. Parisly has short illustrated stories written for beginners, from your first A1 sentences, each with a guided lesson — the words in this article, met again in a story. Start here: A1 French stories for beginners.