French word

trentaine

Pronunciation

IPA/tʁɑ̃tɛn/

Meaning

  • feminine nounabout thirty

Example

Nous étions une trentaine à la réunion.

There were about thirty of us at the meeting.

Illustration for trentaine (about thirty)

More examples

Elle est dans la trentaine et a deux enfants.

She is in her thirties and has two children.

Core concept

A loosely counted group clustered around thirty, whether it is a set of people or an age range.

Common phrases

  • la trentaine

    one's thirties

  • être dans la trentaine

    be in one's thirties

Similar words

dizaine: A quantity of roughly ten people or things.
vingtaine: A quantity of roughly twenty people or things.
quarantaine: A quantity of roughly forty people or things.
cinquantaine: A quantity of roughly fifty people or things.

Definition in French

Sert à exprimer de manière approximative la valeur trente, surtout avec la construction 'une trentaine de + nom' pour estimer des personnes ou des objets, et sous la forme 'la trentaine' pour parler d'une tranche d'âge.

Word origin

The noun combines trente with the suffix -aine, a French ending used for approximate groups, while trente derives from Latin trīgintā.

Usage tips

  • In quantity expressions, une trentaine is followed by de and a plural noun, as in une trentaine de personnes, while une trentaine can stand alone when the noun is understood.

Other meanings

  • thirtiesnoun

Opposites

Related words

  • trentièmethirtiethordinal number

Word lists with this word