French Word of the Day

turn up/turn down the volume

J’ai augmenté le volume de ma chanson préférée.
I turned up the volume of my favorite song.

to record

Les artistes musicaux enregistrent souvent leurs œuvres sur bande.
Musical artists often record their works on tape.

THIS WEEK
We’re feeling musical at French Fanatic. Turn up the volume and enjoy your favorite tunes as we explore the vocabulary of music, la musique.

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.

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n.f., the plot

Je n’ai pas aimé le film, parce qu’il n’y avait pas d’intrigue.
I didn’t like the film, because there was no plot.

THIS WEEK
On the heels of the Cannes Film Festival, we’re looking at French vocabulary words about movies and filmmaking.

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• MEMBERS can review last week’s words by taking our weekly quiz.
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the electric guitar

Je veux apprendre à jouer de la guitare électrique.
I want to learn to play electric guitar.

THIS WEEK
We’re feeling musical at French Fanatic. Turn up the volume and enjoy your favorite tunes as we explore the vocabulary of music, la musique.

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.

PRACTICE WHAT YOU’RE LEARNING AT FRENCH FANATIC!
Join Voilà for only 3.95 per month to access online practice quizzes and more.
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classical music

Elle aime écouter la musique classique le dimanche.
She enjoys listening to classical music on Sundays.

the footage, the film

Le cinéaste a tourné le métrage à Paris.
The filmmaker shot the footage in Paris.

ALSO
un court métrage = a short film
un long métrage = a feature-length film

ANOTHER MEANING
Le métrage also means length (of fabric, cloth, etc.).
De quel métrage avez-vous besoin?
What length do you need?

TODAY
Our word is inspired by movies and filmmaking.

the supporting actor, the supporting actress

Elle a gagné le prix pour le meilleur second rôle féminin.
She won the prize for best supporting actress.

ALSO
le premier rôle = the leading actor
le premier rôle féminin = the leading actress

TODAY
Our word is inspired by the cinema. For more words about films and filmmaking, click here.

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

n.m.pl., the speakers

Les haut-parleurs sont peut-être la partie la plus importante d’un stéréo.
The speakers might be the most important part of a stereo.

THIS WEEK
We’re feeling musical at French Fanatic. Turn up the volume and enjoy your favorite tunes as we explore the vocabulary of music, la musique.

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.

PRACTICE WHAT YOU’RE LEARNING AT FRENCH FANATIC!
Join Voilà for only 3.95 per month to access online practice quizzes and more.
SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

n.f.pl., words or lyrics

Ses paroles m’ont effrayé.
His words frightened me.

AVOID THE TEMPTING MISTAKE!
Here, it is only words that frighten the subject — not the fact that someone is getting out of prison on parole. If you were discussing parole, as in leave from prison, you would be talking about la liberté conditionnelle.

THIS WEEK
We hope our topic, false cognates, has been especially useful for you. These words are tricky because they look and sound much like their English equivalents but, in fact, have different meanings.

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.
Not a member yet? SUBSCRIBE HERE!

to download music

De plus en plus, les gens achètent et téléchargent leur musique du Web.
Increasingly, people buy and download their music from the Web.

freeze frame, still image

Le réalisateur emploie des arrêts sur image pour créer plus de drame.
The director uses freeze frames to create more drama.

TODAY
Our word is inspired by movies and filmmaking.

a vinyl record

Les enthousiastes de musique redécouvrent le son des disques vinyles.
Music enthusiasts are rediscovering the sound of vinyl records.

REGARDEZ UN VIDÉO!
Discover the return of vinyl — le retour du vinyle — in this video. If you received this in our daily e-mail and have difficulty viewing it, please visit our site at www.frenchfanatic.com.

TODAY
We’re exploring the vocabulary of music, la musique.

a writer

Jean-Paul Sartre était un écrivain français très célèbre.
Jean-Paul Sartre was a very famous French writer.

a thriller

Quelle est la différence entre un film à suspense et un film d’épouvante?
What is the difference between a thriller and a horror movie?

MORE TYPES OF FILMS IN FRENCH
une comédie = a comedy
un drame = a drama
un film d’action = an action film

TODAY
We’re looking at French vocabulary words about movies and filmmaking. Click here to discover more French words about movies and film.

KNOW YOUR FRENCH MOVIE VOCABULARY?
Take our Movies and Film Quiz to find out if you can say suspense thriller in French and more.

a museum

Quand nous allons à Paris, nous aimons visiter les musées.
When we go to Paris, we like to visit the museums.

a character

Les personnages dans son court métrage semblent très réels.
The characters in his short film seem very real.

THIS WEEK
On the heels of the Cannes Film Festival, we’re looking at French vocabulary words about movies and filmmaking.

SUBSCRIBE TO GET MORE FROM THE WORD OF THE DAY!

• MEMBERS can review last week’s words by taking our weekly quiz.
• SUBSCRIBE TODAY to become a member. Only 3.95 a month!
• Thinking about becoming a member? Take our Visitors Preview.

a newspaper column

Il lit le rubrique sportive chaque samedi.
He reads the sports column each Saturday.

an extra

Elle voulait être la vedette mais elle n’était qu’une figurante.
She wanted to be the star, but she was only an extra.

MORE FRENCH FILM WORDS
Explore more words about film from some of our past daily words:

• un cinéaste = a filmmaker
• un réalisateur = a director
• tourner = to shoot (a film or movie)
• une vedette = a star

TODAY
We’re looking at French vocabulary words about movies and filmmaking.

a filmmaker

Louis Malle était un cinéaste français célèbre.
Louis Malle was a famous French filmmaker.

ACTION!
Today, our topic is films and filmmaking. Now that you’ve learned to say filmmaker in French, follow the links below to discover more French vocabulary words about the cinema:

• Character
• Director, Film
• The End
• Extra, An
• Filmmaker
• Footage
• Freeze Frame
• Movie Theater
• Plot
• Star, Celebrity
• Supporting Actor, Actress
• Thriller

TAKE OUR FILM VOCABULARY QUIZ
Take our French Film Vocabulary Quiz to see how well you know the language of the silver screen.