French Word of the Day

discounted (literally, at reduced prices)

C’est possible d’acheter des billets d’avion à prix réduits.
It’s possible to buy discounted airline tickets.

sour

Les bonbons de citron ont un goût aigre.
The lemon candy has a sour taste.

Also, note that aigre-doux means sweet and sour.

TIP: An easy way to remember this word lies in remembering the part it plays in the word vinaigre, the French word for vinegar. If you break down vinaigre (vin + aigre), you’ll see that it is quite literally sour wine.

bitter

Un goût amer est le contraire de l’un qui est doux.
A bitter taste is the opposite of one that’s sweet.

THIS WEEK
We’ve been covering an assortment of useful French adjectives that will help you add some richness and detail to your conversations.

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

common, run-of-the-mill, ordinary

Le repas n’était pas très speciale. En fait, c’était assez banal.
The meal was not very special. In fact, it was rather ordinary.

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.

stuck, stranded

Des milliers de voyageurs étaient bloqués partout dans le monde.
Thousands of travelers were stuck all over the world.

THIS WEEK
It’s not every week that we witness a volcano eruption having a major impact on European news. With the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull Volcano in Iceland disrupting European travel, we thought we’d take a look a some of the French words about the volcanic eruption and its impact on travelers.

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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.

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bright

Le soleil était brillant et chaud.
The sun was bright and hot.

THIS WEEK
With the school year over or winding down for many of us and thoughts turning to summer vacations, we thought this would be a great week to look at some words for life in the sun — or la vie dans le soleil.

TRACK YOUR LEARNING WITH OUR QUIZ!
How well did you learn last week’s words? Take our Weekly Quiz to find out!

TODAY’S WORD BROUGHT TO YOU BY YABLA.
Yabla French Video Immersion.
The fun way to learn French



tanned

Paul aime passer du temps au soleil. Il est toujours bronzé.
Paul likes to spend time in the sun. He’s always tanned.

THIS WEEK
With the school year over or winding down for many of us and thoughts turning to summer vacations, we thought this would be a great week to look at some words for life in the sun — or la vie dans le soleil.

TRACK YOUR LEARNING WITH OUR QUIZ!
How well did you learn last week’s words? Take our Weekly Quiz to find out!

TODAY’S WORD BROUGHT TO YOU BY YABLA.
Yabla French Video Immersion.
The fun way to learn French



burned, scorched

La terre était brûlée sous les rayons de soleil.
The land was scorched under the sun’s rays.

TODAY
Our word is inspired by the summer heat wave, la vague de chaleur.

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.

guilty

L’homme était trouvé coupable.
The man was found guilty.

short, long

Pas trop court, s’il vous plaît. J’aime les cheveux longs.
Not too short, please. I like long hair.

THIS WEEK
Fashion and beauty is a serious part of French culture. Consequently, a trip to the salon or barbershop is tout à fait essentiel. This week, we’ll look at the vocabulary of the salon.

THE LATEST WEEKLY QUIZ FOR OUR MEMBERS
Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz covering the past week’s words by clicking here.

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mismatched

Imaginons ce qu’ils se disent (Let’s imagine what they say to each other):
Tiens! Tu portes des chaussettes dépareillées. Regarde-toi, mon frère.
Hey! You’re wearing mismatched socks. Look at yourself, brother.

THIS WEEK
We couldn’t help but laugh last week at this video of twin boys in a conversation all their own. The lively exchange is our inspiration for this week’s words. If you haven’t seen it, check out the video here:

If you received this in our daily e-mail and have trouble viewing the video, please visit our site at www.frenchfanatic.com.

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dried out, parched

Toutes les pelouses sont desséchées.
All the lawns are parched.

THIS WEEK
We’ll cover words about the summer heat wave, la vague de chaleur.

FOR OUR VOILÀ! MEMBERS
Review last week’s words by taking our weekly quiz.
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soft, sweet or gentle

Le tissu est tout doux.
The fabric is very soft.

Les enfants aiment toujours les gâteaux doux.
The children always like the sweet cakes.

Elle sent la douce brise au bord de la mer.
She feels the gentle breeze at the seaside.

collapsed

Où que vous regardiez, il y a des bâtiments effondrés.
Wherever you look, there are collapsed buildings.

farm (as an adjective)

On va apprendre des mots pour les animaux fermiers.
We’re going to learn words for farm animals.

TODAY
We’re learning the vocabulary of the farm, or la ferme.

dark, light

Voulez-vous une couleur plus foncée ou plus claire?
Do you want a darker or lighter color?

THIS WEEK
Fashion and beauty is a serious part of French culture. Consequently, a trip to the salon or barbershop is tout à fait essentiel. This week, we’ll look at the vocabulary of the salon.

THE LATEST WEEKLY QUIZ FOR OUR MEMBERS
Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz covering the past week’s words by clicking here.

DON’T MISS OUT ON THE BENEFITS OF A VOILA! MEMBERSHIP
Join Voilà for only 3.95 per month to access online practice quizzes and our archives by subject.

Take our Visitors Preview to learn more.
SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

loud or strong

Elle aime écouter la musique très forte.
She likes to listen to very loud music.

Elle peut soulever 100 kilos; elle est très forte.
She can lift 100 kilos; she’s very strong.

THIS WEEK
For all the daily words we’ve reviewed together, we’ve never spent much time covering adjectives — at least not as a dedicated topic. We’ll try to change that this week with an assortment of useful French adjectives that will help you add some richness and detail to your conversations.

