An or année ?

What is the difference between “an” and “année” ?

The difference between an and année is quite subtle. Indeed, The meaning doesn't change (in both cases it means year), but the use of both words differ. Here is a simple way to make the difference :

The word an is used with cardinal numbers (1, 2, 3...) :

Most of the time, the word année is used with adjectives and ordinal numbers (the first, the second…) :

Are An and et Année commutable ?

This previous rule works in 90% of the case. But, sometimes, an and année can commute..

Here, they have the same meaning. You can use both, although l’année prochaine and l’année dernière are more commonly used.

Sometimes, you can find a cardinal number with année :

No meaning difference, but quatre années insists more on the duration.

Le nouvel an / La nouvelle année 

Le nouvel an is January the first. Le nouvel an is celebrated on the evening of December 31st. In other words le nouvel an is kind of the New Year's Eve.

La nouvelle année is the new year that begins on January 1st. La nouvelle année is 2026, for exemple.