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How to Say ‘I'm waiting at the school gate.’ in French

J'attends au portail de l'école.

zh ah-tohn oh por-tie duh l ay-kol

[zh ah-tohn oh por-tie duh l ay-kol]

💬 Usage Tip: [J'] is just [je] squeezed before a vowel, so it always needs the next word: [j'attends], [j'arrive], [j'habite].

Phrase Breakdown

J'

[zh]

I

J' is the shortened form of je, meaning 'I', used before a vowel sound.

Example

Quand on me pose la question, je réponds : J'attends au portail de l'école.

When someone asks me, I reply: 'I'm waiting at the school gate.'

attends

[ah-tohn]

am waiting

Attends comes from attendre, meaning 'to wait'; here it means 'I am waiting'.

Example

À la sortie, je dis : J'attends au portail de l'école.

At pick-up time, I say: 'I'm waiting at the school gate.'

au

[oh]

at the

Au is a contraction of à + le, meaning 'at the' or 'to the'.

Example

Je précise : J'attends au portail de l'école.

I specify: 'I'm waiting at the school gate.'

portail

[por-tie]

gate

Portail means 'gate', especially the main entrance gate of a school or building.

Example

Je dis souvent : J'attends au portail de l'école.

I often say: 'I'm waiting at the school gate.'

de

[duh]

of

De means 'of' or 'from' and links nouns together.

Example

Pour être claire, je dis : J'attends au portail de l'école.

To be clear, I say: 'I'm waiting at the school gate.'

l'

[l]

the

L' is the shortened form of le or la before a vowel sound; here it means 'the'.

Example

Je réponds calmement : J'attends au portail de l'école.

I reply calmly: 'I'm waiting at the school gate.'

école

[ay-kol]

school

École means 'school', a very common word in school-gate conversations.

Example

Tous les jours, je peux dire : J'attends au portail de l'école.

Every day, I can say: 'I'm waiting at the school gate.'

Guides for French learners

The Best App to Learn French: An Honest ComparisonDuolingo, Babbel, Pimsleur, Busuu, italki and PrettyFluent compared for learning French: what each is best at, how you pay, and which fits your goal.French Conversation for Beginners: 5 Everyday Dialogues You'll Actually UseFive short French conversations for beginners, from greeting a neighbour to booking a restaurant, with translations, native audio and the phrases that keep them going.

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