French Word of the Day

to water (with a hose)

Leur grand-mère arrose toutes les plantes dans son jardin.
Their grandmother is watering all the plants in her garden.

ALSO RELATED
un tuyau d’arrosage = a garden hose

THIS WEEK
We always enjoy exploring French verbs that are important to everyday conversation but that, for whatever reason, don’t always make the cut of words commonly learned in traditional French classes. This week, we’ll attempt to uncover some of these common but uncommonly-taught verbs.

NEED HELP WITH REGULAR ER VERBS LIKE TODAY’S WORD?
Don’t forget to check out our Quick Verb Guide for conjugation examples.

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to pick or pluck

Les vendangeurs sont embauchés pour cueillir le raisin.
The grape harvesters are hired to pick the grapes.

TODAY
Wine and winemaking are inextricable parts of the French culture. Today, our word is inspired by the vocabulary of the vineyards.

QUIZ LINK
Test yourself on today’s word and others about wine and winemaking here.

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.

sap

La sève est utilisée pour produire le sirop d’érable.
Sap is used to produce maple syrup.

THIS WEEK
We’re covering words that come to mind when we think of fall.

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

Normalement, on fait les vendanges en septembre et octobre en France.
Normally, the wine harvest is done in September and October in France.

THIS WEEK
Wine and winemaking is an inextricable part of the French culture. With this year’s harvest season upon us, this week is a perfect time to discover the vocabulary of the vineyards.

THE LATEST QUIZ IS READY FOR OUR VOILÀ! SUBSCRIBERS

Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz by clicking here.
For a sneak peek of Voilà!, click here. You’ll find ways to practice verbs, review our daily vocabulary words, search our word archives by category and more.

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the vine

Les vendangeurs doivent cueillir le raisin des vignes pendant quelques semaines.
The harvesters have to pick the grapes from the vines for a few weeks.

TODAY
Wine and winemaking is an inextricable part of the French culture. Today, we celebrate this with a word that is part of the vocabulary of the vineyards. More wine and agriculture vocabulary words are just a click away.

WINE QUIZ
Take our Wine Vocabulary Quiz to practice saying vine in French and more.

winemaking

Après la récolte, la vinification commence.
After the harvest, winemaking begins.

THIS WEEK
Wine and winemaking is an inextricable part of the French culture. With this year’s harvest season upon us, this week is a perfect time to discover the vocabulary of the vineyards.

EXTRA TIP
Earlier this week, we covered the word la vendange for wine harvest. You might notice in today’s post that the word récolte also means harvest — but not specifically a wine or grape harvest.

THE LATEST QUIZ IS READY FOR OUR VOILÀ! SUBSCRIBERS

Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz by clicking here.
For a sneak peek of Voilà!, click here. You’ll find ways to practice verbs, review our daily vocabulary words, search our word archives by category and more.

READY TO JOIN? SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

hay

On peut faire une promenade dans une charrette de foin en automne.
You can go on a hayride in autumn.
(Literal translation: One can go on a ride in a cart of hay in autumn.)

RELATED PHRASES
une botte de foin = a (rectangular) bale of hay
une balle de foin = a (round) bale of hay

TODAY
We’re covering a word that come to mind when we think of fall.

winemaker

Le travail est dur. Mais pour le vigneron, ça vaut la peine.
The work is hard. But for the winemaker, it’s worth it.

a donkey

Dans les temps anciens, les ânes ont porté la récolte.
In ancient times, donkeys carried the harvest.

THIS WEEK
We’re learning the vocabulary of the farm, or la ferme, focusing specifically the many animals you’ll find there.

FOR OUR VOILÀ! MEMBERS
Review last week’s words by taking our weekly quiz.
SUBSCRIBE TO VOILÀ! Only 3.95 a month, secure via PayPal!

a pig

Les cochons disent «groin groin».
Pigs say “oink oink.”

TODAY
We’re learning the vocabulary of the farm, or la ferme. For more words about the farm, animals and pets,  click here s’il vous plaît.

READY TO GET DOWN ON THE FRENCH FARM?
Take our Farm Animals Quiz to find out if you can say pig in French and more.

a sheep

Les moutons produisent de la laine qui peut être utilisée pour faire des vêtements.
Sheep produce wool that can be used to make clothing.

TODAY
We’re learning the vocabulary of the farm, or la ferme, specifically one of the many animals you’ll find there. Click here to learn more French vocabulary words about animals and pets.

DO YOU SPEAK THE FRENCH LANGUAGE OF THE ANIMALS?
Take our Farm Animals French Vocabulary Quiz to see if you can say sheep in French, and discover more French vocabulary words for farm animals.

a goat

Les chèvres mangent de l’herbe et disent «bêê».
Goats eat grass and say, “Baa.”

THIS WEEK
We’re learning the vocabulary of the farm, or la ferme, focusing specifically the many animals you’ll find there.

FOR OUR VOILÀ! MEMBERS
Review last week’s words by taking our weekly quiz.
SUBSCRIBE TO VOILÀ! Only 3.95 a month, secure via PayPal!

a mechanical harvesting machine

La vendange à main cède le pas à des machines à vendanger.
The manual harvest is giving way to mechanical harvesting machines.

THIS WEEK
Wine and winemaking is an inextricable part of the French culture. With this year’s harvest season upon us, this week is a perfect time to discover the vocabulary of the vineyards.

THE LATEST QUIZ IS READY FOR OUR VOILÀ! SUBSCRIBERS

Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz by clicking here.
For a sneak peek of Voilà!, click here. You’ll find ways to practice verbs, review our daily vocabulary words, search our word archives by category and more.

READY TO JOIN? SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

a hen

Les poules pondent des œufs.
Hens lay eggs.

THIS WEEK
We’re learning the vocabulary of the farm, or la ferme, focusing specifically the many animals you’ll find there.

FOR OUR VOILÀ! MEMBERS
Review last week’s words by taking our weekly quiz.
SUBSCRIBE TO VOILÀ! Only 3.95 a month, secure via PayPal!

a cow

Les vaches paissent dans le pré et disent «meuh».
The cows graze in the meadow and say, “Moo.”

MORE ABOUT TODAY’S EXAMPLE
Paissent is a form of the verb paître, which means to graze.

THIS WEEK
We’re learning the vocabulary of the farm, or la ferme, focusing specifically the many animals you’ll find there.

FOR OUR VOILÀ! MEMBERS
Review last week’s words by taking our weekly quiz.
SUBSCRIBE TO VOILÀ! Only 3.95 a month, secure via PayPal!