Until when? That’s the question. Today we’ll have a look at the preposition jusqu’à (until) in French. I put this word on the lessons list as many students have stumbled on the pronunciation when reading the word aloud in sentences. Let’s jump right into the lesson!
jusqu’à
until
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Jusqu’à – Until in French
Word origin
The modern Fernch word jusqu’à comes form usque ad in Latin.
Pronunciation
The pronunciation of jusqu’à is: zhoo-skah or [ʒyska].
Example sentences
I decided to write the first example sentence in two ways: One with the traditional 12-hour clock and the other with the 24-hour clock, which the French often use. This lesson on site explains how to tell time in French.
Je travaille jusqu’à seize heures.
I work until 4pm.
Je travaille jusqu’à 4 heure de l’après-midi.
I work until 4 o’clock in the afternoon.
This sentence includes a number. This lesson on our site explains the French numbers 1-100 in depth.
Louis a fumé jusqu’à l’âge de trente-huit ans.
Louis smoked until he was 38 years-old.
This sentence uses the verb rester (to stay), which we covered in this lesson. Demain means “tomorrow” in French and we explained the word here.
Camille reste dans cet hôtel jusqu’à demain.
Camille is staying in this hotel until tomorrow.
This sentence uses the personal pronoun on, which can translate to “one”, “we”, “you” or people in general. We explain how to use on in depth in this lesson. Also, notice that this sentence uses jusqu’au. The au is a contraction of à + le (to the).
On restera à Chamonix jusqu’au mois de décembre.
We’ll stay in Chamonix until December.
Conclusion
Félicitations ! You now know how to use jusqu’à in French! Now check our our lesson covering another useful preposition: lors de (during, at the time of).
