années

Année is a feminine noun in French that designates a year, either as the calendar year or as a span of twelve months. The plural form is années. In everyday use, année often emphasizes the duration or the experiences within a year, while an is used for simple counting.

The word comes from Latin annus, through Old French and Middle French forms, with the feminine ending -ée developing in the modern language. The distinction between année and an reflects nuance: année tends to highlight the contents of the year, events, or quality of time, whereas an is more about the numerical measure.

Usage and examples: the greeting Bonne année is said at the start of the new year. Common phrases include l’année prochaine (next year), l’année dernière (last year), this year (cette année). When referring to a decade or a group of years, one says les années 1990 or les années quatre-vingt, for example. The plural also appears in expressions like pendant plusieurs années (for several years) and au fil des années (over the years).

Other contexts distinguish civil and calendar time: année civile means the calendar year, année fiscale the fiscal year, and année bissextile designates a leap year. In counting duration, both structures may occur: il a passé trois ans versus il a passé trois années à travailler sur le projet, with the latter placing emphasis on the span and its experiences.

Overall, année denotes time as a period with potential events and characteristics, while an serves as a straightforward count of years.