The verb enseigner is the most common way to say 'to teach' in French, and it's likely the first one you learned. But the French language, with its characteristic precision, offers a variety of other verbs to express the act of imparting knowledge.

Whether you're a teacher, a student, or simply someone who enjoys sharing what you know, understanding these different terms will make your French sound more nuanced and natural.

Let’s dive into nine different ways to say 'to teach' in French and explore the subtle differences between them!

The standard 'to teach' – enseigner

The standard verb for 'to teach' in French is enseigner.

Enseigner is the most direct and common translation for 'to teach'. It covers everything from academic subjects in a classroom to practical skills.

The thing being taught is the direct object of the verb. You don't need a preposition before the subject. For example: J'enseigne l'histoire. (I teach history.)

The person or people being taught are the indirect object, introduced by the preposition à. For example: Elle enseigne le français à des adultes. (She teaches French to adults.)

You can easily use both in the same sentence: Le professeur enseigne la géographie (what) aux élèves (to whom). (The teacher teaches geography to the students.)

Be careful! While enseigner means 'to teach', the verb apprendre (to learn) can also mean 'to teach' in the sense of teaching someone a skill. For instance, Mon père m'a appris à conduire (My father taught me how to drive) is more common than using enseigner in this context. Use enseigner for more formal or academic teaching, and apprendre à quelqu'un for teaching a specific skill.

💡 * Elle enseigne la physique à l'université.

Qui t'a enseigné les règles de ce jeu ?

J'enseigne à mes enfants à être polis.

Il a enseigné le dessin pendant plus de vingt ans.

The 'to teach someone something' – apprendre à quelqu'un

One of the most interesting verbs in French is apprendre. While it most commonly means 'to learn,' it also carries the meaning of 'to teach.' This dual role can be confusing, but the secret to understanding it lies in the sentence structure.

To express the idea of 'teaching someone something,' you use the structure apprendre quelque chose à quelqu'un. The key element is the preposition à followed by the person being taught. This signals that knowledge is being transferred to someone.

This contrasts with the structure for 'learning.' When you say J'apprends le français, it means 'I am learning French.' If you say J'apprends à nager, it means 'I am learning how to swim.' In these cases, there is no indirect object receiving the teaching.

You might know the verb enseigner, which also means 'to teach.' Enseigner is often used in more formal or academic contexts, like a professor teaching a course (Il enseigne l'histoire). Apprendre, on the other hand, is very common in everyday life for teaching a practical skill or a piece of information directly to a person.

So, if you see a sentence like Ma mère m'apprend sa recette, the m' (me) is the indirect object. The sentence doesn't mean 'My mother is learning her recipe from me,' but rather 'My mother is teaching me her recipe.' The recipient of the action clarifies the verb's meaning.

💡 * Mon père m'a appris à conduire. (My father taught me how to drive.)

Je vais apprendre le tricot à ma nièce. (I'm going to teach my niece how to knit.)

Peux-tu apprendre cette chanson à ton frère ? (Can you teach this song to your brother?)

Elle apprend la patience à ses élèves. (She teaches patience to her students.)

The formal 'to instruct' – instruire

When you need a more formal or official term than enseigner (to teach), the French verb instruire is the perfect choice. It translates directly to 'to instruct' or 'to educate.'

Instruire carries a sense of providing detailed information, formal training, or official knowledge. It's commonly used in legal, academic, and professional contexts, making it sound more serious than the everyday verb apprendre (to teach/learn).

This verb is not typically used for casual classroom teaching. Instead, its primary uses are:

Legal: instruire une affaire - to investigate or prepare a legal case.
Formal Education: To describe the process of educating or enlightening someone on a complex topic.
Training: To describe formal training for a specific job or mission.

Instruire is an irregular verb that follows the same conjugation pattern as construire (to build) and détruire (to destroy). In the present tense, it is conjugated as: j'instruis, tu instruis, il/elle instruit, nous instruisons, vous instruisez, ils/elles instruisent.

The verb is directly linked to the noun l'instruction (f.), which means 'instruction,' 'education,' or 'investigation' (in a legal context). For example, le juge d'instruction is the 'investigating judge.'

