le concours
contest · competition
The French word "concours" has multiple related meanings depending on context:
Meaning:
-
Competition / Contest
- It refers to an event where participants compete to win prizes, recognition, or a position.
- Often used in contexts like concours de beauté (beauty contest), concours d'orthographe (spelling bee), or concours sportif (sports competition).
-
Competitive Exam / Entrance Exam
- In French education and public service, a concours is a competitive examination or selection process to enter a school, university program, or civil service.
- For example, le concours d'entrée à l'université means the entrance exam to a university.
Parts:
- The word concours comes from Latin concursus, from con- (together) + currere (to run), implying a coming together or running together towards a goal.
Synonyms:
- Competition: compétition, épreuve, tournoi
- Exam: examen, test (but concours specifically implies multiple participants competing)
Antonyms:
- For the competition sense: collaboration, cooperation
- For the exam sense: admission without exam (admission libre), automatic acceptance
Summary
"Concours" generally relates to a competitive process, either an event (competition) or a qualifying exam (competitive entrance). The core idea is people coming together to compete for a goal.
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Examples
Je participe à un concours.noun
I am participating in a contest.
Les résultats du concours seront publiés demain.noun
The results of the competition will be published tomorrow.
Il a gagné le concours après plusieurs mois d’entraînement.noun
He won the competition after several months of training.
Plusieurs élèves se sont inscrits aux concours cette année.noun
Several students enrolled in the competitions this year.
Le concours demandait beaucoup de concentration et de patience.noun
The competition required a lot of focus and patience.
Le concours de lecture a réuni de nombreux participants motivés.noun
The reading contest brought together many motivated participants.
Plus de cent participants ont concouru pour le concours de chant de cette année.noun
More than a hundred participants competed for this year's singing contest.
Les règles du concours exigent beaucoup de rigueur et de patience.noun
The rules of the competition require a lot of rigor and patience.
Les résultats du concours seront publiés demain matin.noun
The results of the competition will be published tomorrow morning.
Finalement, nous avons participé au concours avec beaucoup d’enthousiasme.noun
Finally, we took part in the competition with great enthusiasm.
Le concours de dessin a valorisé la créativité des participants.noun
The drawing contest highlighted the creativity of the participants.
Les résultats du concours seront annoncés demain matin.noun
The results of the competition will be announced tomorrow morning.
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