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How to Say ‘The school gate’ in French

Le portail de l'école

luh por-TIGH duh l' ay-KOL

[luh por-TIGH duh l' ay-KOL]

💬 Usage Tip: French uses de "of" where English stacks two nouns: school gate becomes gate of the school. Swap in other nouns the same way: la cour de l'école "the school playground".

Phrase Breakdown

Le portail

luh por-TIGH

The gate

'Portail' ends with a 'y' sound: por-TIE.

Example

Le portail est fermé.

The gate is closed.

Words in this phrase

Le

[luh]

the

Used as a function word to indicate a noun and to mark the noun as definite.

Example

Le chat noir.

The black cat.

portail

[por-TIGH]

gate

Masculine noun for a large gate or main entrance, like a school gate.

Example

On se retrouve devant le portail.

We meet in front of the gate.

de l'école

duh l' ay-KOL

of the school

'L'école' is said as one word: lay-KOL.

Example

La cour de l'école est grande.

The school playground is big.

Words in this phrase

de

[duh]

of

Expressing the relationship between part and a whole.

Example

Un verre de lait.

A glass of milk.

l'

[l']

the

Used before singular when the item is known.

Example

L'homme est là.

The man is there.

école

[ay-KOL]

school

Feminine noun; often means primary school.

Example

Mon fils va à l'école.

My son goes to school.

Guides for French learners

Ordering in French: Cafés, Bakeries and Restaurants (with Menu Vocabulary)How to order in French at a café, a bakery and a restaurant: the phrases, the questions staff ask, and the menu and food vocabulary to understand the answers.Hello in French: Greetings, Good Evening and How to Answer "How Are You?"How to say hello in French, when to switch to good evening, how to ask how are you and what to answer, with tu vs vous and native audio.

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