Enseigner, apprendre, éduquer, former, instruire
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French has five different verbs that can mean "to teach," depending on the who, the what, and the how of the teaching in question.
Enseigner
Enseigner is the most common French verb for teaching, as it means both to teach in general and to teach a particular subject.
Par exemple…
| Elle enseigne à l’université. | She teaches at the university. | |
| Il enseigne depuis 20 ans. | He’s been teaching for 20 years. | |
| – Qu’est-ce que vous enseignez ? – J’enseigne l’histoire et la géographie. |
– What do you teach? – I teach history and geography. |
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| Nous enseignons aux enfants et aux adultes. | We teach children and adults. |
Related nouns
- l’enseignement (m)
- un enseignant, une enseignante
Apprendre
The most common meaning of apprendre is "to learn."
Par exemple…
| J’apprends à nager. | I’m learning how to swim. | |
| Thomas apprend la cuisine. | Thomas is learning how to cook. |
Related nouns
- l’apprentissage (m)
- un apprenant, une apprenante
But apprendre is also used in two particular constructions to mean "to teach":
apprendre à quelqu’un à faire quelque chose
to teach someone (how) to do somethingapprendre quelque chose à quelqu’un
to teach something to someone
Par exemple…
| J’apprends à mon frère à nager. Je lui apprends à nager. |
I’m teaching my brother to swim. I’m teaching him to swim. |
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| Thomas apprend la cuisine à ses amis. Thomas leur apprend la cuisine. |
Thomas teaches his friends how to cook. Thomas teaches them how to cook. |
There are no nouns related to the "teach" meaning of apprendre.
Éduquer
Éduquer is used for non-scholarly learning, especially about ethics and manners. This is the verb used to talk about parents and communities teaching children, citizens, and even animals.
Par exemple…
| Il est important d’éduquer les jeunes sur les dangers d’internet. | It’s important to educate young people about the dangers of the internet. | |
| Nous devons éduquer les citoyens sur l’importance du recyclage. | We need to educate citizens about the importance of recycling. | |
| Ses enfants sont bien éduqués. | His children are well educated (i.e., have good manners). |
Related nouns
- l’éducation (f)
- un éducateur, une éducatrice
Former
Former means to teach someone in the sense of training: helping them develop a particular aptitude or characteristic.
Par exemple…
| C’est la première fois que je forme des stagiaires. | This is my first time teaching interns. | |
| Quelle est la meilleure université pour former les gérants ? | What’s the best university for teaching managers? |
Related nouns
- la formation
- un formateur, une formatrice
Instruire
Instruire specifically means "to teach someone." The student is specified but the subject being taught is not.
Par exemple…
| J’instruis mes enfants à la maison depuis 2020. | I’ve been teaching my children at home since 2020. | |
| Il instruit ses élèves avec passion. | He teaches his students with passion. |
Related nouns
- l’instruction (f)
- un instructeur, une instructrice
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Verb conjugation tables for more than 1,600 French verbs in all the simple and compound tenses and moods.
In English, we say that the vowels are “a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y.” The last couple of words hint at one of the keys to understanding pronunciation: a vowel is not so much a letter as the sound represented by a letter or combination of letters.