French · People & Family

"Teacher" in French: professeur / professeure

le professeur / la professeure

Say it: pro-feh-SUHRmasculine / feminine · le professeur / la professeurenoun/pʁɔ.fɛ.sœʁ/

Teacher in French is often le professeur or la professeure. Kids also say le maître / la maîtresse in primary school. Address secondary teachers as Monsieur / Madame.

After class

Le professeur a prolongé le devoir.
The teacher extended the homework.
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How to pronounce professeur / professeure

Say it

pro-feh-SUHR

/pʁɔ.fɛ.sœʁ/

pro-feh-SUHR. Stress on SUHR; feminine adds clear final uh.

"Teacher" in French: quick reference

FrenchEnglish
le professeur / la professeurethe teacher / professor

Default modern pair.

le maître / la maîtresseprimary teacher

Elementary school.

mon professeurmy teacher

Possessive.

profteacher (casual)

Spoken short form.

How to use professeur / professeure in real life

  1. 1After class

    Le professeur a prolongé le devoir.

    The teacher extended the homework.

    Masculine.

  2. 2Parent chat

    La professeure est très patiente.

    The teacher (f.) is very patient.

    Feminine.

  3. 3Campus

    Mon professeur de maths explique bien.

    My math teacher explains well.

    Subject teacher.

Mistakes English speakers make with professeur / professeure

Incorrect: Ma professeur est absent.

Correct: Mon professeur est absent. / Ma professeure est absente.

Match article and form to gender.

Incorrect: Mon teacher arrive.

Correct: Mon professeur / mon prof arrive.

Use professeur or prof.

Good to know

Professeure is increasingly standard for women; older texts used professeur for both. In primary school, maître/maîtresse still dominate. Students say Monsieur / Madame, not first names, by default.

Try it in a ChatPal conversation

Checking who teaches history

  1. ChatPal

    C'est qui ton professeur d'histoire ?

    Who's your history teacher?

  2. You

    La professeure Martin, elle est nouvelle.

    Teacher Martin—she's new.

  3. ChatPal

    On dit que cette professeure note sévère.

    People say this teacher grades hard.

  4. You

    Je révise ce week-end.

    I'm studying this weekend.

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"Teacher" in other languages

FAQ

Common questions about "Teacher" in French

How do you say teacher?

Le professeur / la professeure.

What about primary school?

Le maître / la maîtresse.

Can I say prof?

Yes—very common casually.

How do you pronounce professeur?

pro-feh-SUHR.

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  4. Step 4: Use it in real scenarios

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