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

fresh

Elle veut faire une ratatouille avec des tomates fraîches.
She wants to make a ratatouille with fresh tomatoes.

THIS WEEK
Our topic is the summer kitchen — la cuisine d’été.

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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).

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!

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flooded

Les rues ont été inondées par la pluie.
The streets were flooded by the rain.

yellow

Un citron est jaune.
A lemon is yellow.

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 yellow in French and more with our Colors Quiz.

pretty

Les fleurs dans le jardin sont très jolies.
The flowers in the garden are very pretty.

ugly

Les voisins ont peint leur maison en rose, orange et vert. Elle est vraiment laide!
The neighbors painted their house pink, orange and green. It’s truly ugly!

THIS WEEK
For all the daily words we’ve reviewed together, we’ve never spent much time covering adjectives — at least not as a dedicated topic. We’ll try to change that this week with an assortment of useful French adjectives that will help you add some richness and detail to your conversations.

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

light (in weight or effect)

C’était facile de lever sa valise, parce qu’elle était légère.
It was easy to lift her suitcase, because it was light.

THIS WEEK
For all the daily words we’ve reviewed together, we’ve never spent much time covering adjectives — at least not as a dedicated topic. We’ll try to change that this week with an assortment of useful French adjectives that will help you add some depth to your conversations.

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

heavy

Les bagages de Jean étaient trop lourds pour apporter à bord de l’avion.
Jean’s luggage was too heavy to carry on board the plane.

heavy

Il voulait bouger la grande pierre, mais elle était trop lourde.
He wanted to move the big stone, but it was too heavy.

cute

Le bébé est très mignon quand il sourit.
The baby is very cute when he smiles.

ATTENTION!
Much like in English, take care in the way mignon(ne) is used. If used in the wrong context, someone might not be flattered to be called cute. A baby might be cute, while a girlfriend in her beautiful new dress might be better described as jolie or belle — pretty or beautiful.

THIS WEEK
For all the daily words we’ve reviewed together, we’ve never spent much time covering adjectives — at least not as a dedicated topic. We’ll try to change that this week with an assortment of useful French adjectives that will help you add some richness and detail to your conversations.

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

digital

Aujourd’hui, c’est facile de télécharger la musique numérique.
Today, it’s easy to download digital music.

to be in a hurry

Je suis un peu pressé.
I’m in a bit of a hurry.

THIS WEEK
We’ll cover some of the words unique to life in the city, la vie en ville.

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Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz by clicking here.

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deep

Tu t’inquiètes que l’eau soit trop profonde pour les enfants?
Are you worried that the water is too deep for the children?

THIS WEEK
As classes wind down and thoughts begin turning to summer vacations, many families will no doubt head for the beaches soon. This week, we’ll explore the vocabulary of the summer seaside.

SUBSCRIBE TO GET MORE FROM THE WORD OF THE DAY!

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daily

La joie de vivre se trouve dans la vie quotidienne.
The joy in living is found in daily (everyday)  life.

satisfied, full (in the context of food)

Aimeriez-vous d’autre chose? Ah, non, je suis rassasié.
Would you like something else? Oh, no, I’m satisfied (I’ve had enough).

To stress the idea that you’re full — not just satisfied — you would say: J’ai trop mangé (I ate too much).

delighted

Je suis ravi de faire votre connaissance.
I’m delighted to meet you.

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.

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.

well-behaved or wise

Les enfants sont sages.
The children are well-behaved.

AVOID THE TEMPTING MISTAKE!
In this case, sage means well-behaved. But if we said our grandparents were sages, we would probably mean they were wise. Of course, well-behaved grandparents are welcome, too!

TODAY
Our topic is especially useful. While French and English have many cognates — words that are derived from the same root word and consequently look and sound a lot alike — these words sometimes have similar meanings but other times do not. When they don’t, they are called false cognates and can provide plenty of pitfalls for language learners. Today’s word can be one such example. Click here to discover more false cognates on our Web site.

WILL YOU BE FOOLED?
Take our False Cognates Quiz to see if you can navigate troublesome false cognates in French.

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.

green

La campagne irlandaise est toute verte.
The Irish countryside is all green.

GRAMMAR NOTE
If you’re new to French, you might wonder why adjectives must sometimes change their spellings to add an e, an s, or both. It is because, in French, all nouns have a gender and number. They are either masculine or feminine, and either singular or plural. The adjectives that describe them must, in turn, agree with the nouns. In general, adjectives add an e to become feminine and an s to become plural — although there are notable exceptions that you will learn along the way. Using today’s word, you can see the many forms:

• le stylo vert (the green pen) – masculine singular
• les stylos verts (the green pens) – masculine plural
• la maison verte (the green house) – feminine singular
• les maisons vertes (the green houses) – feminine plural

ADVANCED GRAMMAR TIP
Did you happen to notice in today’s example sentence above that the adverb toute is feminine to agree with the adjective that follows it? Why is this remarkable? Tout as an adverb is usually invariable,  meaning that it does not change gender or number. (Don’t confuse this with tout as an adjective, which must always be made to agree.) But there is an exception! When tout precedes a feminine adjective beginning with a consonant or aspirate h, it must then be made to agree with adjective it’s modifying.

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 green in French and more with our Colors Quiz.

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.