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.
that put you to sleep standing up
(literal, unused translation: to sleep standing)
C’est un mec vraiment bavard; il vous raconte des histoires à dormir debout. He’s one talkative guy; he’ll tell you stories that’ll put you to sleep standing up.
THIS WEEK
We have a special treat. One of the most difficult things about becoming fluent in French is learning to recognize all of the many idiom expressions — those phrases that mean something different than their literal meanings suggest. In English, think of the phrase It’s raining cats and dogs.
This week, a friend of our site, Bill Scoble, has assembled a great selection of commonly used French idioms for you. Add these to your vocabulary and you’ll sound like a native speaker in no time.
VOILÀ! LE NOUVEAU QUIZ Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz by clicking here.
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Bonjour! C’est Hélène à l’appareil.
Hello! It’s Hélène on the line.
Today’s phrase is part of our weeklong look at vocabulary for the telephone. To see more telephone vocabulary, please visit our Web site at www.frenchfanatic.com.
We’d also love to know if you prefer focusing on a single topic throughout the week or enjoying a more random word each day. E-mail us to let us know!
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.
Nous avons des idées cadeaux à prix choc!
We have gift ideas at special prices!
To mark the season of gift-giving, our vocabulary topic this week is holiday shopping. To see other words we’ve posted on the same topic this week, visit our Web site at www.frenchfanatic.com.
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Be among the first to follow French Fanatic on Twitter! Just click here to see additional words and thoughts that are intended to complement our regular Web site and daily e-mail. The tweets will be a little less frequent and a bit more random that the usual Word of the Day.
Il réfléchit un peu. Sa femme veut qu’il accroche un tableau. He thinks for a bit. His wife wants him to hang a painting.
THIS WEEK
Our topic is do-it-youself home repair — le bricolage.
VOILÀ SUBSCRIBERS, TAKE THIS WEEK’S QUIZ Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz by clicking here.
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Don’t miss out on weekly Quizzes that help you review our daily words and other features we’ve reserved for just for members of Voilà.
Nous sommes actuellement en route.
We are currently on the way.
AVOID THE TEMPTING MISTAKE!
In French, actuellement actually means currently. If you really mean actually, you would want to use en fait.
TODAY
Our example can help you avoid a common mistake. 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 is a perfect example of a word whose meaning could be easily mistaken.
DISCOVER MORE FALSE COGNATES
Check out these words that aren’t quite what they seem:
CAN YOU AVOID THE TEMPTING MISTAKE?
Take our French False Cognates Quiz to see if you can say currently in French and avoid the common mistakes presented by French false cognates.
Aujourd’hui, les citoyens agitent leurs drapeaux pour démontrer leur fierté. Today, citizens wave their flags to demonstrate their pride.
THIS WEEK With Independence Day in the United States this week and Bastille Day in France next, we’ll cover words related to these celebrations of freedom.
DISCOVER 700 WAYS OUR MEMBER SITE VOILÀ JUST GOT BETTER! Now, our members can easily navigate almost every one of the 700+ Words of the Day we’ve ever posted by topic with ourNEW English-French vocabulary word list. Whether you want to learn more French words about Cars, the Doctor’s Office, Restaurants, Money, the Weather or other topics we’ve covered, it’s now easier than ever to find them and see the original examples. SEE FOR YOURSELF!
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.
Il faut toujours choisir entre une montre analogique (avec aiguilles) ou numérique.
You always have to choose between an analog (with hands) or digital watch.
THIS WEEK We’re exploring a common topic that is covered early on in most French classes — the time — but with a level of detail you might not have learned before. We’ll cover parts of the clock and other words that will help you do more than just say or understand what time it is.
TRACK YOUR LEARNING WITH OUR QUIZ!
How well did you learn last week’s words? Take our Weekly Quiz to find out!
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.
Marie a atteint sa destination à 14h15.
Marie reached her destination at 2:15 p.m.
THIS WEEK We’re covering a random selection of words — ones we’ve come across in the past week or so that we think are interesting and help make anyone’s French vocabulary a little richer and more interesting.
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter for more thoughts on all things French.
AVOID THE TEMPTING MISTAKE! Attendre means to wait. If you want to say you’re attending to somebody or something, you would use the verb assister. So, if you were attending to your mother, rather than waiting for her, you would say: J’assiste à ma mère.
TODAY
Our example illustrates an especially useful topic. 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, as with our example today, do not. When they don’t, they are called false cognates and can provide pitfalls for language learners.
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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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.
Avoir is one of the most essential of all French verbs. Not only does it express possession, it is also used to form numerous tenses of many other French verbs.
Actual meaning: to have a lot of nerve Literal meaning: to have tuft of hair
Il m’a accusé de mentir. Il a vraiment du toupet! He accused me of lying. He’s really got a lot of nerve!
ORIGIN OF THIS EXPRESSION This expression is said to have originated in the 16th Century as a reference to men who were hired by Italian nobles to kill their competitors. The assassins, who did not want to be recognized, would hide their faces with a long tress of hair — un toupet. Hence, to have le toupet came to be an exaggerated way to say someone has the same nerve as these cold-blooded killers.
THIS WEEK
We love idiomatic phrases. This week, we’ll discover more of these fun and useful gems that provide a fascinating window into the French mindset.
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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Le bébé a commencé à crier parce qu’il avait sommeil. The baby started to cry because he was sleepy.
EN SAVOIR PLUS: Learn More Avoir sommeil is an expression using the verb avoir. To use it, you must always conjugate the verb. Click here to see a complete conjugation of avoir.
TODAY Our word is inspired by something that we spend about a third of our lives doing — sleeping.
Louise baigne ses enfants avant de les coucher.
Louise bathes her children before putting them to bed.
Puis, elle se baigne avant de regarder la télé.
Then, she bathes before watching television.
THIS WEEK Our vocabulary topic is the bath and grooming.
VOILÀ SUBSCRIBERS, TAKE THIS WEEK’S QUIZ Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz by clicking here.
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Nous bâtissons un meilleur monde.
We’re building a better world.
THIS WEEK We’re looking at regular -ir verbs. Each day, we’ll choose a new verb and show an example conjugated in a different person of the present tense. To learn how to conjugate regular -ir verbs, check out our -ir verb conjugation page in our Quick Verb Guide.
TRACK YOUR LEARNING WITH OUR QUIZ!
How well did you learn last week’s words? Take our Weekly Quiz to find out!
Sa mère l’a bercé pendant une heure jusqu’à ce qu’il se soit endormi. His mother rocked him for an hour until he fell asleep.
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.
Henri s’est blessé la jambe en jouant au tennis.
Henri injured his leg while playing tennis.
AVOID THE TEMPTING MISTAKE! Blesser means to injure, not to bless. When we remember this, Henri gets attention for his injury — not for strangely bestowing blessings on body parts during a match!
THIS WEEK
We have an especially useful topic for you. 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.
This week, we’ll share some of our favorite false cognates with you to keep you from falling into the trap of translating incorrectly.
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!
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.
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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Nous vous souhaitons de Bonnes Fêtes! We wish you Happy Holidays!
ABOUT TODAY’S WORD
You often see and hear this holiday wish, especially in public settings. Like Happy Holidays, it is embracing of the entire season and no one particular holiday.
THIS WEEK
We’re beginning to look at some of the vocabulary unique to the holiday season.
VOILÀ! LE NOUVEAU QUIZ Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz by clicking here.
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Bien qu’elle ait bossé dur, elle n’avait jamais de fric. Even though she slaved away, she never had any money.
TODAY
Every language is full of slang, or l’argot. French is no exception. Today’s word is one example of the slang that makes the language so rich. Words like this are more informal, and you’ll want to use them only in familiar settings.
QUIZ LINK
Find out how much French slang you know when you take our quiz.
Branchez l’appareil avant de l’utiliser. Débranchez-le après avoir fini.
Plug in the device before using it. Unplug it when finished.
FUN FACT: Branché, which literally means to be plugged in, is also widely used to mean someone who is hip — plugged in, if you will — to current trends, fashion and other popular culture.
You might hear a conversation like this:
— Natalie est assez branchée, non?Natalie’s rather hip, no?
— Oui, bien sûr, elle est très chic. Yes, of course, she’s very stylish.
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!
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!
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.
Allô. Pourrais-je parler à Charles? Hello. Could I speak to Charles? Oui, c’est de la part de qui? Yes, who’s calling?
MORE WORDS ON TODAY’S TOPIC
Today’s phrase is part of our look at vocabulary for the telephone. To see more French words to help your telephone conversations, click here.
Elle a réussit à ses examens. C’est génial!
She passed her exams. That’s fantastic!
TIP
This phrase is a pretty strong exclamation in French, maybe slightly stronger than it’s great in American English — something more akin to it’s brilliant in British English. The phrase can imply a certain degree of cleverness.
THIS WEEK Our vocabulary topic is expressions that matter. We’re covering some common phrases that come up in conversation so that you can both recognize them and use them to impress native French speakers. To see other vocabulary we’ve posted on this topic this week, visit us at www.frenchfanatic.com.
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Je n’ai pas d’argent. C’est pour ça que je vais à la banque.
I don’t have any money. That’s why I’m going to the bank.
TIP
In a French class, you likely will learn learn that c’est pourquoi would be the best way to say this. Of course, c’est pourquoi is perfectly acceptable. But you’re at least as likely to hear c’est pour ça que.
THIS WEEK Our vocabulary topic is expressions that matter. We’ll cover some common phrases that come up in conversation so that you can both recognize them and use them to impress native French speakers.
PARDONNEZ-NOUS!
We made a mistake in yesterday’s translation sent to our e-mail subscribers. We incorrectly paired a formal form of the verb mettre with an informal pronoun. The correct translation of Put on your coat before going outside should have been Mettez votre manteau avant d’aller dehors. Thank you to one of our readers for pointing out the error!
I don’t care/It’s all the same to me/It doesn’t matter to me
(literally, it is equal to me)
Que veux-tu regarder à la télé? Ça m’est égal.
What do you want to watch on television? It doesn’t matter to me.
TIP This is one of those great little expressions that will make you sound like a native. Now, all that’s left to do is to practice it with that certain French je ne sais quoi that makes you appear as if you truly couldn’t care less!
THIS WEEK Our vocabulary topic is expressions that matter. We’re covering some common phrases that come up in conversation so that you can both recognize them and use them to impress native French speakers. To see other vocabulary we’ve posted on this topic this week, visit us at www.frenchfanatic.com.
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter for more thoughts on all things French.
Ça y est! J’ai fini mes devoirs.
That’s it! I finished my homework.
THIS WEEK Our vocabulary topic is expressions that matter. We’re covering some common phrases that come up in conversation so that you can both recognize them and use them to impress native French speakers. To see other vocabulary we’ve posted on this topic this week, visit us at www.frenchfanatic.com.
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter for more thoughts on all things French.
Les feuilles souvent changent de couleur en automne.
Leaves often change color in the fall.
Vidéo. The narrator in this video explains why leaves change color.
This week, we are exploring words and phrases about autumn. To see more words and phrases about autumn or if you had any difficulty seeing the video, visit www.frenchfanatic.com.
Je cherche mes clés que j’ai perdus hier soir. I’m looking for my keys I lost last night.
TO SEE A COMPLETE CONJUGATION OF CHERCHER
We suggest conjugation-fr.com.
TIP As humans, we seem to be constantly looking for something. Chercher is a verb you’ll find yourself using a lot in French conversation. Note that unlike in English, in which to look is followed by the word for, this preposition is not needed in French. Chercher means to look for.
THIS WEEK Our vocabulary topic is essential verbs for conversation. We’re reviewing some of the verbs that are key to day-to-day conversation. For other common verbs, including an example of how to conjugate other -er verbs like chercher, see our Quick Verb Guide at www.frenchfanatic.com.
Je cherche mon livre, parce que je cherche à finir mes devoirs.
I’m looking for my book, because I’m attempting to finish my homework.
ABOUT CHERCHER
The verb chercher reminds us of another important feature of some French verbs in relation to their English counterparts. Some English verbs that require a preposition after them — to look for, for example — are expressed without the preposition in French. In fact, it would be incorrect in French to include a preposition after chercher when using it to mean to look for.
THIS WEEK
In French, a verb’s meaning can change considerably depending upon the preposition that follows it. This week, we’ve been looking at verbs and prepositions to see how several common verbs’ meanings can change slightly, or sometimes significantly. This is also a good time to remind ourselves that French verbs do not always take the same prepositions as their English counterparts.
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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J’ai besoin d’aller chez le coiffeur. I need to go to the hairdresser’s.
RELATED WORDS
a salon = un salon
a barbershop = un salon de coiffure pour hommes
a male hairstylist = un coiffeur
a female hairstylist = une coiffeuse
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.
J’ai chiffonné la feuille de papier et l’ai jetée dans la corbeille à papier. I crumpled the piece of paper and threw it in the wastebasket.
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.
Je choisis les chaussures rouges.
I am choosing the red shoes.
THIS WEEK We’ll take a look at one of the little unsung heroes of the French language — the regular -ir verb. While not as common as -er verbs, -ir verbs contain several among them that are frequently used and important to know. Each day, we’ll choose a different verb and show an example conjugated in a different person of the present tense. To learn how to conjugate regular -ir verbs, check out our -ir verb conjugation page in our Quick Verb Guide.
TRACK YOUR LEARNING WITH OUR QUIZ!
How well did you learn last week’s words? Take our Weekly Quiz to find out!
L’éruption volcanique a cloué des milliers d’avions.
The volcanic eruption grounded thousands of planes.
THIS WEEK 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.
DON’T FORGET TO TAKE THIS WEEK’S QUIZ!
How well did you learn last week’s words? Take our Weekly Quiz to find out!
Pour combien de jours avez-vous besoin de la voiture? How many days do you need the car?
THIS WEEK We always enjoy covering vocabulary topics about travel, because they contain essential words and phrases for French language learners who want to visit a French-speaking country. This week, we’ll look at useful French words and phrases for renting a car.
Marcel a été congédié en raison d’être toujours en retard. Marcel was fired for always being late.
THIS WEEK
We’re looking at vocabulary words related to the workplace and working.
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.
Notre professeur a corrigé les copies. Our professor graded the papers.
BACK-TO-SCHOOL VERB PRACTICE Teachers, tell your students about our 4 new verb practice exercises — 100 questions total! — that we’ve added to our Voilà! members area. The online practice sessions make it easy to gain proficiency in -er, -ir, -re and the most common irregular verbs. For a sneak peek of Voilà!, click here. NOT A MEMBER YET?SUBSCRIBE TODAY!
THIS WEEK
With the return of so many students to classrooms at the end of this month and early next, it’s a perfect time to get grounded in some of the basic vocabulary of the classroom. If you’re studying French for the first time, get ahead of the curve with these words and phrases — and maybe even impress le prof!
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.
OOPS! Yesterday’s e-mail incorrectly identified the gender of the word clignotant.Please note that it is masculine.
Jacques a cousu l’ourlet de sa chemise avec du fil blanc. Jacques sewed the hem of his shirt with white thread.
REMARQUEZ!
