Joakim asked : why one says "tiers monde" rather than "troisième monde" ?

AurélieNative French expert teacher in Kwiziq

Joakim asked : why one says "tiers monde" rather than "troisième monde" ?

Asked 8 years ago
AurélieNative French expert teacher in Kwiziq
Bonjour Joakim ! ​The expression "le Tiers Monde" to say "the Third World" is fixed as it is in English: this is the only way to say this in French. ​"Le Troisième Monde" would feel like there are more than one world, i.e. one planet, when here it's more of a division of the world into three "parts", hence the use of the fraction here. À bientôt !
Aurélie asked:

Joakim asked : why one says "tiers monde" rather than "troisième monde" ?

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
Let me take a look at that...