French Word of the Day

French Fanatic

Learn French vocabulary with one new French word a day
Tuesday, July 19, 2011

bouleversé(e)

upset

Elle était vraiment bouleversée par les nouvelles.
She was really upset by the news.

THIS WEEK
We’ll cover words about emotions and feelings.

700 REASONS TO JOIN VOILÀ!
Our NEW English-French vocabulary index lets you explore nearly every one of the more than 700 words we’ve ever posted by topic. CHECK IT OUT!

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FOR OUR VOILÀ! MEMBERS
Review last week’s words by taking our weekly quiz.



Thursday, July 21, 2011

inconscient(e) de

oblivious to

Pensez-vous qu’il est inconscient des besoins?
Do you think that he is oblivious to the needs?

THIS WEEK
We’ll cover words about emotions and feelings.

700 REASONS TO JOIN VOILÀ!
Our NEW English-French vocabulary index lets you explore nearly every one of the more than 700 words we’ve ever posted by topic. CHECK IT OUT!

SUBSCRIBE TO VOILÀ! Only 3.95 a month, secure via PayPal!

FOR OUR VOILÀ! MEMBERS
Review last week’s words by taking our weekly quiz.

Friday, October 26, 2012

je t’aime

I love you

Saturday, January 8, 2011

l’espoir

n.m., hope

Nous pensons à nos espoirs au début d’une nouvelle année.
We think of our hopes at the beginning of a new year.

THIS WEEK
We’re looking at words that remind us of all the possibilities of a new year.

A SPECIAL WAY FOR OUR VOILA! SUBSCRIBERS TO KICK OFF 2011
Start 2011 with a special expanded edition of our weekly quiz featuring 50 questions covering words we posted here throughout 2010, including selections from our Year in Review last week. Members who are logged into Voila! can go straight to this special benefit for our members by clicking here.

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Sunday, February 14, 2010

la Saint-Valentin

Valentine’s Day

On célèbre la Saint-Valentin aujourd’hui.
We celebrate Valentine’s Day today.

THIS WEEK
Our vocabulary topic, in honor of Valentine’s Day, is love
— l’amour — in French.

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TODAY’S WORD BROUGHT TO YOU BY YABLA.

Yabla French Video Immersion.
The fun way to learn French

Sunday, July 24, 2011

le bonheur

happiness

Elle a enfin trouvé le bonheur.
She finally found happiness.

THIS WEEK
We’ve been covering words about emotions and feelings.

700 REASONS TO JOIN VOILÀ!
Our NEW English-French vocabulary index lets you explore nearly every one of the more than 700 words we’ve ever posted by topic. CHECK IT OUT!

SUBSCRIBE TO VOILÀ! Only 3.95 a month, secure via PayPal!

FOR OUR VOILÀ! MEMBERS
Review last week’s words by taking our weekly quiz.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

le cœur

the heart

Béatrice a donné son cœur à Robert.
Beatrice gave her heart to Robert.

TIP
Just as the heart has literal and symbolic meanings in English, so does le cœur in French. While le coeur is quite literally the organ that pumps blood through the body, it is also a great symbol of love.

MORE PARTS OF THE BODY IN FRENCH
Follow the links below to discover more French vocabulary about the body:

HOW WELL CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE BODY?
Take our French Body Parts Quiz to find out if you can say heart in French.

Friday, January 18, 2013

le deuil

grief, mourning

Quelquefois, l’automne est associé au deuil.
Sometimes, the fall is associated with mourning.

Vidéo. Here is a video of a poem by Paul Verlaine expressing some of the sentiments sometimes associated with autumn.

If you have any difficulty seeing the video, visit www.frenchfanatic.com.

Friday, July 13, 2012

peser ses mots

to weigh one’s words carefully

Il a pesé ses mots avant de parler.
He weighed his words carefully before speaking.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

sans souci

carefree

Les enfants sont complètement sans souci en été.
The children are totally carefree in summer.

NOTE
The phrase sans souci literally means without worry.

THIS WEEK
We’ll cover words about emotions and feelings.