We used the passé composé to demonstrate today’s verb because we thought its past participle, cousu, is rather unexpected. You can see the verb’s entire conjugation here.
THIS WEEK
We’re building our reservoir of useful verbs by looking at a few that don’t necessarily come up a lot but are nonetheless handy.
VOILÀ! LE NOUVEAU QUIZ Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz by clicking here.
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L’homme a été déclaré non coupable par le jury. The man was found not guilty by the jury.
THIS WEEK
It’s our own version of a courtroom drama here at French Fanatic as we examine the vocabulary of the court.
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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Coupez l’oignon en dés et ajoutez-le au saladier. Dice the onion and add it to the bowl.
THIS WEEK
We go back to one of our favorite places — la cuisine, or the kitchen — to explore words you might encounter in recipes.
THE LATEST WEEKLY QUIZ FOR OUR MEMBERS
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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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to think, to believe in (usu. a thing or idea), to believe in (usu. a person or entity)
Je crois que nous allons. Je crois à la puissance du peuple. Je crois en toi.
I think we are going. I believe in the power of the people. I believe in you.
THIS WEEK
In French, a verb’s meaning can change considerably depending upon the preposition that follows it. This week, we’ll look at verbs and prepositions to see how several common verbs’ meanings can change slightly, or sometimes significantly. This is also a good time to remind ourselves that French verbs do not always take the same prepositions as their English counterparts.
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.
Profitez davantage de French Fanatic en visitant chaque jour de l’année. Get more from French Fanatic by visiting each day of the year.
THIS WEEK
We’re looking at words that remind us of all the possibilities of a new year.
A SPECIAL WAY FOR OUR VOILA! SUBSCRIBERS TO KICK OFF 2011
Start 2011 with a special expanded edition of our weekly quiz featuring 50 questions covering words we posted here throughout 2010, including selections from our Year in Review last week. Members who are logged into Voila! can go straight to this special benefit for our members 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 like our special 2010 Year in Review Quiz and our archives by subject.
Il y a beaucoup à faire avant le jour lorsqu’on peut déboucher la bouteille. There’s a lot to do before the day when we can uncork the bottle.
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.
J’ai décidé d’essayer de décider Paul à venir.
I decided to try to persuade Paul to come.
TONGUE TWISTER! Today’s example is a bit of wordplay — or jeu de mots. If you can say it 10 fois rapidement (10 times quickly), you might be a French Fanatic indeed!
TODAY
In French, a verb’s meaning can change depending upon the preposition that follows it. Today, we’re looking at an example of how verbs and prepositions interact to change a verb’s meaning, sometimes significantly. This is also a good time to remind ourselves that French verbs do not always take the same prepositions as their English counterparts.
C’est facile de découper une citrouille! It’s easy to carve a pumpkin.
CAN’T WAIT FOR THE REST OF THIS WEEK’S SPOOKY WORDS? After you’ve learned to say to carve a pumpkin in French, follow the links below to discover more of the Halloween words we’re covering this week:
Pour passer un coup de fil, il faut décrocher le recepteur.
To make a phone call, you have to pick up the receiver.
Après avoir parler, raccrochez le recepteur.
After talking, hang up the receiver.
Today’s words are part of our weeklong look at vocabulary for the telephone. To see more telephone vocabulary, please visit our Web site at www.frenchfanatic.com.
We’d also love to know if you prefer focusing on a single topic throughout the week or enjoying a more random word each day. E-mail us to let us know!
Elle est déjà allée à Paris.
She has already gone to Paris.
GRAMMAR NOTE Déjà is an adverb of time, but it behaves more like an adverb of frequency. In this example, note how it follows the conjugated verb.
TODAY We’re looking at a word that is among adverbs of time and frequency. Their placement can be a little tricky, but, in general, adverbs of time are placed at the beginning or end of a sentence, while adverbs of frequency are generally placed after the conjugated verb. Sound like too much? Don’t worry. Over time, as you learn French, your ear will start to guide you.
Demain, nous allons voir une pièce au théâtre.
Tomorrow, we are going to see a play at the theatre.
GRAMMAR NOTE
Like many adverbs of time, demain can be placed at the start of a sentence to help emphasize the importance of the time element. We treat these adverbs similarly in English.
THIS WEEK We’re looking at some adverbs of time and frequency. Their placement can be a little tricky, but, in general, adverbs of time are placed at the beginning or end of a sentence, while adverbs of frequency are generally placed after the conjugated verb. Sound like too much? Don’t worry. Over time, as you learn French, your ear will start to guide you.
TRACK YOUR LEARNING WITH OUR QUIZ!
How well did you learn last week’s words? Take our Weekly Quiz to find out!
Jean a demandé de l’argent.
Jean asked for some money.
AVOID THE TEMPTING MISTAKE! Demander means to ask, not to demand. As you can imagine, making that mistake when translating the example sentence above could make the difference between casting Jean as a polite young man or a robber!
THIS WEEK
We have an especially useful topic for you. 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.
This week, we’ll share some of our favorite false cognates with you to keep you from falling into the trap of translating incorrectly.
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!
Toute sa vie, elle a songé à démarrer une entreprise. All her life, she dreamed of starting a business.
THIS WEEK Small shop owners and entrepreneurs make up a significant part of businesses in France. This week we’ll learn words about small business, or petit commerce.
DISCOVER 700 WAYS OUR MEMBER SITE VOILÀ JUST GOT BETTER! Now, our members can easily navigate almost every one of the 700+ Words of the Day we’ve ever posted by topic with our NEW English-French vocabulary word list. Whether you want to learn more French words about Cars, the Doctor’s Office, Restaurants, Money, the Weather or other topics we’ve covered, it’s now easier than ever to find them and see the original examples. SEE FOR YOURSELF!
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.
Rendez vos devoirs avant de partir, s’il vous plaît. Turn in your homework before leaving, please.
THIS WEEK
With the return of so many students to classrooms at the end of this month and early next, it’s a perfect time to get grounded in some of the basic vocabulary of the classroom. If you’re studying French for the first time, get ahead of the curve with these words and phrases — and maybe even impress le prof!
BACK-TO-SCHOOL VERB PRACTICE! Teachers, tell your students about our 4 new verb practice exercises — 100 questions total! — that we’ve added to our Voilà! members area. The online practice sessions make it easy to gain proficiency in -er, -ir, -re and the most common irregular verbs. For a sneak peek of Voilà!, click here. NOT A MEMBER YET?SUBSCRIBE TODAY!
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.
Je cherche des informations sur vos produits. I’m looking for information on your products.
TODAY Note how the French use the plural des informations instead of the singular form of the word as we do with information in English. It’s one example of singular and plural differences between the two languages. Follow the links below to discover more examples of French vocabulary words that differ from English in their singular and plural expressions.
TODAY Note how the French use the plural des progrès instead of a singular form of the word as we do in English. It’s just one of several examples of singular and plural differences between the two languages.
Nous allons désormais conduire une voiture électrique.
From now on, we are going to drive an electric car.
GRAMMAR NOTE Désormais is an adverb of time. But unlike many adverbs of time, it tends to follow the conjugated verb it describes rather than coming at the beginning or end of a sentence.
Today’s words are perfect for students who are studying French for the first time. Craving more words? Visit our site www.frenchfanatic.com and browse the archives.
easy, a piece of cake
(literal, unused translation: of the cake)
Pour moi, ce sera plutôt difficile, mais pour lui ce sera du gâteau. For me, it will be rather difficult, but for him, it’ll be a piece of cake.
THIS WEEK
We have a special treat. One of the most difficult things about becoming fluent in French is learning to recognize all of the many idiom expressions — those phrases that mean something different than their literal meanings suggest. In English, think of the phrase It’s raining cats and dogs.
This week, a friend of our site, Bill Scoble, has assembled a great selection of commonly used French idioms for you. Add these to your vocabulary and you’ll sound like a native speaker in no time.
VOILÀ! LE NOUVEAU QUIZ Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz by clicking here.
GIVE YOURSELF THE GIFT OF FRENCH FANATIC!
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Empruntez le chemin à droite à travers la campagne.
Take the road on the right through the countryside.
MORE ABOUT THIS EXPRESSION Although emprunter usually means to borrow, it takes on a slightly different meaning in this expression.
THIS WEEK
When you learn the word for car, la voiture, in French class, the vocabulary sometimes doesn’t go too far beyond that. But there is, of course, so much vocabulary related to cars and driving. This week, we’ll help you get past la voiture to some practical words and phrases that will keep you moving.
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!
Empruntez le chemin à droite à travers la campagne.
Take the road on the right through the countryside.
OUR FAVORITE WORDS FROM 2010
This week, we’re reviewing our favorite Words of the Day from 2010. We actually had a hard time choosing our favorite word from the week of words we published in August on the topic of Cars and Driving. We loved this phrase because it’s so very French and indispensable vocabulary for communicating about directions.
VOILÀ! LE NOUVEAU QUIZ Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz by clicking here.
GIVE YOURSELF THE GIFT OF FRENCH FANATIC!
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Voulez-vous du beurre? Oui, j’en veux. Do you want some butter? Yes, I want some.
Vous avez besoin de livres? Oui, j’en ai besoin.
You need books? Yes, I need some.
Vous avez des lampes? Combien en avez-vous?
You have some lamps? How many of them do you have?
Tu as les trois clés? Non, j’en ai deux.
You have the three keys? No, I have two of them.
Tu viens de Londres? Oui, j’en viens.
You’re coming from London? Yes, I’m coming from there.
ABOUT EN
The adverbial pronoun en typically replaces phrases that begin with de — especially the partitive article. It may also be used to stand in for de + a place or to demonstrate a portion of a definite quantity (Il en a cinq/He has five of them).
THIS WEEK
Instead of having a different word each day, we’re focusing on just two words — the adverbial pronouns y and en.
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 like our special 2010 Year in Review Quiz and our archives by subject.
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.
Actual meaning: to take ten minutes (to do something) Literal meaning: to have for ten minutes of it
Je dois prendre une douche. J’en ai pour dix minutes. I have to take a shower. It’ll take 10 minutes.
TODAY
We love idiomatic phrases. Today’s phrase is an example of one of these fun and useful gems that add richness to our vocabulary. To discover more similar phrases, click here.
QUIZ LINK
Test yourself on today’s phrase and others like it here.
Actual meaning: to begin to wonder if Literal meaning: to be at the point of asking oneself if
J’en suis à me demander si le printemps arrivera. I’m beginning to wonder if spring will arrive.
TODAY
We love idiomatic phrases. Today’s example is one of these fun and useful gems that can make your French vocabulary much richer. To discover more idiomatic expressions, click here.
TAKE OUR QUIZ
Find out how many French idiomatic expressions you know by taking our quiz.
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.
Regardez en vitrine et voyez les ours en peluche!
Look in the window and see the teddy bears!
Vidéo. Today we have a special treat that will take you shopping in Paris without ever leaving your chair. This video of the famed Galeries Lafayette department store shows a recent window display that featured a cast of teddy bears. Regardez en vitrine!
To mark this season of gift-giving, our vocabulary topic for the week is holiday shopping. To see all the words we’ve posted on the topic this week, of if you received this video via e-mail and have difficulty viewing it, please visit our Web site at www.frenchfanatic.com.
En is used in several common phrases to express a range of indefinite ideas.
Elle n’est pas fâchée. J’en suis positif. She’s not mad. I’m positive about it.
J’ai perdu mon argent. Je n’en reviens pas.
I lost my money. I can’t get over it. (literally, I can’t return from it.)
Elle s’en est allée. She went away.
Je vous en prie.
You’re welcome (very polite — literally, I ask you to think nothingof it.)
THIS WEEK
Instead of having a different word each day, we’re focusing on just two words — the adverbial pronouns y and en.
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 like our special 2010 Year in Review Quiz and our archives by subject.
Nous entamons l’année avec beaucoup de possibilités. We begin the year with many possibilities.
A-t-il déjà entamé le pain?
Has he already cut into the bread?
THIS WEEK
We’re looking at words that remind us of all the possibilities of a new year.
A SPECIAL WAY FOR OUR VOILA! SUBSCRIBERS TO KICK OFF 2011
Start 2011 with a special expanded edition of our weekly quiz featuring 50 questions covering words we posted here throughout 2010, including selections from our Year in Review last week. Members who are logged into Voila! can go straight to this special benefit for our members 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 like our special 2010 Year in Review Quiz and our archives by subject.
Épicez la viande à votre goût et faites cuire sur le barbecue.
Season the meat to your taste and cook it on the grill.
THIS WEEK
Our topic is the summer kitchen — la cuisine d’été.
VOILÀ SUBSCRIBERS, TAKE THIS WEEK’S QUIZ Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz by clicking here.
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Épluchez les légumes, puis salez-les.
Peel the vegetables, then salt them.
TODAY
Our topic is the kitchen — la cuisine. After you’ve learned to say say to peel in French, follow the links below for more French words about kitchen activities:
Claudia époussette les meubles dans la chambre. Claudia is dusting the furniture in the bedroom.
GRAMMAR NOTE
Note that the t is doubled in many forms of the present-tense conjugation of épousseter: j’époussette, tu époussettes, il/elle époussette, nous époussetons, vous époussetez and ils/elles époussettent. The past participle is épousseté.
THIS WEEK
We’re covering more words about a topic that has been very popular with our readers in the past — le ménage, or housework.
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 like our special 2010 Year in Review Quiz and our archives by subject.
J’essaie la chemise. J’essaie de confectionner une chemise.
I’m trying on the shirt. I’m trying to make a shirt.
A PREPOSITION PROPOSITION
In French, a verb’s meaning can change considerably depending upon the preposition that follows it. Today’s example shows how verbs and prepositions can get together to form entirely different ideas. This is also a good time to remind ourselves that French verbs do not always take the same prepositions as their English counterparts.
La commission établit des nouvelles règles.
The commission is establishing new rules.
THIS WEEK We’re looking at regular -ir verbs. Each day, we’ll choose a new verb and show an example conjugated in a different person of the present tense. To learn how to conjugate regular -ir verbs, check out our -ir verb conjugation page in our Quick Verb Guide.
TRACK YOUR LEARNING WITH OUR QUIZ!
How well did you learn last week’s words? Take our Weekly Quiz to find out!
to be, to be (+ adjective) to do something, to belong to
Elle est fatiguée. Elle est contente de rester chez elle. La nuit est à elle.
She’s tired. She’s happy to stay at home. The night belongs to her.
PREPOSITION PROPOSITION
In French, a verb’s meaning can change considerably depending upon the preposition that follows it. Today’s phrases are examples of how verbs and prepositions interact to change a verb’s meaning.
Faites avancer rapidement le programme pour sauter les publicités. Fast-forward the program to skip the commercials.
THIS WEEK
We’ll cover words to describe how we manipulate and manage time.
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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Il avait peur de faire faillite, mais il est devenu un grand succès. He was afraid of going bankrupt, but he became a great success.
THIS WEEK Small shop owners and entrepreneurs make up a significant part of businesses in France. This week we’ll learn words about small business, or petit commerce.
