French Word of the Day

next to

Claude est aussi assis à l’avant de la salle à côté d’Hélène.
Claude is also sitting in the front of the room next to Helen.

TODAY
It’s very useful in conversation to be able to describe spatial relationships — the idea of where one thing is in relation to another. Today’s phrase will help you do just that.

DISCOVER MORE DIRECTIONAL WORDS
Follow the links below to learn more French vocabulary words about proximity.

• Background, In The
• Bottom, At The
• Foreground, In The
• Front, In The
• Upstairs/Downstairs

QUIZ LINK
Test yourself on today’s phrase and other related words by clicking here.

in the front (as in a room or some other three-dimensional space)

Hélène est assise à l’avant de la salle.
Helen is seated at the front of the room.

TODAY
It’s very useful in conversation to be able to describe spatial relationships — the idea of where one thing is in relation to another. Today’s example is one phrase that will help you do that.

at the back or bottom

Le prof était debout au fond de la salle.
The teacher was standing at the back of the room.

DID YOU KNOW?
If you’re familiar with the cooking term the fond in English, this is where it comes from. It refers to what is at the bottom of the pan.

THIS WEEK
It’s very useful in conversation to be able to describe spatial relationships — the idea of where one thing is in relation to another. This week we’ll look at some key words and phrases that will help you do that.

VOILÀ! LE NOUVEAU QUIZ
Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz by clicking here.

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in the foreground

La pomme est au premier plan de la photo.
The apple is in the foreground of the photo.

TODAY
It’s very useful in conversation to be able to describe spatial relationships — the idea of where one thing is in relation to another. Today’s phrase can help you do just that. Click here for other similar words and phrases.

TAKE THE QUIZ
Test yourself on spatial relationships with our quiz.

in the background

Les nuages sont en arrière-plan de la photo.
The clouds are in the background of the photo.

ABOUT TODAY’S WORD
It’s very useful in conversation to be able to describe spatial relationships — the idea of where one thing is in relation to another. Today’s phrase is an example.

upstairs, downstairs

Pierre était en haut pendant que son père était en bas.
Pierre was upstairs, while his father was downstairs.

TODAY’S WORD
It’s very useful in conversation to be able to describe spatial relationships — the idea of where one thing is in relation to another. Today’s example is one such word that can help you do that.

BASTILLE DAY
In France, today is Bastille Day, or le quatorze juillet — a celebration of the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille Prison that was seen as a key symbolic event in the French Revolution.It is a day frequently celebrated with parades, parties and dancing. Learn more on Wikipedia.

BASTILLE DAY FIREWORKS
See the fireworks over the Eiffel Tower from today’s festivities here.

this/that way (in the sense of giving directions)

Allez par là et tournez à droite.
Go this way and turn to the right.

TODAY
It’s useful in conversation to be able to describe spatial relationships — where one thing is in relation to another. Today, our phrase will help you do just that.

PRACTICE WITH OUR QUIZ
Take our Spatial Relationships Quiz to find out if you can say this way and that way in French and practice more vocabulary words to describe where things are.