💡 * Le juge doit instruire l'affaire avec impartialité. (The judge must investigate the case with impartiality.)

Ce documentaire a pour but d'instruire le public sur les dangers du changement climatique. (This documentary aims to educate the public on the dangers of climate change.)

Les nouvelles recrues seront instruites par un officier expérimenté. (The new recruits will be trained by an experienced officer.)

Ses parents l'ont bien instruit. (His parents educated him well.)

The 'to train' for a specific skill or profession – former

When you need to talk about training someone for a specific job, skill, or profession, the French verb you're looking for is former.

Former directly translates to 'to train,' 'to shape,' or 'to educate.' It implies a structured process of imparting knowledge or skills, often in a professional or academic setting.

This verb is used when an institution, company, or expert provides training. Its reflexive form, se former, is very common and means 'to train oneself' or 'to get trained,' highlighting an individual's professional development.

It's important not to confuse former with s'entraîner. While s'entraîner also means 'to train,' it's used for physical exercise (like in sports) or for practicing a skill you already have. Former is about the foundational education or professional training.

💡 * Cette école forme les meilleurs ingénieurs. (This school trains the best engineers.)

L'entreprise va former ses employés au nouveau logiciel. (The company will train its employees on the new software.)

Je me forme pour devenir pilote. (I am training to become a pilot.)

Elle a été formée à la gestion de projet. (She was trained in project management.)

The 'to educate' or 'bring up' in a broader sense – éduquer

Éduquer is a versatile French verb that translates to "to educate," but its meaning extends beyond formal schooling to encompass the broader sense of "to bring up" or "to raise" a child with good manners and values.

In its most direct sense, éduquer refers to the act of providing knowledge and instruction, typically within an academic or institutional setting. It's about teaching subjects and developing intellectual skills, much like its English cognate.

More broadly, and perhaps more commonly in everyday conversation, éduquer describes the process of raising a child, instilling morals, and teaching them social etiquette. Someone who is bien éduqué is not just academically smart but also well-mannered and polite.

Unlike the English "to educate," which is strongly tied to schooling, the French éduquer places a heavy emphasis on character and behavior. It covers the entire parental or societal responsibility of shaping a child into a well-rounded and respectful individual.

Therefore, when you hear éduquer, think of the complete process of a person's development—from the classroom to the dinner table. It’s about cultivating both intellect and social grace.

💡 * Ses parents l'ont bien éduqué, il est très poli. (His parents raised him well, he is very polite.)

L'école a pour mission d'éduquer tous les citoyens. (The school's mission is to educate all citizens.)

Il est important d'éduquer les jeunes au respect de l'environnement. (It is important to educate young people about respecting the environment.)

Elle a été éduquée dans une famille d'artistes. (She was brought up in a family of artists.)

The 'to give a class' or 'teach a course' – donner un cours

In French, if you want to say that someone is 'teaching a class' or 'giving a course,' the most common and idiomatic expression you'll use is donner un cours. This is the go-to phrase in everyday conversation.

For English speakers, the verb donner can be confusing because it literally means 'to give.' You might wonder why you are 'giving' a class instead of 'teaching' it. However, this is a set collocation in French. Think of it like 'giving a lecture' or 'delivering a lesson' in English to help it make more sense. You should learn donner un cours as a complete chunk of vocabulary.

The structure is straightforward. You conjugate the verb donner and then specify the subject of the class using the preposition de. The full structure is: donner un cours de + [subject]. For example, Je donne un cours de français means 'I teach a French class.'

While you might be tempted to use the verb enseigner (to teach), it's generally used to talk about the profession or the act of teaching in a broader sense (e.g., J'enseigne l'histoire à l'université – I teach history at the university). Donner un cours refers more specifically to the action of conducting a single class session or a particular course. Using donner un cours is often more natural when talking about a specific, scheduled class.

💡 * Le professeur va donner un cours sur la biologie marine demain.

Elle donne des cours de piano tous les samedis matins.

À quelle heure est-ce que tu donnes ton cours de Zumba ?

Nous avons donné un cours de cuisine italienne la semaine dernière.