DISCOVER 700 WAYS OUR MEMBER SITE VOILÀ JUST GOT BETTER! Now, our members can easily navigate almost every one of the 700+ Words of the Day we’ve ever posted by topic with our NEW English-French vocabulary word list. Whether you want to learn more French words about Cars, the Doctor’s Office, Restaurants, Money, the Weather or other topics we’ve covered, it’s now easier than ever to find them and see the original examples.
Le résevoir à essence est vide. Nous devons faire le plein.
The gas tank is empty. We have to fill up.
TODAY
Our phrase is about the topic cars and driving. Once you’ve learned to say you want to fill up the gas tank in French, follow the links below to discover more words about the road:
Actual meaning: to wait forever Literal meaning: to make like a leek (which grows very slowly)
Robert a fait le poireau parce que Jean était deux heures en retard. Robert waited forever, because Jean was two hours late.
THIS WEEK
We love idiomatic phrases. This week, we’ll discover more of these fun and useful gems that provide a fascinating window into the French mindset.
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.
Actual meaning: to make it a long weekend Literal meaning: to make the bridge
La fête tombe un mardi, mais je crois que nous ferons le pont. The holiday falls on a Tuesday, but I think we’ll make it a long weekend.
ABOUT THIS EXPRESSION
The phrase faire le pont refers to the common practice in France of making a bridge between the weekend and a holiday that falls on a Tuesday or Thursday, in effect creating a four-day weekend.
La grande aiguille fait le tour du cadran en 60 minutes,
et la petite aiguille fait le tour en 12 heures. The big hand goes around the dial in 60 minutes, and the little hand goes around in 12 hours.
Partout dans le pays, les familles font des piques-niques pour célébrer. All over the country, families have picnics to celebrate.
THIS WEEK With Independence Day in the United States this week and Bastille Day in France next, we’ll cover words related to these celebrations of freedom.
DISCOVER 700 WAYS OUR MEMBER SITE VOILÀ JUST GOT BETTER! Now, our members can easily navigate almost every one of the 700+ Words of the Day we’ve ever posted by topic with our NEW English-French vocabulary word list. Whether you want to learn more French words about Cars, the Doctor’s Office, Restaurants, Money, the Weather or other topics we’ve covered, it’s now easier than ever to find them and see the original examples. SEE FOR YOURSELF!
Agnès rince ses cheveux, et puis elle se fait un shampooing.
Agnès rinses her hair, and then shampoos.
THIS WEEK We’re exploring a second week of the bath and grooming. You might notice that this topic has two parts — the bath part and the grooming part. Our ambitions to cover both last week were a little larger than the number of days in the week. So, having covered the bath, we’ll focus on grooming now.
VOILÀ SUBSCRIBERS, TAKE THIS WEEK’S QUIZ Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz by clicking here.
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Au bar, ils prennent un verre de vin et les arômes de la cuisine font venir l’eau à la bouche de chacun. At the bar, they have a glass of wine and the aromas of the food make everyone’s mouth water.
THIS WEEK
When you visit France as a native English speaker, everyday interactions that you take for granted at home can suddenly feel like a lot of work. But they also can be very rewarding. This week, we’re going to look at one such common interaction — walking into a café or restaurant and knowing what to say and learning to recognize some of the responses. We’ll actually build a conversation throughout the week to help you learn key words and phrases.
Il faut payer avant de quitter le magasin.
It’s necessary (you have to) pay before leaving the store.
TO SEE A CONJUGATION OF FALLOIR
We suggest conjugation-fr.com.
Note that falloir is only used in the the third person.
FALLOIR: Un Verbe Très Important Falloir is one important French verb. The funny thing is, you’ll never see or hear falloir very much. What you will hear is its third person conjugation il faut followed by an infinitive. It’s used all the time.
Just how important is this phrase? Think about how many times, in English, you say I’ve got to… or she’s got to … or they’ve got to… . You would probably find it hard to get through the day without using this construction. In French, you can communicate the same idea with il faut.
Consider these common statements:
I’ve got to go to the store: Il faut aller au magasin.
You have to do your homework: Il faut faire tes devoirs.
While the translations above drop the pronouns in favor of simplicity over precision, it is also possible to express the subject pronouns if they’re really important — but you’ll need to know the subjunctive form of the verbs that follow. Let’s translate the same statements above, preserving the pronouns:
I’ve got to go to the store: Il faut que j’aille au magasin.
You have to do your homework: Il faut que tu fasses tes devoirs.
dead broke
(literal translation: cut down like the wheat)
Après la fête, nous serons fauchés comme les blés. After the holiday, we’ll be dead broke.
A NOTE ABOUT THIS EXPRESSION
You can also say, more simply, Je suis fauché (I’m broke).
TODAY Our phrase is a special treat. One of the most difficult things about becoming fluent in French is learning to recognize all of the many idiomatic expressions — those phrases that mean something different than their literal meanings suggest. In English, think of the phrase It’s raining cats and dogs.
We’ve assembled a great selection of commonly used French idioms on our site. Add the idiomatic expressions below to your vocabulary and you’ll sound like a native speaker in no time.
J’ai de la fièvre. J’ai besoin de médicaments.
I have a fever. I need some medicine.
THIS WEEK
Our vocabulary topic is the common cold. We’ll focus mostly on describing the symptoms. Who knows? You might find yourself in France someday clutching a handkerchief and remembering these words that will help you find a little relief!
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter for more thoughts on all things French.
Finis-tu tes devoirs avant de te coucher?
Do you finish your homework before going to bed?
THIS WEEK We’re looking at regular -ir verbs. Each day, we’ll choose a new verb and show an example conjugated in a different person of the present tense. To learn how to conjugate regular -ir verbs, check out our -ir verb conjugation page in our Quick Verb Guide.
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter for more thoughts on all things French.
Le parc est l’endroit idéal pour flâner.
The park is the perfect place for strolling.
THIS WEEK Our vocabulary topic is au parc (at the park).
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEW MEMBERS SITE, VOILÀ, FOR EXCLUSIVE BENEFITS
We’ve created a new area on our site to help you get more out of your Word of the Day! It’s called Voilà and features these special benefits just for members:
Toutes les tulipes dans le jardin ont fleuri.
All the tulips in the garden bloomed.
THIS WEEK We’re exploring French words for the signs of spring — les signes de printemps.
DON’T FORGET TO REVIEW LAST WEEK’S WORDS WITH OUR QUIZ!
Our quiz is extra-fun this week. Not only does it test how well you learned last week’s words, it tests how good you are at keeping track of family relationships. Take the Weekly Quiz now and see how you do!
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.
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La neige fond sous le soleil.
The snow melts under the sun.
MORE ABOUT FONDRE Fondre may be easier to remember when you recognize that a form of its past participle, fondue, has made its way into English as the Swiss cuisine in which various foods are dipped in warm, melted cheese.
QUIZ LINK
Test yourself on more words like today’s here.
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.
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.
VOILÀ SUBSCRIBERS, TAKE THIS WEEK’S QUIZ Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz by clicking here.
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Don’t miss out on weekly Quizzes that help you review our daily words and other features we’ve reserved for just for members of Voilà.
Avec l’arrivée du soleil, les plantes commencent à germer de nouveau.
With the arrival of the sun, the plants start to sprout again.
DISCOVER MORE WORDS ABOUT THE SEASONS
After you’ve learned to say to sprout in French, follow the links below to discover more French vocabulary words about the seasons.
Richard a gonflé les pneus de son vélo. Richard inflated his bicycle’s tires.
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.
Le prix d’essence a grimpé 20 cents dans une seule semaine. The price of gas climbed 20 cents in only a week.
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.
Hanoucca est la fête juive célébrée cette année du 1er décembre jusqu’au 9 décembre.
Hanukkah is the Jewish holiday celebrated this year from Dec. 1 through Dec. 9.
THIS WEEK
We’re beginning to look at some of the vocabulary unique to the holiday season.
VOILÀ! LE NOUVEAU QUIZ Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz by clicking here.
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S’il y a des fantômes chez vous, votre maison est hantée. If there are ghosts in your home, your house is haunted.
THIS WEEK
We can’t help but think of all the witches and goblins and ghosts that will take to the streets for Halloween this weekend. Although Halloween remains a bit of a novelty in France, it continues to grow in popularity. Join us as we ramble through the spooky vocabulary of the holiday.
VIDÉO: MAISON HANTÉE DANS LE NORD DE LA FRANCE? Watch the accounts of locals about this haunted house in Northern France. If you received this video in our e-mail and are having difficulty viewing it, please visit our Web site at www.frenchfanatic.com.
VOILÀ! LE NOUVEAU QUIZ Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz by clicking here.
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S’il y a des fantômes chez vous, votre maison est hantée. If there are ghosts in your home, your house is haunted.
THIS WEEK We’re brewing up our favorite spooky French words for Halloween! N’ayez pas peur. (Don’t be afraid.)
VIDÉO: MAISON HANTÉE DANS LE NORD DE LA FRANCE? Watch the accounts of locals about this haunted house in Northern France. If you received this video in our e-mail and are having difficulty viewing it, please visit our Web site at www.frenchfanatic.com.
Combien de kilomètres sont inclus dans le prix? How many kilometers are included in the price?
TODAY We always enjoy covering vocabulary topics about travel, because they contain essential words and phrases for French language learners who want to visit a French-speaking country. This week, we’re looking at useful French words and phrases for renting a car. Click here for more French vocabulary words about travel and getting around.
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.
La semaine dernière, Jupiter était au plus près de la Terre depuis 47 ans.
Last week, Jupiter was the closest to Earth in 47 years.
REGARDEZ UN VIDÉO!
More advanced learners can see if they can follow along in this explanation of Jupiter and Uranus. If you received this in an e-mail and have difficulty viewing the video, visit our Web site at www.frenchfanatic.com.
ABOUT TODAY’S WORD Kiffer is a very popular word among French teenagers, used especially to talk about liking or having a crush on someone else. It can also refer to liking things. But be aware that it’s probably not considered the best French in either case.
THIS WEEK
Every language is full of slang, or l’argot. French is no exception. This week, we’ve been covering a selection of French slang words. These words are generally more informal, and you’ll want to use them only in familiar settings.
Hélène a klaxonné quand elle est arrivée chez Gérard.
Hélène honked when she arrived at Gérard’s house.
TODAY
Our word is one of several verbs we’ve covered that are not necessarily the most common but nonetheless useful to know. After you’ve learned how to say to honk in French, follow the links below to learn these other less common French verbs:
Le gouvernement propose de relever l’âge de départ à la retraite de 60 à 62 ans. The government is proposing raising the retirement age from 60 to 62 years old.
THIS WEEK
Our attention turns to current events in France, where demonstrators have been protesting proposed changes to the retirement age in the country. We’re covering some of the vocabulary of the current strikes.
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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Voulez-vous ajouter de l’assurance collision? Do you want to add collision insurance?
THIS WEEK We always enjoy covering vocabulary topics about travel, because they contain essential words and phrases for French language learners who want to visit a French-speaking country. This week, we’ll look at useful French words and phrases for renting a car.
La police a lancé l’enquête sur le meutre de l’homme.
The police launched the investigation into the murder of the man.
THIS WEEK We like to cover a broad range of vocabulary, ranging from the fun to the need-to-know. With that in mind, we’ve been focusing on the latter this week with a look at some of the French words for police and crime.
DON’T FORGET TO SEE HOW WELL YOU LEARNED LAST WEEK’S WORDS!
Take our Weekly Quiz to find out!
Nous pensons à nos espoirs au début d’une nouvelle année. We think of our hopes at the beginning of a new year.
THIS WEEK
We’re looking at words that remind us of all the possibilities of a new year.
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Est-ce qu’il y a des poissons dans l’étang?
Are there any fish in the pond?
THIS WEEK Our vocabulary topic is au parc (at the park).
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Pouvez-vous identifier l’étoile polaire au ciel?
Can you identify the North Star in the sky?
THIS WEEK
Jupiter’s relative close proximity to the Earth last week and continued brightness into the fall has us thinking about the vocabulary of the heavens. This week, we’ll look up together to discover the words of the night sky.
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Alternative French spelling (not necessarily accepted in dictionaries): l’Alowine
n.m., Halloween
On a récemment commencé à célébrer l’Halloween en France.
They’ve recently begun to celebrate Halloween in France.
Lire. Halloween, an Anglo-Saxon holiday, has only recently gained popularity in France.Author Peter Mayle, who wrote A Year in Provence, published this column in the New York Times on the subject this week: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/25/opinion/25mayle.html
Profitez de l’ombre pour éviter la chaleur.
Take advantage of the shade to avoid the heat.
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!
OOPS!
We slipped with a verb conjugation in yesterday’s example sentence. To see the corrected post, click here.
Puis-je parler à Paul? Non, il n’est pas là maintenant.
Can I speak to Paul? Non, he’s not here right now.
ABOUT TODAY’S WORD
We’re wrapping up our discussion of the word là today with a reminder that French speakers very often use the word, which means there, as an equivalent to the way we use here in English when talking about whether something or someone is present.
THIS WEEK
One of the things you might notice when you visit French-speaking country is that the word là — there — comes up a lot. Inevitably, there seems to be some pointing involved as someone describes to you where something is located. Moreover,là is often combined with other adverbs of place to emphasize the direction of something. This week, we’re going to look at this little word with a big place in day-to-day French language.
Les enfants ont passé une heure sur la balançoire.
The children spent an hour on the swing.
THIS WEEK Our vocabulary topic is au parc (at the park).
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La belle-famille de Marie arrivera ce soir.
Marie’s in-laws will arrive this evening.
ALSO les beaux-parents (n.m.pl.)= parents-in-law
la belle-mère = mother-in-law le beau-père = father-in-law la belle-fille = daughter-in-law le beau-fils = son-in-law la belle-sœur = sister-in-law le beau-frère = brother-in-law
THIS WEEK We have been exploring the French words for family members.
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La flamme était allumée pendant la cérémonie d’ouverture.
The flame was lit during the opening ceremony.
THIS WEEK
In honor of the Winter Olympic Games —lesJeux Olympiques d’Hiver in French — we’ll be exploring some of the vocabulary of these exciting days in Vancouver.
TRACK YOUR LEARNING WITH OUR QUIZ!
How well did you learn last week’s words? Take our NEW Weekly Quiz to find out!
Beaucoup de gens attendent la chaleur d’été.
Many people wait for the heat of summer.
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!
Claquez doucement la coquille d’œuf pour la faire plus facile à écaler.
Tap the eggshell gently to make it easier to peel.
THIS WEEK With Easter approaching, we thought it would be fun to explore the vocabulary of one of the staples of French cuisine — the egg, l’œuf. Stay with us throughout the week to learn how to ask for one the way you like it and what to do with it!
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter for more thoughts on all things French.
Aujourd’hui, c’est le jour pour manger de la dinde aux États-Unis.
Today is the day for eating turkey in the United States.
In honor of Thanksgiving, we’re exploring essential words related to what’s on the dinner table this week. To see other vocabulary about this week’s subject, visit us at www.frenchfanatic.com.
Gérard a quatre personnes dans sa famille immédiate.
Gerard has four people in his immediate family.