700 REASONS TO JOIN VOILÀ!
Our NEW English-French vocabulary index lets you explore nearly every one of the more than 700 words we’ve ever posted by topic. CHECK IT OUT!

SUBSCRIBE TO VOILÀ! Only 3.95 a month, secure via PayPal!

FOR OUR VOILÀ! MEMBERS
Review last week’s words by taking our weekly quiz.

Friday, February 12, 2010

serrer dans ses bras

to hug, give a hug
(literally, to hold in his/her arms)

Le père de Madeleine l’a serrée dans ses bras.
Madeleine’s father hugged her.

THIS WEEK
Our vocabulary topic, in honor of Valentine’s Day, is love
l’amour, in French.

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter for more thoughts on all things French.

TODAY’S WORD BROUGHT TO YOU BY YABLA.

Yabla French Video Immersion.
The fun way to learn French

Thursday, April 11, 2013

tomber amoureux (amoureuse)

to fall in love

Jean-Pierre est tombé amoureux de Sophie, et elle est tombée amoureuse de lui.
Jean-Pierre fell in love with Sophie, and she fell in love with him.

TODAY
Our word is one of many about love and has the distinction of being one of the most popular we’ve ever posted on French Fanatic.

LEARN MORE
Discover more past words about love, feelings and emotions here.

QUIZ LINK
Test yourself on today’s word and find out how many other words you know about love with this quiz.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

un bisou

a kiss

La mère a fait un bisou à son petit garçon.
The mother gave a kiss to her little boy.

BEAUCOUP DE BISOUS
As you might imagine, the French, with their propensity for amour, have a number of ways to say a kiss or to kiss. A few others you might hear:

  • une bise (a kiss)
  • un baiser** (a kiss)
  • embrasser (to give a kiss to, followed by a person)
  • s’embrasser (to kiss each other)

** Take great care when using un baiser to mean a kiss. The verb form of the word has come to mean something much more in modern French and is equivalent to the English vulgarity. If in doubt, use another word for kiss.

TODAY
Our vocabulary word is one of many about love
l’amour, in French.

Friday, February 8, 2013

un fardeau

a burden

Il dit que son nouvel emploi est un fardeau pour sa famille.
He says his new job is a burden for his family.

TODAY
Our word is inspired by emotions and feelings.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

un souhait, un vœu

a wish

Il y a quelques jours, nous vous avons demandé vos souhaits de la fête.
A few days ago, we asked asked you for your holiday wishes.

Here were some of your responses:

  • Voir votre famille: to see your family
  • Voir votre petit ami: to see your boyfriend
  • Déménager: to move
  • Un appareil photo numérique: a digital camera
  • La neige: snow
  • Aller en vacances: to go vacation
  • Réussir a ses examens: to pass your exams
  • Une nouvelle dictionnaire française: a new French dictionary (Our Favorite!)

Vous n’avez pas encore fait un vœu? Il n’est pas trop tard!
You haven’t made a wish yet? It’s not too late!

We’ll continue our look at holiday season vocabulary through this week.


TODAY’S WORD BROUGHT TO YOU BY YABLA.

Yabla French Video Immersion.
The fun way to learn French



Friday, July 22, 2011

un soulagement

a relief

C’était un soulagement de savoir qu’il a survécu.
It was a relief to know that he survived.

THIS WEEK
We’ll cover words about emotions and feelings.

700 REASONS TO JOIN VOILÀ!
Our NEW English-French vocabulary index lets you explore nearly every one of the more than 700 words we’ve ever posted by topic. CHECK IT OUT!

SUBSCRIBE TO VOILÀ! Only 3.95 a month, secure via PayPal!

FOR OUR VOILÀ! MEMBERS
Review last week’s words by taking our weekly quiz.

Friday, August 23, 2013

un sourire

a smile

Mireille a fait un sourire à son père.
Mireille gave her father a smile.

TODAY
Our vocabulary topic is feeling and emotions. For more words in this category, click here.

HOW DO YOU FEEL IN FRENCH?
Take our French Feelings and Emotions Quiz and find out if you can say smile in French while you test your French emotional vocabulary.

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter for more thoughts on all things French.