French Word of the Day

otherwise, moreover

a pier

Elise s’est promenée sur le long de la jetée pour regarder la mer.
She walked the length of the pier to look at the sea.

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.

to ascend the throne

Tout le monde se demande qui va monter sur le trône.
Everyone wonders who will ascend the throne.

a gift card

Les cartes cadeaux sont devenues très populaires.
Gift cards have become very popular.

the monarchy

La monarchie britannique dure plus d’un millier d’années.
The British monarchy has lasted more than a thousand years.

video game

rough or choppy

Il était dans son bateau sur une mer très houleuse.
He was in his boat on very rough seas (literally, on a very choppy sea).

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.