FRENCH FAMILY VOCABULARY WORDS
After you’ve learned how to say immediate family in French, click the links below to discover the French words for these family members:
La farine est l’ingrédient essentiel dans tous les pains de France.
Flour is the essential ingredient in all the breads of France.
TODAY
Our word is inspired by the breads of France — les pains de France. Bread plays such an important role in French cuisine and indeed the life of the French that it’s essential to learn to ask for the loaf you want. Follow the links below to discover the words for many types of bread and other related French vocabulary words:
La fête du Travail est un jour pour célébrer des travailleurs.
Labor Day is a day to celebrate workers.
While celebrated on the first Monday of September in North America, Labor Day is celebrated on May 1 in France. To read more about Labor Day in French, please see this Wikipedia article.
Vous pouvez porter la flanelle en automne pour vous garder au chaud. You can wear flannel in the fall to keep warm.
TODAY Our word is one of many types of clothing.
MORE FRENCH CLOTHING WORDS After you’ve learned to say flannel in French, follow the links below to discover more French vocabulary words for types of clothing and accessories:
Voulez-vous garder la frange? Do you want to keep the bangs?
TODAY
Fashion and beauty is a serious part of French culture. Consequently, a trip to the salon or barbershop is tout à fait essentiel. Today’s word is one that can help you while you’re there. For more words on fashion and beauty, click here.
QUIZ LINK
Test yourself on today’s word and others about the hair salon here.
Pour faire lever le pain, il faut ajouter la levure.
In order to make bread rise, you have to add yeast.
TODAY
Our word is inspired by bread-making and the breads of France — les pains de France. It’s one of several words in this category that we hope will leave you well-armed to visit a boulangerie or supermarché and buy a loaf that reveals all the simple pleasures of French life.
QUIZ LINK
Test yourself on today’s word and others about bread and bread-making here.
Beaucoup de soldats sont morts dans les batailles pour la liberté. Many soldiers died in the battles for freedom.
THIS WEEK With Independence Day in the United States this week and Bastille Day in France next, we’ll cover words related to these celebrations of freedom.
DISCOVER 700 WAYS OUR MEMBER SITE VOILÀ JUST GOT BETTER! Now, our members can easily navigate almost every one of the 700+ Words of the Day we’ve ever posted by topic with our NEW English-French vocabulary word list. Whether you want to learn more French words about Cars, the Doctor’s Office, Restaurants, Money, the Weather or other topics we’ve covered, it’s now easier than ever to find them and see the original examples. SEE FOR YOURSELF!
Il y a beaucoup de magasins en ligne qui vous offrent la livraison gratuite.
There are lot of online stores that offer free shipping.
RELATED PHRASES livraison à domicile: home delivery livraison spéciale: special delivery
DISCOVER MORE FRENCH WORDS ABOUT SHOPPING Once you’ve mastered how to say free shipping in French, click the links below to discover their French equivalents.
Si la vitesse est très importante, choisissez la livraison sous 24 heures. If speed is very important, choose overnight delivery (delivery within 24 hours).
TODAY Our word is inspired by the topic mail and packages.
Les gens qui n’ont pas d’argent vivent dans la misère.
People who have no money live in poverty.
AVOID THE TEMPTING FAUX PAS!
While la misère can mean misery, its more common meaning is poverty — which a friend of our site pointed out is indeed pretty miserable.
TODAY
Our example illustrates an especially useful topic. 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 is one such example.
QUIZ LINK Take our quiz and find out if you can avoid falling into the traps created by common false cognates.
À cinq heures, la petite aiguille indique le 5 et la grande aiguille indique le 12.
At 5 o’ clock, the little hand is at 5 and the big hand is at 12.
THIS WEEK We’re exploring a common topic that is covered early on in most French classes — the time — but with a level of detail you might not have learned before. We’ll cover parts of the clock and other words that will help you do more than just say or understand what time it is.
TRACK YOUR LEARNING WITH OUR QUIZ!
How well did you learn last week’s words? Take our Weekly Quiz to find out!
Il aime faire la planche à roulettes à Paris.
He loves to skateboard in Paris.
We couldn’t resist featuring a second word inspired by yesterday’s video about skateboarding and snacking in Paris.
In case you missed it, check it out:
If you have difficulty seeing the video, please visit our site at www.frenchfanatic.com.
La pluie verglaçante a rendu les routes très dangereuses.
The freezing rain made the roads very dangerous.
THIS WEEK
The winter storms that have been affecting much of the United States over the past several weeks give us much to talk about. This week we’ll look at some winter weather vocabulary to help us do it.
THE LATEST WEEKLY QUIZ FOR OUR MEMBERS
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Les jeunes protestent contre la réforme des retraites. The young people are protesting against retirement reform.
THIS WEEK
Our attention turns to current events in France, where demonstrators have been protesting proposed changes to the retirement age in the country. We’re covering some of the vocabulary of the current strikes.
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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La maison n’a qu’une salle de bains.
The house has only one bathroom.
THIS WEEK Our vocabulary topic is the bath and grooming.
VOILÀ SUBSCRIBERS, TAKE THIS WEEK’S QUIZ Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz by clicking here.
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Le professeur parle seulement français dans la salle de classe. The professor speaks only French in the classroom.
THIS WEEK
Many students will be learning French for the first time over the next few weeks as schools kick off a new year. If the French language, or la langue française, is new to you, get a jump start on it with this week’s words about the classroom.
Les semelles de chaussures sont souvent fabriquées de caoutchouc. The souls of shoes are often made of rubber.
TODAY We were inspired by an event held by Handicap International featuring pyramids of shoes piled up to protest the use of mines. Check out this pyramid of shoes in Paris. We couldn’t help but think of all those shoes and how to talk about them.
Les joueurs à Roland Garros glissent facilement sur la terre battue. The players at the French Open glide easily on the clay.
NOTE In France, the French do not call the French Open by that name. It is, instead, le tournois de Roland Garros or, more simply, Roland Garros. The tournament takes its name from the stadium where it is played. The stadium is named after a French World War I aviator and fighter pilot who very frequently played tennis there.
THIS WEEK With the French Open under way and Wimbledon close behind, it’s a good time to brush up on our French tennis vocabulary.
En France, les enfants mettent leurs chaussures
devant la cheminée pour Père Noël.
In France, children put out their shoes in front of the fireplace for Santa.
We are continuing our look at words related to the holiday season. To see all the words we’ve posted on this topic, visit our site at www.frenchfanatic.com.
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.
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.
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.
Le train arrivera sur la voie 4. The train will arrive on platform 4.
THIS WEEK One of the easiest and most popular ways to get around France is to take the train, or le train. Let’s learn some vocabulary this week that will get us on our way.
Le chien joue avec la balle là-bas. The dog is playing with the ball over there.
THIS WEEK One of the things you might notice when you visit French-speaking country is that the word là — there — comes up a lot. Inevitably, there seems to be some pointing involved as someone describes to you where something is located. Moreover, là is often combined with other adverbs of place to emphasize the direction of something. This week, we’re going to look at this little word with a big place in day-to-day French language.
Le sucre est-il dans le buffet de cuisine? Oui, il est là-dedans. Is the sugar in the kitchen cabinet? Yes, it’s in there.
THIS WEEK One of the things you might notice when you visit French-speaking country is that the word là — there — comes up a lot. Inevitably, there seems to be some pointing involved as someone describes to you where something is located. Moreover, là is often combined with other adverbs of place to emphasize the direction of something. This week, we’re going to look at this little word with a big place in day-to-day French language.
Tu vois toutes les nouvelles fleurs là-dehors? Do you see all the new flowers outside there?
TODAY
One of the things you might notice when you visit a French-speaking country is that the word là — there — comes up a lot. Inevitably, there seems to be some pointing involved as someone describes to you where something is located. Moreover, là is often combined with other adverbs of place to emphasize the direction of something. Today, we’re looking at one example of this little word with a big place in day-to-day French language.
QUIZ LINK
Test your knowledge on the use of là and related adverbs here.
Le chat est sous la table. Il se cache là-dessous. The cat is under the table. He’s hiding underneath there.
THIS WEEK One of the things you might notice when you visit French-speaking country is that the word là — there — comes up a lot. Inevitably, there seems to be some pointing involved as someone describes to you where something is located. Moreover, là is often combined with other adverbs of place to emphasize the direction of something. This week, we’re going to look at this little word with a big place in day-to-day French language.
Tu as mis les livres sur l’étagère? Oui, là-dessus. You put the books on the bookshelf? Yes, on top over there.
OPEN UP AND SAY LÀ! One of the things you might notice when you visit a French-speaking country is that the word là — there — comes up a lot. Inevitably, there seems to be some pointing involved as someone describes to you where something is located. Moreover, là is often combined with other adverbs of place to emphasize the direction of something. Today, we’re looking at one example of this little word with a big place in day-to-day French language.
Regarde l’oiseau là-haut. Look at the bird up there.
Oh là là One of the things you might notice when you visit a French-speaking country is that the word là — there — comes up a lot. Inevitably, there seems to be some pointing involved as someone describes to you where something is located. Moreover, là is often combined with other adverbs of place to emphasize the direction of something. Today’s word is one example of how là works with another adverb.
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.
Je ne veux pas en parler. Laisse-moi tranquille.
I don’t want to talk about it. Leave me alone.
TIP
For the days when you’ve just had enough of someone, this is good to know. However, keep in mind it’s a pretty strong statement and not to be used too lightly. You might also hear, laisse-moi seule.
TODAY Our vocabulary topic is expressions that matter. We’re covering some common phrases that come up in conversation so that you can both recognize them and use them to impress native French speakers.
Est-ce que je peux laisser un message?
Can I leave a message?
This concludes our weeklong look at vocabulary for the telephone. To see more telephone vocabulary, please visit our Web site at www.frenchfanatic.com.
We’d also love to know if you prefer focusing on a single topic throughout the week or enjoying a more random word each day. E-mail us to let us know!
La jeune fille se repose sur le banc.
The young girl rests on the bench.
TODAY Our vocabulary topic is au parc (at the park). After you’ve learned to say bench in French, follow the links below to discover more French vocabulary words about the park and other outdoor activities:
Quand il fait très froid, le caleçon long vous aide à rester au chaud.
When it’s very cold, long underwear helps you stay warm.
THIS WEEK Our vocabulary topic is winter clothing and dress. To see other words we’ve posted on this topic this week, visit our Web site at www.frenchfanatic.com.
GET MORE WORDS ON TWITTER! Follow us on Twitter for bonus words and thoughts on all things French.
Jean-Paul a regardé le ciel avec étonnement. Jean-Paul looked at the sky with wonder.
THIS WEEK
Jupiter’s relative close proximity to the Earth last week and continued brightness into the fall has us thinking about the vocabulary of the heavens. This week, we’ll look up together to discover the words of the night sky.
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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le clique= the click, as of a computer or keyboard la clique = the clique, as in a social group
La clique des ados se sont envoyé des textes avec le clique d’une souris. The clique of teenagers sent each other texts with the click of a mouse.
TODAY
We’re having fun with words that have more than one definition that varies according to gender. When the gender changes, so does the meaning!
PRACTICE TO DISCOVER WHY GENDER MATTERS Take our French Word Gender Quiz to find out if you can recognize the difference between click and clique in French and to discover more gender differences.
Béatrice a donné son cœur à Robert. Beatrice gave her heart to Robert.
TIP Just as the heart has literal and symbolic meanings in English, so does le cœur in French. While le coeur is quite literally the organ that pumps blood through the body, it is also a great symbol of love.
MORE PARTS OF THE BODY IN FRENCH
Follow the links below to discover more French vocabulary about the body:
Je me suis cogné le coude contre la porte.
I bumped my elbow against the door.
THIS WEEK We’ll use the remainder of this week to cover parts of the body.
GRAMMAR NOTE
You might have noticed that when the French talk about parts of their own body, they do not change the article preceding the part of the body to a possessive pronoun, such as my, as we do in English. It is understood that the part of the body they’re referring to is their own.
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How well did you learn last week’s words? Take our Weekly Quiz to find out!
Quand il l’a vue, c’était vraiment le coup de foudre.
When he saw her, it was truly love at first sight.
THIS WEEK
Ah, l’amour…. The subject of love was among our most popular Word of the Day topics last year. With Valentine’s Day this week, there’s no better time to explore the French language of love.
EN SAVOIR PLUS – Learn More Check out more words about love that we posted last Valentine’s Day:
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Le demandeur réclame des dommages au motif que le vendeur a menti. The plaintiff is claiming damages on the grounds the salesman lied.
THIS WEEK
It’s our own version of a courtroom drama here at French Fanatic as we examine the vocabulary of the court.
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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Avec le facteur de refroidissement éolien, la température ressentie est de -15.
With the wind chill factor, the temperature feels like -15.
THIS WEEK
The winter storms that have been affecting much of the United States over the past several weeks give us much to talk about. This week we’ll look at some winter weather vocabulary to help us do it.
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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We left off yesterday with a question: Quand est-ce qu’on peut traverser la rue? We’ll use today’s word to help answer it.
Faites attention au feu piéton. Quand vous voyez un feu vert, traversez la rue.
Pay attention to the crossing signal. When you see a green light, cross the street.
THIS WEEK With spring sprouting, it seems like a good time to go for a walk. We’re covering French words for some of the things you might do and see à pied (on foot).
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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.
Je n’ai pas de fric. Je suis fauché. I don’t have any cash. I am broke.
THIS WEEK
Every language is full of slang, or l’argot. French is no exception. This week, we’ll cover a selection of French slang words. These words are generally more informal, and you’ll want to use them only in familiar settings.
Allez au guichet pour acheter vos billets. Go to the ticket window to buy your tickets.
THIS WEEK One of the easiest and most popular ways to get around France is to take the train, or le train. Let’s learn some vocabulary this week that will get us on our way.
On va célébrer Le Jour de l’Indépendance aux États-Unis aujourd’hui. They’re going to celebrate Independence Day in the United States today.
THIS WEEK With Independence Day in the United States this week and Bastille Day in France next, we’ll cover words related to these celebrations of freedom.
DISCOVER 700 WAYS OUR MEMBER SITE VOILÀ JUST GOT BETTER! Now, our members can easily navigate almost every one of the 700+ Words of the Day we’ve ever posted by topic with our NEW English-French vocabulary word list. Whether you want to learn more French words about Cars, the Doctor’s Office, Restaurants, Money, the Weather or other topics we’ve covered, it’s now easier than ever to find them and see the original examples. SEE FOR YOURSELF!
Le lapin de Pâques, a-t-il apporté les œufs en chocolat chez vous? Did the Easter bunny bring chocolate eggs to your house?
THIS WEEK We’ve been covering French words about spring and Easter. We wish you a wonderful Easter and hope you enjoy les plaisirs of the beautiful spring season.
Jean-Luc est le mari de Sophie, et elle est sa femme.
Jean-Luc is Sophie’s husband, and she is his wife.
THIS WEEK
We’re exploring the French words for family members.
OOPS! There was an editing error in yesterday’s example sentence. It is correct here: Claudia est la fille de Nathalie et la petite-fille de Denise. Claudia is Nathalie’s daughter and Denise’s granddaughter.
