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Les Fournitures Scolaires — French school supplies | Vocabulary

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Back-to-school French — what’s in the schoolbag. This French back- -school what s schoolbag vocabulary list gives you 18 essential words — from un stylo (a pen) to un crayon de couleur (a colouring pencil) — each with audio and its English translation. Use it to build the French words you need to talk about back- -school what s schoolbag, then test yourself with the games below.

Les Fournitures Scolaires

Back-to-school French — what’s in the schoolbag

Pour écrire ✏️

un styloa pen
un crayona pencil
un feutrea felt-tip
une gommean eraser
un taille-crayona sharpener
un surligneura highlighter

Pour ranger 🎒

un cahieran exercise book
un classeura ring binder
une troussea pencil case
un cartable / un sac à dosa schoolbag / rucksack
un agendaa diary / planner
un livrea book

Les outils 📐

une règlea ruler
des ciseauxscissors
la colleglue
une calculatricea calculator
une feuillea sheet of paper
un crayon de couleura colouring pencil
📚 Free French lessons at learnfrench.co

🎬 The 20-second version

5 quick questions on « Les Fournitures Scolaires » — guess before the reveal. Practise with the free games → Open this short as a page — transcript included →

📘 La rentrée & the school list

  • La rentrée (back-to-school, early September) is a big French moment — families buy from a liste de fournitures.
  • French exercise books are usually à carreaux (squared, « Seyès » grid) — not lined like in English-speaking countries!
  • Plurals to note: des ciseaux (scissors — always plural), des crayons de couleur (colouring pencils).
  • In class: « Sortez vos cahiers » (get out your books), « Prends une feuille » (take a sheet).
  • Handy: « Tu me prêtes un stylo ? » (can you lend me a pen?) — the most-used classroom phrase ever.

🔊 Useful phrases

J’ai acheté mes fournitures pour la rentrée.I bought my supplies for back-to-school.
Tu me prêtes ta gomme ?Can you lend me your eraser?
Sortez vos cahiers, s’il vous plaît.Get out your exercise books, please.
Il me faut une nouvelle trousse.I need a new pencil case.

🔊 Example sentences

Dans ma trousse, il y a des stylos et une règle.In my pencil case there are pens and a ruler.
N’oublie pas ta calculatrice pour le cours de maths.Don’t forget your calculator for maths.
Passe-moi les ciseaux, s’il te plaît.Pass me the scissors, please.

✍️ Practice

a pencil case = une ___ (holds pens)

Show answer

trousse

an eraser = une ___ (for mistakes)

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gomme

back-to-school = la ___ (September)

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rentrée

🎮 Practise this with games

🎯 More practice — vocabulary recall — both directions

How do you say « a pen »? (recall)

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un stylo

What does « un feutre » mean? (recall)

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a felt-tip

How do you say « a sharpener »? (recall)

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un taille-crayon

What does « un cahier » mean? (recall)

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an exercise book

How do you say « a pencil case »? (recall)

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une trousse

What does « un agenda » mean? (recall)

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a diary / planner

How do you say « a ruler »? (recall)

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une règle

What does « la colle » mean? (recall)

Show answer

glue

French back- -school what s schoolbag vocabulary — FAQ

How do you say common back- -school what s schoolbag words in French?

For example: a pen is « un stylo », a pencil is « un crayon », a felt-tip is « un feutre ». The full list above has 18 French back- -school what s schoolbag words, each with audio so you can hear the pronunciation.

What are the most useful French back- -school what s schoolbag words to learn first?

Start with the basics: un stylo (a pen), un crayon (a pencil), un feutre (a felt-tip), une gomme (an eraser), un taille-crayon (a sharpener), un surligneur (a highlighter). Master these core French words before moving on to the rest of the list.

How can I memorise French back- -school what s schoolbag vocabulary?

Learn the words in small themed groups, say each one out loud with the audio, and use it in a short sentence about your own life. Spaced repetition is what makes new vocabulary stick — see our guide to learning French vocabulary that sticks.

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