French Word of the Day

French Fanatic

Learn French vocabulary with one new French word a day
Search our site


Thursday, June 30, 2011

une perte

a loss

L’entreprise a réalisé des pertes de 10,000 euros la première année.
The business realized losses of 10,000 euros the first year.

THIS WEEK
Small shop owners and entrepreneurs make up a significant part of businesses in France. This week we’ll learn words about small business, or petit commerce.

DISCOVER 700 WAYS OUR MEMBER SITE VOILÀ JUST GOT BETTER!
Now, our members can easily navigate almost every one of the 700+ Words of the Day we’ve ever posted by topic with our NEW English-French vocabulary word list. Whether you want to learn more French words about Cars, the Doctor’s Office, Restaurants, Money, the Weather or other topics we’ve covered, it’s now easier than ever to find them and see the original examples.
SEE FOR YOURSELF!

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

Monday, June 27, 2011

une petite entreprise

a small business

Sylvie dirige une petite entreprise avec 6 employées.
Sylvie runs a small business with 6 employees.

THIS WEEK
Small shop owners and entrepreneurs make up a significant part of businesses in France. This week we’ll learn words about small business, or petit commerce.

DISCOVER 700 WAYS OUR MEMBER SITE VOILÀ JUST GOT BETTER!
Now, our members can easily navigate almost every one of the 700+ Words of the Day we’ve ever posted by topic with our NEW English-French vocabulary word list. Whether you want to learn more French words about Cars, the Doctor’s Office, Restaurants, Money, the Weather or other topics we’ve covered, it’s now easier than ever to find them and see the original examples.

SEE FOR YOURSELF!

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

Friday, June 24, 2011

les haricots verts

n.m.pl., green beans

Faut-il toujours casser les haricots verts avant de les faire cuire?
Is it always necessary to snap green beans before cooking them?

THIS WEEK
The arrival of summer is a time of delicious vegetables. This week, we’ll cover French vocabulary about the summer harvest, la récolte d’été.

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

Vocabulary Section: Food and Drink, Summer Harvest
Wednesday, June 22, 2011

une tomate

a tomato

En France, on se sert de tomates fraîches pour faire la ratatouille.
In France, they use fresh tomatoes to make ratatouille.

THIS WEEK
The arrival of summer is a time of delicious vegetables. This week, we’ll cover French vocabulary about the summer harvest, la récolte d’été.

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

Vocabulary Section: Food and Drink, Summer Harvest
Tuesday, June 21, 2011

le maïs

corn

Le maïs est le mieux quand vous l’épluchez juste après la récolte.
Corn is best when you shuck (peel) it just after picking it.

ALSO
les épis de maïs = corn on the cob

THIS WEEK
The arrival of summer is a time of delicious vegetables. This week, we’ll cover French vocabulary about the summer harvest, la récolte d’été.

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

Vocabulary Section: Food and Drink, Summer Harvest
Sunday, June 19, 2011

rose

pink

Elle porte des chaussures roses.
She’s wearing pink shoes.

THIS WEEK
We’re focusing on a topic that’s perfect for beginning French students — colors, or les couleurs. If you’ll be studying French for the first time next school year or if you just need a refresher, these beginning French words are for you.

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

Vocabulary Section: Adjectives, Colors, Word of the Day
Saturday, June 18, 2011

brun

brown

Les feuilles d’automne sont jaunes, oranges et brunes.
The autumn leaves are yellow, orange and brown.

TODAY
Our word is from a topic that’s perfect for beginning French students — colors, or les couleurs
. If you’ll be studying French for the first time next school year or if you just need a refresher, these French words for colors are for you.

TAKE THE QUIZ
See if you remember how to say brown in French and more with our Colors Quiz.

Vocabulary Section: Adjectives, Colors, Word of the Day
Friday, June 17, 2011

violet, pourpre

purple

Il se tenait sous un ciel violet dans sa chemise violette.
He was standing under a purple sky in his purple shirt.

GRAMMAR NOTE
Earlier this week, we explained that adjectives often add an e to become feminine, but that there would be exceptions. The color purple, or violet in French, is among them. Words that end in et often double the t before adding the e.

TODAY
Our word is from a topic that’s perfect for beginning French students — colors, or les couleurs
. If you’ll be studying French for the first time next school year or if you just need a refresher, these French words for colors are for you.

TAKE THE QUIZ
See if you remember how to say purple in French and more with our Colors Quiz.

Vocabulary Section: Adjectives, Colors, Word of the Day
Thursday, June 16, 2011

rouge

red

Elle met la rose rouge dans le vase.
She’s putting the red rose in the vase.

GRAMMAR NOTE
You might notice that some adjectives such as rouge already end in an e.  In these cases, the adjectives do not change spelling from the masculine to feminine form. They are the same for both. They do, however, continue to change for number: la rose rouge (the red rose), les roses rouges (the red roses).

TODAY
Our word is from a topic that’s perfect for beginning French students — colors, or les couleurs
. If you’ll be studying French for the first time next school year or if you just need a refresher, these French words for colors are for you.

TAKE THE QUIZ
See if you remember how to say red in French and more with our Colors Quiz.

Vocabulary Section: Adjectives, Colors, Word of the Day
Wednesday, June 15, 2011

bleu

blue

La mer bleue est au-dessous du ciel bleu.
The blue sea is beneath the blue sky.

GRAMMAR NOTE
As with a similar related example, you can see how the gender of the adjective bleu changes depending upon the noun it modifies, adding an e when used to modify la mer, which is feminine, and maintaining its masculine form with no e when modifying le ciel, which is masculine.

TODAY
Our word is from a topic that’s perfect for beginning French students — colors, or les couleurs
. If you’ll be studying French for the first time next school year or if you just need a refresher, these French words for colors are for you.

TAKE THE QUIZ
See if you remember how to say blue in French and more with our Colors Quiz.

Vocabulary Section: Adjectives, Colors, Word of the Day
Next Page »