DON’T FORGET TO TAKE OUR QUIZ!
How well did you learn last week’s words? Take our Weekly Quiz to find out!
THIS WEEK We’ll use the remainder of this week to cover parts of the body.
GRAMMAR NOTE
You might have noticed that when the French talk about parts of their own body, they do not change the article preceding the part of the body to a possessive pronoun, such as my, as we do in English. It is understood that the part of the body they’re referring to is their own.
TRACK YOUR LEARNING WITH OUR QUIZ!
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Le mode de rester à la mode est d’acheter de nouveaux vêtements. The way to stay in fashion is to buy new clothes.
THIS WEEK
We’re having fun with words that have more than one definition that varies according to gender. When the gender changes, so does the meaning!
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Avez-vous le nez bouché?
Do you have a stuffy nose?
THIS WEEK
Our vocabulary topic is the common cold. We’ll focus mostly on describing the symptoms. Who knows? You might find yourself in France someday clutching a handkerchief and remembering these words that will help you find a little relief!
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter for more thoughts on all things French.
THIS WEEK
Our vocabulary topic is the common cold. We’ll focus mostly on describing the symptoms. Who knows? You might find yourself in France someday clutching a handkerchief and remembering these words that will help you find a little relief!
TRACK YOUR LEARNING WITH OUR QUIZ!
How well did you learn last week’s words? Take our Weekly Quiz to find out!
Le pain d’épice classique contient du miel, de la cannelle et du gingembre.
Classic spice cake contains honey, cinnamon and ginger.
EN SAVOIR PLUS!
You might enjoy looking at this recipe for this classic French loaf. While pain d’épice is sometimes translated as gingerbread and is similar, it is actually a different, quintessentially French recipe with a taste all its own.
THIS WEEK
With summer most decidedly fading into the distance for most of us, we’re thinking about the tastes of fall — les goûts d’automne.
VOILÀ! LE NOUVEAU QUIZ Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz by clicking here.
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Le pain de campagne est un pain rustique avec une croûte dure. Country bread is a rustic bread with a hard crust.
TODAY Our word is one of the many the breads of France — les pains de France. Bread plays such an important role in French cuisine and indeed the life of the French that it’s essential to learn to ask for the loaf you want.
Le pain de mie est le plus comme le pain américain et se trouve aux supermarchés. Ce pain est vendu prédécoupé en tranches.
Sandwich bread is the most like American bread and is found in supermarkets. This bread is sold pre-sliced.
EN SAVOIR PLUS! Learn More The word mie refers to the soft interior of the bread. Read a bit more about pain de miein French on Wikipedia.
THIS WEEK
Our topic is the breads of France — les pains de France. Bread plays such an important role in French cuisine and indeed the life of the French that it’s essential to learn to ask for the loaf you want. This week, we’re taking a look at some of the various loaves you’ll discover in the boulangeries of France, as well as a few words essential to understanding a French bread recipe.
La danse sur glace fait partie du patinage artistique.
Ice dancing is part of figure skating.
THIS WEEK
In honor of the Winter Olympic Games —lesJeux Olympiques d’Hiver in French — we’ll be exploring some of the vocabulary of these exciting days in Vancouver.
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Je prépare des crevettes sautées au persil pour la fête des Mères.
I’m preparing shrimp sauteed with parsley for Mother’s Day.
THIS WEEK We’ve been covering a random selection of words that we think are interesting and help make anyone’s French vocabulary a little richer and more interesting.
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Avez-vous choisi un plat principal?
Have you chosen a main course?
Vidéo. The below video is a good example of a dialog that might take place in a restaurant. Listen to the French while following along with the written dialog. If you’ve received this in an e-mail and have difficulty playing it, you can find the link on our site at www.frenchfanatic.com.
This week, we’re exploring one of our favorite topics — on the menu. Bon appetit! To see other words we’ve posted about the menu this week, visit us at www.frenchfanatic.com.
THIS WEEK We’ll use the remainder of this week to cover parts of the body.
GRAMMAR NOTE
You might have noticed that when the French talk about parts of their own body, they do not change the article preceding the part of the body to a possessive pronoun, such as my, as we do in English. It is understood that the part of the body they’re referring to is their own.
TRACK YOUR LEARNING WITH OUR QUIZ!
How well did you learn last week’s words? Take our Weekly Quiz to find out!
Le procès de deux hommes accusés de meurtre s’ouvrira demain. The trial of two men accused of murder opens tomorrow.
TODAY
It’s our own version of a courtroom drama here at French Fanatic as we examine the vocabulary of the court. For more French vocabulary words about the law and other civics matters, click here.
TEST YOUR COURTS AND LAW VOCABULARY
Take our Courts and Law French Vocabulary Quiz to find out if you can say trial in French and discover other French vocabulary words about the courtroom.
In France, today is Bastille Day — a very important national holiday commemorating the 1789 storming of the Bastille prison. This event was seen as an important symbol of the overthrow of the French aristocracy and the birth of the modern French nation. The holiday is analogous to Independence Day in the United States and is commonly referred to as le quatorze juillet and more formally as la Fête Nationale.
Il y avait des manifestations contre le réchauffement climatique samedi.
There were demonstrations against global warming Saturday.
You can read about the events from Copenhagen here in Le Monde.
Vidéo. See the events from les manifestations, demonstrations, below.
If you received this video by e-mail and are having difficulty viewing it, please visit our site at www.frenchfanatic.com.
We’re taking a short break from our discussion of holiday vocabulary for a few days to look at vocabulary around some of the news of the world. We’ll return to words of the season soon.
Regardez le passage du relais de flamme olympique au Québec. Watch the passage of the Olympic torch relay in Quebec.
Vidéo. The Olympic torch is currently making its way through Canada in preparation for the 2010 Winter Games. Join in the celebration and test your French listening skills with this video.
If you received this video by e-mail and have difficulty viewing it, please visit our site at www.frenchfanatic.com.
This week we are exploring words in the news. We will return to vocabulary related to the holidays soon.
Normalement, le Réveillon suit la Messe de Minuit.
Normally, the Christmas Eve feast follows Midnight Mass.
MORE ABOUT TODAY’S WORD Le Réveillon is an important part of the French Christmas tradition. It is a meal that often begins with turkey and ends with the Yule log, or bûche de Noël. For practical reasons, the meal is held more and more at the beginning of the evening rather than at the end. In the South of France particularly, the meal also includes a tradition known as Treize desserts, thirteen desserts that symbolize Jesus and his 12 apostles.
Des savons de Marseille sont très bien connus.
Marseille’s soaps are very well known.
THIS WEEK Our vocabulary topic is the bath and grooming.
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Les équipes de secours d’urgence restent en Haïti.
Emergency relief teams remain in Haiti.
THIS WEEK Our vocabulary topic is emergency relief. While reading about the events in Haiti over the past few weeks, we’ve come across many words and phrases that may not come up a lot in day-to-day conversational French but nonetheless could be very important for communicating in a crisis. This week, we will explore some of those words. Of course, many of the words you’ll see, thankfully, will be able to be used in situations of far lesser magnitude.
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Le sirop d’érable est produit au Québec de la sève des érables canadiens. Maple syrup is produced in Quebec from the sap of Canadian maple trees.
DID YOU KNOW?
If you visit Quebec, you will find sirop d’érable available in practically every store that caters to tourists. It is one of the signature products of the region.
TODAY
With summer fading into the distance for many of us, we’re thinking about the tastes of fall — les goûts d’automne.
Les Français aiment beaucoup le sport. The French like sports very much.
TODAY Note how the French use the singular le sport instead of the plural form of the word sports as we do in English. It’s one example of singular and plural differences between the two languages.
Le surf des neiges comprend des sauts acrobatiques et devient très populaire.
Snowboarding includes acrobatic jumps and is becoming very popular.
THIS WEEK
In honor of the Winter Olympic Games —lesJeux Olympiques d’Hiver in French — we’ll be exploring some of the vocabulary of these exciting days in Vancouver.
TRACK YOUR LEARNING WITH OUR QUIZ!
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Quel est le taux de change du dollar américain contre l’euro?
What the exchange rate of the American dollar against the Euro?
Vidéo. The French speaker in this video gives a short explanation of exchange rates ands some of their effects.
Here is the transcript, in French, from the video: Le taux de change est le prix d’une monnaie dans une autre, par exemple la quantité de dollars dans un euro ou, à l’inverse, la quantité d’euros dans un dollar. Ce taux de change est une notion qui a complètement disparu à l’intérieur de la zone euro, puisque nous avons une monnaie commune. Avant 1999, il existait un franc français qui fluctuait non seulement contre des pays de la zone euro (contre l’Allemagne, la Belgique, la Hollande) mais également contre des pays qui ne sont pas dans la zone euro (comme la Grande-Bretagne). Le taux de change, à l’époque, était fixe contre un grand nombre de pays de l’Europe. Aujourd’hui, l’euro est dans un régime que l’on appelle un régime de taux de change flottant, cest-à-dire que les monnaies bougent. Pour donner un exemple, il y a quatre ans, dans un euro, vous aviez à peu près 0,8 dollar; aujourd’hui, nous en avons 1,4, ça veut dire que l’euro sest apprécié. Quand une monnaie bouge, à la hausse ou à la baisse, il y a des gagnants et il y a des perdants. Lorsque, par exemple, une monnaie s’apprécie, cela veut dire que la marchandise qui est libellée, cest-à-dire étiquetée, dans cette monnaie devient plus chère pour les partenaires commerciaux, ce qui est préjudiciable à ceux qui exportent. En revanche, ceux qui importent paient la marchandise étrangère, par exemple le pétrole, moins chère. Donc, il y a des gagnants et des perdants.
If you received this in our e-mail and are having difficulty seeing the video, please visit our site at www.frenchfanatic.com.
TODAY
We are exploring vocabulary related to money and banking. To see other words we’ve posted on this topic, click here.
Le vainqueur est le champion en titre.
The winner is the defending champion.
AUJOURD’HUI Today
In honor of the upcoming Summer Olympic Games —lesJeux Olympiques d’Éte in French — today’s word helps us get ready for the events in London.
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Les fleurs poussent dans la vase avant d’être mises dans le vase.
The flowers grow in the mud before being put in the vase.
OUR FAVORITE WORDS FROM 2010
This week, we’re reviewing our favorite Words of the Day from 2010. We loved this pair of words — le vase and la vase — because they were such a reminder that knowing the gender of words really does matter. As a masculine word, vase means a vase, and as a feminine word, it means mud. Completely different, one beautiful, one messy, but oh so similar sounding. Ça c’est la langue française!
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Le vin rosé est très populaire en Provence.
Rosé wine is very popular in Provence.
THIS WEEK
Our topic is the summer kitchen — la cuisine d’été.
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Le vin rouge est le plus populaire, mais il y a d’autres types aussi:
Red wine is the most popular, but there are also other types:
le vin blanc (white wine)
le vin rosé (rosé wine)
le vin mousseux (sparkling wine when it is not from the Champagne region of France)
le champagne (sparkling wine produced from grapes in the Champagne region of France)
DID YOU KNOW? Le vin rosé is a very popular table wine in the South of France. In every café and restaurant, it seems, a carafe or bottle accompanies meals, especially in the warmer months of the year. French rosés tend to be dryer — less sweet — than the white zinfandels of the same color. And here’s a shocking secret: You might even see a Français enjoy a glass over ice. Don’t tell anyone!
THIS WEEK
After only having scratched the surface with vocabulary about the wine vineyards, or les vignobles, last week, we couldn’t resist spending a little more time on this topic this week to uncork some vocabulary about the wine itself.
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Le volcan Eyjafjöll s’est réveillé en 2010 en Islande.
The Eyjafjallajokull Volcano awoke in 2010 in Iceland.
TODAY
Our vocabulary word is inspired by weather and geological events. For more words about climate, click here.
ON THE ROAD TO NOWHERE?
Volcanoes are just one of many phenomena that can cause travel disruptions. Find out if you’re ready to talk about the events that are keeping the brakes on your travel plans — including saying volcano in French — with our Travel Disruption Quiz.
Pourrais-je parler à la propriétaire, s’il vous plaît? Could I speak to the owner, please?
TODAY Small shop owners and entrepreneurs make up a significant part of businesses in France. Today, our word is about small business, or petit commerce.
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.
N’oublie pas tes baskets si tu vas jouer au football cet après-midi. Don’t forget your sneakers if you’re going to play soccer this afternoon.
ALSO Les chaussures de tennis is another common way of saying this.
THIS WEEK We were inspired by an event held by Handicap International featuring pyramids of shoes piled up to protest the use of mines. Check out this pyramid of shoes in Paris. We couldn’t help but think of all those shoes and how to talk about them.
Madeleine a trouvé de nouvelles bottes qui étaient en solde! Madeleine found new boots that were on sale!
THIS WEEK We were inspired by an event held by Handicap International featuring pyramids of shoes piled up to protest the use of mines. Check out this pyramid of shoes in Paris. We couldn’t help but think of all those shoes and how to talk about them.
Un nuage de cendres a couvert la plupart d’Europe.
A cloud of ash covered the majority of Europe.
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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N’oubliez pas de mettre les clignotants avant de changer de voie. Don’t forget to put on your blinkers before changing lanes.
THIS WEEK
We have been covering cars and driving.
BACK-TO-SCHOOL VERB PRACTICE! Teachers, tell your students about our 4 new verb practice exercises — 100 questions total! — that we’ve added to our Voilà! members area. The online practice sessions make it easy to gain proficiency in -er, -ir, -re and the most common irregular verbs. For a sneak peek of Voilà!, click here. NOT A MEMBER YET?SUBSCRIBE TODAY!
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.
Il a mis ses codes en face d’une autre voiture.
He put on his low beams in front of another car.
TO SAY THE OPPOSITE High-beam or full-beam headlights are les pleins phares.
Il met les pleins phares. (He turns on his high-beam headlights.)
THIS WEEK
When you learn the word for car, la voiture, in French class, the vocabulary sometimes doesn’t go too far beyond that. But there is, of course, so much vocabulary related to cars and driving. This week, we’ll help you get past la voiture to some practical words and phrases that will keep you moving.
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!
Ne vous asseyez pas là! Le banc est couvert de fientes d’oiseaux.
Don’t sit there! The bench is covered in bird droppings.
A WORD FOR EVERYTHING
Today’s word might serve as a reminder that, for all the beauty of the French language, there are plenty of vocabulary words for some of the less-than-beautiful things we might encounter in everyday life. Click here to discover more words about recreation and life outdoors.
Il a appelé les gendarmes au café.
He called the police to the café.
ALSO la police = the police un gendarme or un agent de police = a police officer
THIS WEEK We like to cover a broad range of vocabulary, ranging from the fun to the need-to-know. With that in mind, we’ll focus on the latter this week as we look at some of the French words for police and crime.
TRACK YOUR LEARNING WITH OUR QUIZ!
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Les glaçons qui pendent des toits sont jolis.
The icicles that hang from the roofs are pretty.
THIS WEEK
The winter storms that have been affecting much of the United States over the past several weeks give us much to talk about. This week we’ve been looking at some winter weather vocabulary to help us do it.
