AN and ANNÉE in French - What's the difference?
ANNÉE or AN in French
For many foreigners, the difference between une année and
un an in French is not clear.
They both translate to (a year) in English, but there is a difference…

Table of content
- Why does the difference between an and année matter?
- Use the word an as a time reference
- The word année in French is used to talk about a period
- Some exceptions with the words année and an in French
Why does the difference between an and année matter?
There exists a difference between the words année and an in
French, even if both words translate to (year) in English.
And it is important to understand this difference for two reasons:
- First, in most cases, you cannot use one word for the other. It would be seen as a mistake.
- Then, for the French, it is very natural to determine between année and an. Therefore, it sounds weird when a foreigner makes the confusion.
Use the word an as a time reference
Whenever you see the word an in French, it is a time reference. Here are some examples:
In the last example, le Jour de l’An is a date. Literally it means (New Year’s Day), but the French mostly use it to talk about New Year’s Eve.
Another example, to tell your age (another time reference), you should also use the word an:

After a cardinal number (un, deux, trois…), we ALWAYS use the word an in French.
The word année in French is used to talk about a period
And here is the difference between an and année in French.
The word année refers to a period, whereas an is a time reference.
Have a look at the following examples:
Here, we consider a period. Therefore, we use the word année.
The same rule applies to this sentence:
Now, let’s go one step further. Here are two very similar sentences:
However, in the second sentence, the adjective longues is added to describe the period I’ve spent in France.
As a result, cinq longues années is a period (not a mere time stamp), and we use the word année.

- After an ordinal number (premier, deuxième, troisième…), we use the word année.
- When we add an adjective, we also use the word année in French.
Some exceptions with the words année and an in French
Specific Dates
To talk about dates, the logic above still works.
But it seems a little far-fetched to me. That’s why I consider the following examples as exceptions.
Here’s how it works.
We use the word an to talk about a specific year (a date), and we use the word
année to talk about a period covering several years.
Quantifiers
After quantifiers (beaucoup de, peu de…), we always use the word année in French:
Question Words
After a question word, you should also use the word année:
Other Set Phrases
Last, try to remember the following set phrases:
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