The 'to show' how to do something – montrer

The French verb montrer is the primary equivalent of 'to show.' It's a versatile, regular -er verb used when you are physically pointing something out, displaying an object, or demonstrating an action to someone.

When you need to show how to do something, the common structure is montrer comment followed by an infinitive verb. This is perfect for giving instructions or tutorials, like montrer comment utiliser (to show how to use).

You can also use montrer directly with a noun to indicate showing a person or thing. For example, montrer une photo (to show a photo) or montrer le chemin (to show the way).

💡 * Je vais te montrer comment fonctionne la machine. (I'm going to show you how the machine works.)

Le guide nous a montré les plus beaux monuments de la ville. (The guide showed us the most beautiful monuments in the city.)

Montre-moi ce que tu as dessiné ! (Show me what you drew!)

Il a montré beaucoup de courage pendant l'épreuve. (He showed a lot of courage during the ordeal.)

The 'to introduce' someone to a subject – initier

When you want to talk about introducing someone to a new topic, skill, or activity, the French verb you need is initier.

Unlike présenter (to introduce people), initier specifically means to give someone their first experience or basic knowledge of a subject. Think of it as an 'initiation' into a new world, like art, a sport, or a complex hobby.

The verb follows a simple and important structure: initier quelqu'un à quelque chose. The preposition à (or à l', au, aux) is crucial. For example, 'to introduce a friend to chess' is initier un ami *aux* échecs.

💡 * Mon ami m'a initié à l'escalade. (My friend introduced me to rock climbing.)

Ce cours est parfait pour initier les débutants à la programmation. (This course is perfect for introducing beginners to programming.)

Elle a été initiée à la musique classique par ses parents. (She was introduced to classical music by her parents.)

1. The Expression for Teaching a Class: Faire la classe

The French expression faire la classe literally translates to “to do the class” or “to make the class.” However, its idiomatic meaning is “to teach a class” or “to conduct a lesson.” It specifically refers to the act of a teacher leading a classroom session, encompassing everything from instruction to managing students.

This phrase is action-oriented and describes what a teacher is doing at a specific time. You wouldn't use it to describe the profession of teaching in general. For that, you would use the verb enseigner (to teach). For example, someone would say, “J'enseigne l'histoire” (I teach history), but when they are in front of their students, they “font la classe.”

Primarily used by educators, students, or parents, faire la classe is the common way to refer to the daily, practical task of teaching. It implies the entire performance of being the teacher in the classroom at that moment.

💡 * Le professeur est absent aujourd'hui, il ne peut pas faire la classe. (The teacher is absent today, he cannot teach the class.)

J'adore mon métier, mais faire la classe à trente adolescents est parfois épuisant. (I love my job, but teaching a class of thirty teenagers is sometimes exhausting.)

Arrêtez de faire du bruit, Madame Dubois essaie de faire la classe ! (Stop making noise, Mrs. Dubois is trying to teach the class!)

C'est à mon tour de faire la classe demain matin. (It's my turn to teach the class tomorrow morning.)

Are there other ways to say 'to teach' in French?

This list features the most crucial verbs for 'to teach' in French, such as enseigner and apprendre. But French offers a rich variety of other terms, from the more formal instruire (to instruct) to the specific former (to train), and even colloquial phrases you might overhear in daily life.

You can expand your vocabulary by doing an online search for “synonymes du verbe enseigner”. This will often lead you to lists that provide context for when to use each specific verb.

Always remember that context is key. You would use former for professional training but not for teaching a toddler their ABCs. Before using a new verb, always check its definition and observe how it's used in example sentences.

Pay close attention as you read, watch, and listen to French content. Notice how different situations—in a classroom, a workshop, or a family setting—call for different verbs for 'to teach'. This is one of the best ways to internalize the nuances.

If you want to explore the subtle differences between these verbs, the Larousse or WordReference dictionary entries for enseigner are fantastic resources. The forums on WordReference are especially helpful for seeing how native speakers discuss these distinctions.

I hope this article has helped clarify how to talk about teaching in French. I'll leave you with a perfect quote on the subject from French writer Joseph Joubert: Enseigner, c'est apprendre deux fois. (To teach is to learn twice.)

'9 ways to say "to teach" in French'