THE LATEST WEEKLY QUIZ FOR OUR MEMBERS
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Stéphane aime faire pousser ses propres herbes aromatiques en été.
Stéphane likes to grow his own herbs in summer.
THIS WEEK
Our topic is the summer kitchen — la cuisine d’été.
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Les jumeaux parlent de quoi? What are the twins talking about?
ALSO un jumeau = a twin boy une jumelle = a twin girl les jumelles = twin girls
FRENCH FAMILY VOCABULARY WORDS
After you’ve learned how to say twins in French, click the links below to discover the French words for these family members:
Les enfants doivent apprendre à lier leurs lacets de chaussures. Children have to learn to tie their shoe laces.
THIS WEEK We were inspired by an event held by Handicap International featuring pyramids of shoes piled up to protest the use of mines. Check out this pyramid of shoes in Paris. We couldn’t help but think of all those shoes and how to talk about them.
Sophie porte toujours les lunettes de soleil en été.
Sophie always wears sunglasses in the summer.
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!
Pierre et Paul étudient les maths. Pierre and Paul study math.
TODAY Note how the French use the plural les maths instead of a singular form of the word as we do in English. It’s just one of several examples of singular and plural differences between the two languages.
Jetez la peau de banane aux ordures, et sortez-les. Throw the banana peel in the trash, and take it out.
THIS WEEK
We’re covering more words about a topic that has been very popular with our readers in the past — le ménage, or housework.
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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Vous porteriez vos pantoufles à l’intérieur chez vous. You would wear your slippers inside at home.
THIS WEEK We were inspired by an event held by Handicap International featuring pyramids of shoes piled up to protest the use of mines. Check out this pyramid of shoes in Paris. We couldn’t help but think of all those shoes and how to talk about them.
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.
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Utilisez un rasoir pour tailler les pattes.
Use a raser to trim your sideburns.
THIS WEEK We’re exploring a second week of the bath and grooming. You might notice that this topic has two parts — the bath part and the grooming part. Our ambitions to cover both last week were a little larger than the number of days in the week. So, having covered the bath, we’ll focus on grooming now.
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Imaginons ce qu’ils se disent(Let’s imagine what they say to each other): Eh, et tu penses que tu es très branché avec un seul pied nu. Uh, and you think that you are so hip with a single bare foot.
ALSO aller aux pieds nus = to go barefoot
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.
Aujourd’hui, c’est le jour pour manger les restes!
Today’s the day for eating the leftovers!
OOPS!
We must have eaten too much turkey and lost our heads! The gender of la dinde was incorrect in yesterday’s e-mail. The word is feminine. You can see the corrected post here.
THIS WEEK
We’re celebrating Thanksgiving with the vocabulary of the holiday.
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Il faut payer des impôts sur les revenus. We have to pay taxes on income.
TODAY Note how the French often use the plural les revenus instead of the singular form of the word as we do with income in English. It’s one example of singular and plural differences between the two languages.
Dans les chansons de Noël françaises des années
passées, on met les souliers par la cheminée.
In French Christmas songs of years gone by, les souliers are put by the fireplace.
MORE ABOUT TODAY’S WORD Les souliers is an old-fashioned, or démodé, synonym for chaussures — shoes. In Christmas songs from the early part of the 20th Century, the word comes up frequently. Les souliers are often referred to nostalgically, because they are part of the longstanding tradition of French children putting their shoes by the fireplace in hopes that Le Père Noël will fill them. This tradition continues today.
THIS WEEK
We’re celebrating the holidays with words about the season.
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Ses talons hauts sont très chics, mais ils lui provoquent des douleurs aux pieds. Her high heels are very fashionable, but they cause her feet to ache.
THIS WEEK We were inspired by an event held by Handicap International featuring pyramids of shoes piled up to protest the use of mines. Check out this pyramid of shoes in Paris. We couldn’t help but think of all those shoes and how to talk about them.
Elle porte ses tongs pendant ses vacances à la plage. She wears her flip-flops during her vacation at the beach.
THIS WEEK We were inspired by an event held by Handicap International featuring pyramids of shoes piled up to protest the use of mines. Check out this pyramid of shoes in Paris. We couldn’t help but think of all those shoes and how to talk about them.
Si vous avez une question, levez la main s’il vous plaît. If you have a question, raise your hand please.
TODAY Our phrase is one of many essential ones you may encounter in the classroom. For more classroom words, click here.
HOW’S YOUR CLASSROOM VOCABULARY?
Take our Classroom Quiz to find out if you know how to say raise your hand in French and more French classroom vocabulary words.
Je voudrais louer une voiture, s’il vous plaît. I would like to rent a car, please.
THIS WEEK We always enjoy covering vocabulary topics about travel, because they contain essential words and phrases for French language learners who want to visit a French-speaking country. This week, we’ll look at useful French words and phrases for renting a car.
to lose weight (get thin)/to gain weight (get fat)
Elle maigrit pendant que son mari grossit.
She’s losing weightwhile her husband’s gaining weight.
TODAY Our words are examples of regular -ir verbs. To learn how to conjugate regular -ir verbs, check out our -ir verb conjugation page in our Quick Verb Guide. Here are also a few links to other regular -ir verbs we’ve published in the past that you might find useful:
Je ne peux pas voir Sophie, parce que j’ai manqué le train.
Elle me manque. Je manque de patience.
I’m not going to see Sophie, because I missed the train.
I miss her. I lack patience.
MORE ABOUT MANQUER As if all the prepositions weren’t tough enough, manquer, in the sense of missing someone, is often a very difficult verb for native English speakers to master, because the word order isn’t the same as in English. In French, when we say elle me manque (or elle manque à moi), we are literally saying she is missing to me. This is simply one of those little things about the French language that must be learned. You might find it helpful to repeat the phrase to yourself several times to get the hang of thinking about it that way.
THIS WEEK
In French, a verb’s meaning can change considerably depending upon the preposition that follows it. This week, we’ll look at verbs and prepositions to see how several common verbs’ meanings can change slightly, or sometimes significantly. This is also a good time to remind ourselves that French verbs do not always take the same prepositions as their English counterparts.
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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.
Laissez-le mijoter pendant deux heures. Let it simmer for two hours.
MORE
As a noun, un mijoté is a stew.
THIS WEEK
We go back to one of our favorite places — la cuisine, or the kitchen — to explore words you might encounter in recipes.
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ABOUT TODAY’S WORD Mon chou, although masculine, can be used to refer both to males and females. Think of mon chou as something of a pet name that would only be used with someone who is quite close or familiar. Chou also happens to mean cabbage.
RELATED VOCABULARY
You can also say my dear with the phrase mon chéri or ma chérie.
THIS WEEK
Ah, l’amour…. The subject of love was among our most popular Word of the Day topics last year. With Valentine’s Day this week, there’s no better time to explore the French language of love.
EN SAVOIR PLUS – Learn More Check out more words about love that we posted last Valentine’s Day:
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Il faut monter dans le train 10 minutes avant le départ. We have to board the train 10 minutes before departure.
THIS WEEK One of the easiest and most popular ways to get around France is to take the train, or le train. Today’s word is among those that will get us on our way.
LEARN MORE ABOUT -ER VERBS LIKE MONTER
Check out our Quick Verb Guide to learn how to conjugate -er verbs like monter.
Je suis monté en voiture, et j’ai mis ma ceinture de sécurité. I got in the car, and I put on my seat belt.
TODAY
When you learn the word for car, la voiture, in French class, the vocabulary sometimes doesn’t go too far beyond that. But there is, of course, so much vocabulary related to cars and driving. Today’s phrase was selected to help you get beyond la voiture and get you moving.
Vous pouvez commencer n’importe quand.
You can start anytime.
GRAMMAR NOTE N’importe quand behaves like an adverb of time. It is common for it to come at the end of the sentence.
THIS WEEK We’re looking at some adverbs of time and frequency. Their placement can be a little tricky, but, in general, adverbs of time are placed at the beginning or end of a sentence, while adverbs of frequency are generally placed after the conjugated verb. Sound like too much? Don’t worry. Over time, as you learn French, your ear will start to guide you.
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Used as an adjective to express the idea of none at all:
Savez-vous la limite de vitesse? Non, je n‘ai aucune idée. Do you know the speed limit? No, I don’t have any idea.
Used at the beginning of a sentence: Aucun livre n‘était dans le sac à dos. Not a single book was in the backpack.
THE GRAMMAR Whether used at the beginning or elsewhere in the sentence, aucun comes directly before the word it describes and ne must precede the verb. It can also be used as a one-word reply to a question:
Vous n’avez vraiment aucune idée? (You really have no idea?)
Il ne va jamais au cinéma le dimanche. He never goes to the movies on Sundays.
THE GRAMMAR The ne…jamais construction functions exactly like the ne…pas and ne…plus constructions, with the words surrounding the main verb. Unlike those, jamais can be used as a one-word reply to a question.
TODAY
We’re giving everyone permission to be negative — in French! Today’s example is one of many common negative constructions.
With present tense:
Je ne veux pas travailler. I don’t want to work. Note that ne…pas must surround the verb, in this case the word veux.
With a direct object:
Voulez-vous ce manteau? Non, je ne le veux pas.
Do you want this coat? No, I don’t want it. Note than the direct object le must come after ne and before the verb.
With passé composé:
Je n‘ai pas dit ça.
I didn’t say that. Note that ne…pas must surround the auxiliary verb in the past tense.
THE GRAMMAR
The most common of all negative structures in French, the construction ne…pas must be placed around the main verb. The ne comes before the verb, and pas follows it.
THIS WEEK
Last week, we looked at words that were all about possibilities. But let’s face it. Nothing can be possible, or positive, all the time. So, this week we’re giving everyone permission to be negative — in French! We’re looking at some of the most common negative words and sentence structures.
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Used with the present tense: Je ne vois personne au bureau. I don’t see anyone in the office.
Used with the passé composé: Je n‘ai entendu personne. I heard no one.
Used as the subject of a sentence: Personne ne vient ce soir. Nobody’s coming tonight.
Used as a one-word reply:
Qui avez-vous vu? (Who have you seen?) Personne! (No one!)
THE GRAMMAR Did you notice the difference in the way ne…personne functions in the passé composé? Unlike the other negatives we’ve looked at this week in which the negative structure surrounds the auxiliary verb, personne actually comes after the past participle. For example, one would say je n’ai rien vu (I saw nothing), but je n’ai vu personne (I saw no one).
THIS WEEK
Last week, we looked at words that were all about possibilities. But let’s face it. Nothing can be possible, or positive, all the time. So, this week we’re giving everyone permission to be negative — in French! We’re looking at some of the most common negative words and sentence structures.
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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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Je ne vais plus au supermarché le samedi. I no longer go to the supermarket on Saturdays.
THE GRAMMAR
Note how this construction must be placed around the verb. The ne comes before the verb, and plus follows it. As sentences become more complicated, ne…plus functions exactly like ne…pas from yesterday’s example.
THIS WEEK
Last week, we looked at words that were all about possibilities. But let’s face it. Nothing can be possible, or positive, all the time. So, this week we’re giving everyone permission to be negative — in French! We’re looking at some of the most common negative words and sentence structures.
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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Used in the present tense: Je n‘ai que trois dollars. I only have three dollars.
Used in the passé composé: Je n‘ai donné que cinq euros.
I only gave five euros.
THE GRAMMAR The ne…que construction functions much like other negative constructions we’ve reviewed this week. It is a common way for the French to express a limited amount. Today’s example sentence would be the equivalent of J’ai seulement trois dollars — simply a different way to say it. As with other constructions, ne precedes the verb. However, take note that the placement of que will vary, depending upon what is being limited. Consider two similar sentences with different meanings:
Il ne peut lire que le français. (He can read only French — as opposed to English or another language.)
Il ne peut que lire le français. (He can only read French — as opposed to writing or speaking.)
THIS WEEK
Last week, we looked at words that were all about possibilities. But let’s face it. Nothing can be possible, or positive, all the time. So, this week we’re giving everyone permission to be negative — in French! We’re looking at some of the most common negative words and sentence structures.
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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Used with the present tense: J’ai mal à l’estomac. Je ne mange rien. I have a stomach ache. I’m not eating anything.
Used with the passé composé: Je te jure, je n‘ai rien dit. I swear to you, I said nothing.
Used as the subject of a sentence: Rien n‘était prêt à manger. Nothing was ready to eat.
THE GRAMMAR
Within a sentence, ne…rien surrounds the verb just like ne…pas and ne…plus. Unlike those examples, however, it also can be used as the subject of a sentence. Additionally, it can be used as a one-word reply to a question:
Shall we leave?
(literal translation: to put up the sails)
il se fait tard. On met les voiles? It’s getting late. Shall we leave?
THIS WEEK
We have a special treat. One of the most difficult things about becoming fluent in French is learning to recognize all of the many idiom expressions — those phrases that mean something different than their literal meanings suggest. In English, think of the phrase It’s raining cats and dogs.
This week, a friend of our site, Bill Scoble, has assembled a great selection of commonly used French idioms for you. Add these to your vocabulary and you’ll sound like a native speaker in no time.
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Peux-tu venir ce soir? On verra.
Can you come tonight? We’ll see.
THIS WEEK Our vocabulary topic is expressions that matter. We’re covering some common phrases that come up in conversation so that you can both recognize them and use them to impress native French speakers. To see other vocabulary we’ve posted on this topic this week, visit us at www.frenchfanatic.com.
TEST YOUR LEARNING WITH OUR NEW QUIZ! Click here to take the quiz based on last week’s words.
J’ai oublié mes clés, et puis j’ai oublié de fermer la porte!
I forgot my keys, and then I forgot to close the door!
TODAY
In French, verbs may not always be followed by the same prepositions as their English equivalents. The verb oublier is one such example. While in English we say to forget to do something, the same idea is expressed in French by following the verb oublier with the preposition de. Click here to discover more examples of how French verbs and prepositions interact, sometimes creating meanings that are completely different from one preposition to another.
TEST YOUR SKILLS WITH PREPOSITIONS AND VERBS
Find out if you’ve mastered how to say to forget to in French and more with our Verbs and Prepositions Quiz.
Ouvrez la bouche et faites <<Aah.>> Open your mouth and say, “Aah.”
THIS WEEK
We’ll cover vocabulary useful for a visit to the doctor’s office, chez le médecin.
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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.
Parfois, j’aime chanter des chansons françaises.
Sometimes, I like to sing French songs.
GRAMMAR NOTE
As you can see, parfois is an adverb that doesn’t necessarily follow the pattern of most adverbs of frequency. Although it sometimes comes after the verb, you’ll more commonly hear it at the start of a sentence.
THIS WEEK We’re having a look at some adverbs of time and frequency. These words are critical in adding meaning to our conversations in French. Their placement can be a little tricky, but, in general, adverbs of time are placed at the beginning or end of a sentence, while adverbs of frequency are generally placed after the conjugated verb. Sound like too much? Don’t worry. Over time, as you learn French, your ear will start to guide you.
TRACK YOUR LEARNING WITH OUR QUIZ!
How well did you learn last week’s words? Take our Weekly Quiz to find out!
