Level A2 (Upper Beginner)
Today’s French word of the day lesson compares le matin to la matinée. Both words mean ‘morning’ but they have a slight difference, which we’ll explain. You’ll learn:
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Pronunciation of le matin, la matinée
IPA /lə ma.tɛ̃/ – /la ma.ti.ne/
Type of words
Le matin and la matinée are both nouns.
Example sentences
Le matin
The word le matin is used to refer to the specific time of the day, a moment in time or a recurring period.
En général, je me lève tres tôt le matin.
I generally get up early in morning. (General routine, recurring period)
Il va au travail ce matin.
He is going to work this morning. (Specific morning)
Il fait frais ce matin.
It’s cool out this morning. (Specific morning)
Le café ouvre à neuf heures du matin.
The café opens at 9 o’clock in the morning. (Recurring period)
Also note that the French use le matin for counting mornings. For example, “J’ai passé trois matins chez Georges.” (I spent three mornings at George’s place).
La matinée
La matinée in French refers to the morning as a duration of time or the course of the morning. La matinée can be attached to adjectives to describe the quality of the morning.
J’ai passé une excellente matinée au bord de la mer.
I spent an excellent morning on the seashore. (Quality)
T’as passé une bonne matinée ?
Did you have a good morning? (Quality)
Toute la matinée, il a neigé.
It snowed the entire morning.
Il n’a rien fait pendant toute la matinée.
He did nothing all morning.
RELATED LESSON
La journée
La journée means ‘the day’. The same principles apply when comparing le jour to la journée. Here, la journée refers to the course or duration of the day. For example, toute la journée (all day long) and une bonne journée (a good day).
