Level A2 (Upper Beginner)
The French Word of the Day is été. One tiny word — but it can mean two very different things: summer or been. Today you’ll learn its:
✅ Meaning
✅ Pronunciation
✅ Example sentences
✅ Related Words & Expressions
✅ Related lessons
📘 Été meaning
In French, été has two main meanings. As a noun, it means summer. As a verb form, it is the past participle of être (to be), used in compound tenses: j’ai été = I was / I have been.
🎧 Été pronunciation
Été is pronounced /ete/ in IPA. The two é vowels are like a clear long “ay” sound, as in café. Both syllables are pronounced distinctly: é-té.
📝 French and English examples
Example sentences
In these first two examples, été means summer. Les Jeux refers to les Jeux olympiques (the Olympic Games).
Préférez-vous regarder les Jeux d’été ou les Jeux d’hiver ?
Do you prefer to watch the Winter Games or the Summer Games?
Quels sont vos projets pour l’été prochain ?
What are your plans for next summer?
This sentence is in the passé composé because the time is specified (hier = yesterday). J’étais also means ‘I was,’ but it’s in the imperfect, used for past actions without a specific time.
Je n’ai pas été à l’école hier. Je suis resté chez moi.
I wasn’t at school yesterday. I stayed home.
This last example shows both meanings of été: ‘summer’ and ‘was.’
Cette année l’été a été pourri.
The summer was lousy this year.
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📊 Être passé composé
Here’s how été is translated when used in the passé composé of être (to be).
- J’ai été — I was / I have been
- Tu as été — You were / You have been (singular, informal)
- Il/elle a été — He/she was / He/she has been
- Nous avons été — We were / We have been
- Vous avez été — You were / You have been (plural, formal)
- Ils/elles ont été — They were / They have been
🪶 Word origin
The French word été meaning “summer” comes from Old French esté, which itself goes back to the Latin aestas (summer). The past participle été of the verb être (to be) also comes from Old French esté, but this form traces further back to the Latin verb stare (to stand, remain).
🔗 Related words & expressions
Related to été = summer 🌞
- l’été prochain — next summer
- tout l’été — all summer
- l’été indien — Indian summer
- en été — in (the) summer
- au cœur de l’été — in the height of summer
- pendant l’été — during the summer
Related to été = past participle of être 📖
- j’ai déjà été — I have already been
- il a été malade — he was sick
- ça a été — it was okay / it went fine
- où as-tu été ? — where have you been?
- elle a été prof — she was a teacher
- nous avons été surpris — we were surprised
🚀 Keep learning French vocabulary!
Now that you’ve mastered l’été, why stop at one season? Check out our complete French seasons vocabulary lesson to learn l’hiver (winter), le printemps (spring), and l’automne (fall) with useful examples.
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