C’est l’année pour parier sur la Bourse? Is it the year to bet on the stock market?
THIS WEEK
We’re looking at words that remind us of all the possibilities of a new year.
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Start 2011 with a special expanded edition of our weekly quiz featuring 50 questions covering words we posted here throughout 2010, including selections from our Year in Review last week. Members who are logged into Voila! can go straight to this special benefit for our members by clicking here.
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Le fait que la table penche à gauche la rend folle. The fact that the table tilts to the left drives her crazy.
TODAY We always enjoy exploring French verbs that are important to everyday conversation but that 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.
Pour faire le pain, il faut souvent pétrir la pâte. In order to make break, you often have to knead the dough.
REGARDEZ UN VIDÉO!
Watch this bread recipe come together, tout en français! If you received this in our e-mail and are having difficulty viewing the video, click here.
THIS WEEK
Our topic is the breads of France — les pains de France. Bread plays such an important role in French cuisine and indeed the life of the French that it’s essential to learn to ask for the loaf you want. This week, we’re taking a look at some of the various loaves you’ll discover in the boulangeries of France, as well as a few words essential to understanding a French bread recipe.
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Tu comprends? Non, je ne pige pas. You understand? No, I don’t get it.
THIS WEEK
Every language is full of slang, or l’argot. French is no exception. This week, we’ll cover a selection of French slang words. These words are generally more informal, and you’ll want to use them only in familiar settings.
Enfin, Philippe décide que la perceuse peut fonctionner comme un tournevis plat et cruciforme. Cet outil est vraiment trois outils! Comment sa femme pourrait-elle se fâcher? Finally, Philippe decides that the drill can function as a flathead and Phillips screwdriver. This tool is really three tools! How could his wife become angry?
THIS WEEK
Our topic is do-it-youself home repair — le bricolage.
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L’homme a poursuivi le pickpocket à travers les rues de Paris.
The man chased the pickpocket through the streets of Paris.
ALSO chasser = to chase a person or animal
THIS WEEK We like to cover a broad range of vocabulary, ranging from the fun to the need-to-know. With that in mind, we’ll focus on the latter this week as we look at some of the French words for police and crime.
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TIP Using the correct form of pouvoir + an infinitive, as above, is an extremely common construction and one that will let you express all the actions that you can (or can’t) do. To make the above statement negative, place ne…pas on either side of the verb pouvoir: Je ne peux pas aller au supermarché (I can’t go to the supermarket).
THIS WEEK Our vocabulary topic is essential verbs for conversation. We’ll take a look at some of the verbs that are key to day-to-day conversation. For other common verbs, see our Quick Verb Guide at www.frenchfanatic.com.
THIS WEEK Our vocabulary topic is essential verbs for conversation. We’ll looking at some of the verbs that are key to day-to-day conversation. For other common verbs, see our Quick Verb Guide at www.frenchfanatic.com.
Les Américains et les Français ont pris d’assaut leurs cibles. The Americans and the French stormed their targets.
THIS WEEK With Independence Day in the United States this week and Bastille Day in France next, we’ll cover words related to these celebrations of freedom.
DISCOVER 700 WAYS OUR MEMBER SITE VOILÀ JUST GOT BETTER! Now, our members can easily navigate almost every one of the 700+ Words of the Day we’ve ever posted by topic with our NEW English-French vocabulary word list. Whether you want to learn more French words about Cars, the Doctor’s Office, Restaurants, Money, the Weather or other topics we’ve covered, it’s now easier than ever to find them and see the original examples. SEE FOR YOURSELF!
L’infirmière va prendre votre pouls avant que le docteur arrive.
The nurse is going to take your pulse before the doctor gets here.
THIS WEEK
We’ll cover vocabulary useful for a visit to the doctor’s office, chez le médecin.
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!
Puis-je prendre rendez-vous avec le médecin pour demain?
Can I make an appointment with the doctor for tomorrow?
THIS WEEK
We’ll cover vocabulary useful for a visit to the doctor’s office, chez le médecin.
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!
Paul prend une douche quand il se lève.
Paul takes a shower when he gets up.
THIS WEEK Our vocabulary topic is the bath and grooming.
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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.
Le docteur vous demande, <<Qu’est-ce qui ne va pas?>> The doctor asks you, “What’s wrong?”
THIS WEEK
We’ll cover vocabulary useful for a visit to the doctor’s office, chez le médecin.
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!
Quel temps fait-il aujourd’hui?
How’s the weather today?
There are a lot ways to respond to this question. Here are some of them:
Il fait beau: It’s nice. Il fait mauvais: It’s bad. Il fait du soleil: It’s sunny. Il fait chaud: It’s hot. Il fait froid: It’s cold. Il fait frais: It’s cool. Il fait du brouillard: It’s foggy. Il fait du vent: It’s windy. C’est nuageux: It’s cloudy. Il pleut: It’s raining. Il neige: It’s snowing.
Today’s post is one in our series of occasional beginning vocabulary topics to help new students of French. We will be interspersing these with our regular, more advanced vocabulary. To see more words, please visit our site www.frenchfanatic.com to browse the archives.
Quelle heure est-il, Henri?
What time is it, Henri?
Henri might respond to this question in a number of ways:
It’s two o’clock: Il est deux heures. It’s a quarter past two: Il est deux heures et quart. It’s two thirty: Il est deux heures et demie.
It’s a quarter until three: Il est trois heures moins le quart. It’s 2:23: Il est deux heures vingt-trois. It’s noon: Il est midi. It’s midnight: Il est minuit.
Elle préfère raccommoder les vêtements au lieu d’acheter de nouveaux. She prefers mending the clothes instead of buying new ones.
LEARN MORE
For a complete conjugation of raccommoder, visit conjugation-fr.com.
THIS WEEK
Let’s build our reservoir of useful verbs by looking at a few that don’t necessarily come up a lot but nonetheless come in handy.
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À quelle heure dois-je ramener la voiture? What time do I have to return the car?
THIS WEEK We always enjoy covering vocabulary topics about travel, because they contain essential words and phrases for French language learners who want to visit a French-speaking country. This week, we’ve been looking at useful French words and phrases for renting a car.
Imaginons ce qu’ils se disent(Let’s imagine what they say to each other): J’en ai marre de cette conversation. Je rampe dans le frigo! I’m sick of this conversation. I’m crawling into the fridge!
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.
Plus d’un million de personnes ont rassemblé dans les rues. More than a million people gathered in the streets.
THIS WEEK
Our attention turns to current events in France, where demonstrators have been protesting proposed changes to the retirement age in the country. We’re covering some of the vocabulary of the current strikes.
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Il faut souvent redémarrer l’ordinateur après une mise à jour.
You often have to reboot the computer after an update.
OUR FAVORITE WORDS FROM 2010
This week, we’re reviewing our favorite Words of the Day from 2010. We loved the phrase redémarrer l’ordinateur, or to reboot the computer, for its sheer practicality. Unless you live in a cave, even living in France will not save you from the need to discuss this subject from time to time.
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Le docteur vous rédige une ordonnance pour soigner la toux. The doctor writes you a prescription to treat the cough.
THIS WEEK
We’ve been covering vocabulary useful for a visit to the doctor’s office, chez le médecin.
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Rembobinez le film jusqu’à la scène que vous voulez regarder de nouveau. Rewind the film to the scene that you want to watch again.
THIS WEEK
We’ll cover words to describe how we manipulate and manage time.
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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Visiter la France, c’est comme remonter dans le temps. To visit France is like going back in time.
THIS WEEK
We’ll cover words to describe how we manipulate and manage time.
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.
Ces athlètes ont remporté le plus de médailles.
These athletes won the most medals.
THIS WEEK
In honor of the Winter Olympic Games —lesJeux Olympiques d’Hiver in French — we’ll be exploring some of the vocabulary of these exciting days in Vancouver.
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter for more thoughts on all things French.
Nous sommes restés chez nous hier soir.
We stayed at home last night.
Rester is a regular -er verb that is also among a group of verbs often classified as verbs of motion. The compound tenses of these verbs are conjugated with être rather than avoir. These verbs typically express a state of coming, going or, in this case, staying.
Click here to see how another verb like rester is conjugated.
Georges a réussi à son examen d’anglais. Il réussit à tout ce qu’il essaie de faire.
Georges passed his English exam. He succeeds at everything he tries to do.
Réussir is a regular -ir verb.
To learn how to conjugate verbs like réussir, click here.
Tout le monde sait l’histoire de Rodolphe, le renne au nez rouge.
Everyone knows the story of Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer.
This week, we’re having fun with vocabulary related to the holiday season. To see other words we’ve posted on this topic, visit us at www.frenchfanatic.com.
Il a rompu avec sa petite amie de trois ans. He broke up with his girlfriend of three years.
LEARN MORE
For a complete conjugation of today’s verb, visit conjugation-fr.com.
THIS WEEK
We’re building our reservoir of useful verbs by looking at a few that are not necessarily the most common but are nonetheless good to know.
VOILÀ! LE NOUVEAU QUIZ Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz by clicking here.
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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.
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.
Je crois que nous aurons une table libre dans dix minutes.
–Merci. C’est possible de nous asseoir au bar pendant que nous attendons?
Bien sûr. Je vous amène. Suivez-moi.
I believe we’ll have a free table in ten minutes.
–Thank you. Is it possible to sit at the bar while we wait?
Of course. I’ll take you. Follow me.
THIS WEEK
When you visit France as a native English speaker, everyday interactions that you take for granted at home can suddenly feel like a lot of work. But they also can be very rewarding. This week, we’re going to look at one such common interaction — walking into a café or restaurant and knowing what to say and learning to recognize some of the responses. We’ll actually build a conversation throughout the week to help you learn key words and phrases.
De la langue française, nous nous attendons à en apprendre davantage cette année. When it comes to the French language, we expect to learn more this year.
TODAY
Our word is inspired by new beginnings and the possibilities that come with them. It’s just one of many verbs we’ve posted. Click here to discover more.
QUIZ LINK
Test yourself on today’s word and others about the possibilities of new beginnings here.
Les vagues s’écrasent sur les rochers. The waves crash on the rocks.
TODAY Our vocabulary word is inspired by the seaside. After you’ve learned how to say to crash in French, follow the links below to learn more French vocabulary words about la mer, the sea.
Nous étions si fatigués que nous nous sommes endormis à 20h! We were so tired that we fell asleep at 8 o’clock!
THIS WEEK Most of us spend about a third of our lives sleeping. Let’s explore some French words about sleep and the activities related to it this week.
Je m’engage sur l’autoroute vers Marseille.
I’m taking the highway (motorway) to Marseille.
MORE ABOUT THIS EXPRESSION This expression could be used with any road:
Je m’engage sur la 101. (I take the 101.)
Je m’engage sur la route N79. (I take the N79.)
Engagez-vous sur la route à péage. (Take the toll road.)
TODAY
When you learn the word for car, la voiture, in French class, the vocabulary sometimes doesn’t go too far beyond that. But there is, of course, so much vocabulary related to cars and driving. Today, we’ll help you get past la voiture to a practical phrase that will keep you moving.
J’ai une réservation. Puis-je m’inscrire?
I have a reservation. Can I register?
TODAY
Our word is among essential vocabulary for checking into a hotel. If you’re planning a trip to France or another French-speaking country now or just someday in the future, this is a word you’ll want to pack in your suitcase. Bon voyage!
Elle s’est emmitouflée dans un manteau d’hiver. She bundled herself up in a winter coat.
OUR FAVORITE WORDS FROM 2010
This week, we’re reviewing our favorite Words of the Day from 2010. Today’s word made the list just because we like the way it sounds. You can almost hear the act of bundling up in the sound of the verb. Emmitouflez-vous!
VOILÀ! LE NOUVEAU QUIZ Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz by clicking here.
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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.
Les colons et les soldats britanniques se sont battus les uns les autres. The colonists and the British soldiers fought against each other.
THIS WEEK With Independence Day in the United States this week and Bastille Day in France next, we’ll cover words related to these celebrations of freedom.
DISCOVER 700 WAYS OUR MEMBER SITE VOILÀ JUST GOT BETTER! Now, our members can easily navigate almost every one of the 700+ Words of the Day we’ve ever posted by topic with our NEW English-French vocabulary word list. Whether you want to learn more French words about Cars, the Doctor’s Office, Restaurants, Money, the Weather or other topics we’ve covered, it’s now easier than ever to find them and see the original examples. SEE FOR YOURSELF!
Il faisait si froid que je me suis blotti dans mon lit. It was so cold that I snuggled up in my bed.
EN SAVOIR PLUS: Learn More The example above explains how to express snuggling in something. To express the idea of snuggling up with someone, you would use the preposition contre: La fille s’est blottie contre sa mère (The girl snuggled up with her mother).
TODAY Most of us spend about a third of our lives sleeping. Today’s word is inspired by sleep and the activities related to it.
Je me suis couché après avoir fini mes devoirs. I went to bed after finishing my homework.
EN SAVOIR PLUS: Learn More Note the difference between today’s word, se coucher, which means only to go to bed, and yesterday’s word, s’endormir, which means to fall asleep.
THIS WEEK Most of us spend about a third of our lives sleeping. Let’s explore some French words about sleep and the activities related to it this week.
Enfin, je me suis débarrassé de mon rhume.
Finally, I got rid of my cold.
THIS WEEK
Our vocabulary topic has been the common cold. We hope if you now ever find yourself under the weather in a French-speaking country, you’ll be just a little more prepared!
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Mesdames, Messieurs, votre table est prête. On vous fait asseoir, si vous voulez. Ladies, gentlemen, your table is ready. We’ll seat you now, if you like.
TODAY
When you visit France as a native English speaker, everyday interactions that you take for granted at home can suddenly feel like a lot of work. But they also can be very rewarding. Today’s example illustrates one such common interaction — walking into a café or restaurant and knowing what to say and learning to recognize some of the responses. The dialogue here was originally part of a weeklong exercise in which we built an entire conversation that you can see here.
MORE FRENCH RESTAURANT VOCABULARY
After you’ve learned to say to seat someone in French, follow the links below to discover more French words and phrases useful for a visit to a restaurant or café:
Les écoles se font concurrence dans les matchs de football. Schools play against each other in football (soccer) games.
MORE ABOUT FAIRE Faire, which literally means to do or to make, is among the most common of French verbs. It is used in many expressions. To learn how to conjugate it, have a look at our entry on faire in our Quick Verb Guide.
DID YOU KNOW?
In French, le football means soccer. If you want to talk about the American sport of football, you should say lefootball américain.
TODAY
We’re learning some of the basic vocabulary of the classroom. If you’re studying French for the first time, get ahead of the curve with these words and phrases — and maybe even impress le prof!
DISCOVER MORE FRENCH CLASSROOM VOCABULARY WORDS Once you’ve mastered how to say to compete in French, learn these other classroom vocabulary words.
Bonjour, je voudrais me faire couper les cheveux. Hello, I’d like to get a haircut.
RELATED WORDS
a haircut = une coupe
a trim = un rafraîchissement
TODAY
Fashion and beauty is a serious part of French culture. Consequently, a trip to the salon or barbershop is tout à fait essentiel. Today, our words will help you navigate your trip to the salon.
QUIZ LINK
Test yourself on today’s word and others like it here.
Je dois me lever à 6h demain. I have to get up at 6 a.m. tomorrow.
ALSO RELATED se réveiller = to wake up
éveillé(e)(s) = awake
THIS WEEK Most of us spend about a third of our lives sleeping. This week, we’ve been exploring some French words about sleep and the activities related to it.
Ginette se maquille avant de sortir.
Ginette puts on makeup before going out.
THIS WEEK We’ll continue exploring the bath and grooming. You might notice that this topic has two parts — the bath part and the grooming part. Our ambitions to cover both last week were a little larger than the number of days in the week. So, having covered the bath, we’ll focus on grooming now.
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En fait, Sophie croit qu’elle veut se marier avec Paul
In fact, Sophie believes she wants to marry Paul.
THIS WEEK
Ah, l’amour…. The subject of love was among our most popular Word of the Day topics last year. With Valentine’s Day this week, there’s no better time to explore the French language of love.
EN SAVOIR PLUS – Learn More Check out more words about love that we posted last Valentine’s Day:
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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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Je me suis promené à travers la ville.
I took a walk through the city.
NOTE
As you can see, se promener is a reflexive verb. In a way, it is as if to say you are walking yourself. You also can use promener as a non-reflexive verb to express the act of walking something else — your dog, for instance. You could say: Je promène le chien. (I’m walking the dog.)
ALSO To express the action of walking when there is no object, use the verb marcher (to walk).For example: Il a marché toute la journée. (He walked all day.)
TODAY Our word is inspired by activities we can do à pied (on foot).
QUIZ LINK
Test yourself on today’s word and others like it with this quiz.
Bertrand se rase avec de l’eau chaude.
Bertrand shaves with hot water.
THIS WEEK We’re exploring a second week of the bath and grooming. You might notice that this topic has two parts — the bath part and the grooming part. Our ambitions to cover both last week were a little larger than the number of days in the week. So, having covered the bath, we’ll focus on grooming now.
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Janet se spécialise en français. Et moi, je me spécialise en anglais. Janet’s majoring in French. And I’m majoring in English.
THIS WEEK
With the return of so many students to classrooms at the end of this month and early next, it’s a perfect time to get grounded in some of the basic vocabulary of the classroom. If you’re studying French for the first time, get ahead of the curve with these words and phrases — and maybe even impress le prof!
BACK-TO-SCHOOL VERB PRACTICE! Teachers, tell your students about our 4 new verb practice exercises — 100 questions total! — that we’ve added to our Voilà! members area. The online practice sessions make it easy to gain proficiency in -er, -ir, -re and the most common irregular verbs. For a sneak peek of Voilà!, click here. READY TO JOIN US?SUBSCRIBE TODAY!
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.
if it suits you
(literal, unused translation: if it sings to you)
On va au magasin cet après-midi, si ça vous chante.
We’ll go to the store this afternoon, if you like.
TODAY
One of the most difficult things about becoming fluent in French is learning to recognize all of the many idiom expressions — those phrases that mean something different than their literal meanings suggest. In English, think of the phrase It’s raining cats and dogs. Today’s phrase, originally suggested by Bill Scoble, a friend of our site, is a similar example. Add phrases like this to your vocabulary, and you’ll sound like a native speaker in no time.
Philippe sort l’aspirateur du placard. Philippe is taking the vacuum cleaner out of the closet.
Philippe sort à 19h00.
Philippe is leaving at 7 o’ clock.
GRAMMAR NOTES Sortir is usually first learned as an intransitive verb meaning to go out. However, when used with an object, or as a transitive verb, it means to take something out or get something out. Interestingly, these two meanings also require different auxiliary verbs to form the past tense. When using sortir to mean to leave or to go out, conjugate the passé composé with être: Elle est sortie (She left). But when using sortir as a transitive verb to mean to take something out, conjugate the passé composé with avoir: Elle a sorti les œufs (She took out the eggs).
TODAY
Our word is inspired by a topic that has been very popular with our readers in the past — le ménage, or housework.
Sophie sort avec Paul depuis six mois.
Sophie has been going out with Paul for six months.
THIS WEEK
Ah, l’amour…. The subject of love was among our most popular Word of the Day topics last year. With Valentine’s Day this week, there’s no better time to explore the French language of love.
EN SAVOIR PLUS – Learn More Check out more words about love that we posted last Valentine’s Day:
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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Quand elle avait la grippe, du thé chaud la soulageait. When she had the flu, some hot tea made her feel better.
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.
La police soupçonne la jeune fille de voler de l’argent.
The police suspect the young girl of stealing the money.
THIS WEEK We like to cover a broad range of vocabulary, ranging from the fun to the need-to-know. With that in mind, we’ll focus on the latter this week as we look at some of the French words for police and crime.
TRACK YOUR LEARNING WITH OUR QUIZ!
How well did you learn last week’s words? Take our Weekly Quiz to find out!
Le juge a statué en faveur du demandeur. The judge ruled in favor of the plaintiff.
THIS WEEK
It’s our own version of a courtroom drama here at French Fanatic as we examine the vocabulary of the court.
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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Ils sont assis maintenant. (They’re seated now.) Alors, Monsieur. Qu’est-ce que vous nous suggérez ce soir?
So, what do you suggest this evening.
ATTENTION! While you may have learned that garçon is the French word for waiter, keep in mind that in this day and age it is not polite to address your server as garçon. Monsieur is more appropriate. You might also note that Monsieur is not translated in the above example. That’s because, in French, this form of address is used more freely than in English. Although it may sound formal, it’s less formal that its nearest equivalent, Sir, would be an English.
THIS WEEK
When you visit France as a native English speaker, everyday interactions that you take for granted at home can suddenly feel like a lot of work. But they also can be very rewarding. This week, we’re going to look at one such common interaction — walking into a café or restaurant and knowing what to say and learning to recognize some of the responses. We’ll actually build a conversation throughout the week to help you learn key words and phrases.
Je veux suivre un cours en astronomie. I want to take a class in astronomy.
TODAY
Our word is part of the basic vocabulary of the classroom. If you’re studying French for the first time, get ahead of the curve with words like these — and maybe even impress le prof!
QUIZ LINK
Test yourself on today’s word and others like it here.
Elle a tartiné de beurre une tranche de pain grillé. She buttered (spread butter on) on a slice of toast.
THIS WEEK
We go back to one of our favorite places — la cuisine, or the kitchen — to explore words you might encounter in recipes.
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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Elle doit travailler après les heures normales pour tenir les comptes. She has to work after normal hours to keep the books.
THIS WEEK Small shop owners and entrepreneurs make up a significant part of businesses in France. This week we’ll learn words about small business, or petit commerce.
DISCOVER 700 WAYS OUR MEMBER SITE VOILÀ JUST GOT BETTER! Now, our members can easily navigate almost every one of the 700+ Words of the Day we’ve ever posted by topic with our NEW English-French vocabulary word list. Whether you want to learn more French words about Cars, the Doctor’s Office, Restaurants, Money, the Weather or other topics we’ve covered, it’s now easier than ever to find them and see the original examples. SEE FOR YOURSELF!
Si vous tergiversez, vous n’aurez pas le temps pour voir le film. If you procrastinate, you won’t have time to see the film.
THIS WEEK
We’ll cover words to describe how we manipulate and manage time.
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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Il est de coutume de tirer des coups de feu aux célébrations. It’s customary to fire shots at the celebrations.
THIS WEEK With Independence Day in the United States this week and Bastille Day in France next, we’ll cover words related to these celebrations of freedom.
DISCOVER 700 WAYS OUR MEMBER SITE VOILÀ JUST GOT BETTER! Now, our members can easily navigate almost every one of the 700+ Words of the Day we’ve ever posted by topic with our NEW English-French vocabulary word list. Whether you want to learn more French words about Cars, the Doctor’s Office, Restaurants, Money, the Weather or other topics we’ve covered, it’s now easier than ever to find them and see the original examples. SEE FOR YOURSELF!
Jean-Pierre est tombé amoureux de Sophie, et elle est tombée amoureuse de lui.
Jean-Pierre fell in love with Sophie, and she fell in love with him.
A FRENCH FANATIC FAVORITE
Today’s word is not just one of our favorite words; it’s one of yours, too. Tomber amoureux, to fall in love, was the most visited word posted on French Fanatic in 2010 and continues to be among the most viewed of all the words we’ve ever posted. With Valentine’s Day approaching, it seemed the perfect time to revisit it.
Où a été tourné ce film?
Where was this film shot?
HERE’S YOUR TICKET TO MORE FRENCH FILM VOCABULARY
Now that you’ve learned to say to shoot (a film) in French, follow the links below to discover more French vocabulary words about movies and filmmaking.
Ouvrez vos livres et tournez à la page trois. Open your books and turn to page three.
THIS WEEK Many students will be learning French for the first time over the next few weeks as schools kick off a new year. If the French language, or la langue française, is new to you, get a jump start on it with this week’s words about the classroom.
Voulez-vous manger tout de suite?
Do you want to eat right away?
GRAMMAR NOTE Tout de suite is an adverb of time.
THIS WEEK We’re looking at some adverbs of time and frequency. Their placement can be a little tricky, but, in general, adverbs of time are placed at the beginning or end of a sentence, while adverbs of frequency are generally placed after the conjugated verb. Sound like too much? Don’t worry. Over time, as you learn French, your ear will start to guide you.
TRACK YOUR LEARNING WITH OUR QUIZ!
How well did you learn last week’s words? Take our Weekly Quiz to find out!
TIP If we’re going to lose things, we’re going to have to be able to find them, too — even in French! And as it turns out, you’ll discover we lose and find things quite a bit. Knowing chercher and trouver will help you express that.
TODAY Our vocabulary topic is essential verbs for conversation. We’re reviewing one of the verbs that is key to day-to-day conversation. For other common verbs, including an example of how to conjugate other -er verbs like trouver, see our Quick Verb Guide at www.frenchfanatic.com.
Les appareils photo numériques d’aujourd’hui sont moins chers.
Today’s digital cameras are cheaper.
THIS WEEK Our vocabulary topic is la technologie (technology).
VOILÀ SUBSCRIBERS, TAKE THIS WEEK’S QUIZ Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz by clicking here.
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Pour se détendre, plongez-vous dans un bain moussant.
To relax, immerse yourself in a bubble bath.
THIS WEEK Our vocabulary topic is the bath and grooming.
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Les baladeurs MP3 les plus populaires sont les iPods.
The most popular MP3 players are the iPods.
THIS WEEK Our vocabulary topic is la technologie (technology).
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Don’t miss out on weekly Quizzes that help you review our daily words and other features we’ve reserved for just for members of Voilà. When you subscribe, you’ll get more out of your Word of the Day with these exclusive features:
Un balai de sorcière fait souvent partie de nos contes d’Halloween. A witch’s broom is often part of our Halloween tales.
THIS WEEK
We can’t help but think of all the witches and goblins and ghosts that will take to the streets for Halloween this weekend. Although Halloween remains a bit of a novelty in France, it continues to grow in popularity. Join us as we ramble through the spooky vocabulary of the holiday.
VOILÀ! LE NOUVEAU QUIZ Members of our Voilà service can go straight to this week’s quiz by clicking here.
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REINFORCE TODAY’S WORD WITH OUR QUIZ
Take our French Small Business Vocabulary Quiz to see if you can recognize the word for profit in French and practice more business vocabulary words.
Avez-vous besoin d’un billet aller simple ou un billet aller et retour? Do you need a one-way ticket or a roundtrip ticket?
THIS WEEK One of the easiest and most popular ways to get around France is to take the train, or le train. Let’s learn some vocabulary this week that will get us on our way.
Elle a gardé le billet-doux toutes ces années.
She kept the love letter all these years.
NOTE A love letter also may be translated as une lettre d’amour.
THIS WEEK
Ah, l’amour…. The subject of love was among our most popular Word of the Day topics last year. With Valentine’s Day this week, there’s no better time to explore the French language of love.
EN SAVOIR PLUS – Learn More Check out more words about love that we posted last Valentine’s Day:
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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.
On fait le brushing avec un sèche-cheveux. We do the blow-dry with a hairdryer.
TODAY
Fashion and beauty is a serious part of French culture. Consequently, a trip to the salon or barbershop is tout à fait essentiel. Today, we’re looking at the vocabulary of the salon. Visit our site to discover more French fashion and beauty words.
Tous les étudiants sages restent aux bureaux. All the well-behaved students remain at the desks.
MORE ABOUT THIS WORD While most French nouns become plural simply by adding an s, bureau is an example of a word that forms its plural differently. Words that end in -eau usually form their plurals by adding an x.
THIS WEEK Many students will be learning French for the first time over the next few weeks as schools kick off a new year. If the French language, or la langue française, is new to you, get a jump start on it with this week’s words about the classroom.
Les horloges et les montres ont normalement un cadran et deux aiguilles.
Clocks and watches normally have a dial and two hands.
TODAY We’re exploring a common topic that is covered early on in most French classes — the time — but with a level of detail you might not have learned before.
Les canards nagent dans l’étang.
The ducks swim in the pond.
THIS WEEK Our vocabulary topic is au parc (at the park).
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Un canard fait coin-coin.
A duck goes quack-quack.
THIS WEEK Spring has us thinking about the animals among us — all those creatures many of us might run across while outside this time of year. This week, we’ll learn the names of these animals in French.
Un appareil photo numérique utilise un capteur.
A digital camera uses a sensor.
THIS WEEK Our vocabulary topic is la technologie (technology).
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Coco Chanel a commencé sa carrière en faisant des chapeaux.
Coco Chanel began her career making hats.
Regardez. For this Friday’s video, we thought we’d go for something completely different than the cartoons we’ve had the past few weeks. Below is the trailer for the French film Coco Avant Chanel, which takes a look at the life of the influential 20th century fashion designer. Accompanied by English subtitles, the film provides a great way to learn some French while enjoying learning something of the history of this iconic figure in the fashion world.
Combien coûte-t-il pour ajouter un conducteur supplémentaire? How much does it cost to add an extra driver?
TODAY We always enjoy covering vocabulary topics about travel, because they contain essential words and phrases for French language learners who want to visit a French-speaking country. Today, we’re looking at a useful French word for a conversation about renting a car.
Il m’a donné un conseil très important. He gave me a very important piece of advice.
BY THE NUMBERS Note how the French would say un conseil to denote a specific piece of advice but desconseils to express advice in a more indefinite sense. For example, Avez-vous des conseils? (Do you have any advice?) The difference between French and English in the latter example is that the French use a plural word for advice, while, in English, we have a singular word that denotes an indefinite quantity. These are examples of singular and plural differences between the two languages.
Quand le coq chante, il fait cocorico. When the rooster sings, he goes cock-a-doodle-doo.
THIS WEEK Spring has us thinking about the animals among us — all those creatures many of us might run across while outside this time of year. This week, we’ll learn the names of these animals in French.
Louise cueille toujours des coquillages et les transforme en colliers. Louise always gathers seashells and turns them into necklaces.
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.
