Today's photo has nothing to do with le mot du jour — not unless you want it to. Click to enlarge this image (…of one of our testy tournesols, in the front yard).
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furax (fyur-aks) adjective
: livid, furious, hopping mad
synonym: furibard(e)
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A Day in a French Life… will continue on Wednesday. Meantime, please give us your favorite French word (or share your favorite French expression); click here to share it or to see the submitted words!
Merci beaucoup & à bientôt!
Kristin
PS: a slangy expression that I find amusing, and sometimes hear the French use, is "idem" [ee-dem]. It means "ditto".
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This is so great. Is there a French expression for “When all is said and done…?” Because when that happens, I’m going to print out this fabulous list.
I love the old French word “saperlipopette”.
It means whoops-a-daisey. May be used in other ways as well I suppose, but do not know what those ways could be.
ebuvette
Kalaiedoscope (sp?) It was part of a pronunciation exercise during my first year of French. I mastered the pronunciation and felt super! I love to say this word. Also, I agree, fauteuil is fun to say!
I love the sound of the slang form of “je ne sais pas”, pronounced “shay-pah”.
And one of my favorite words is “franchement”…throw it pretty much anywhere, in any sentence, and you will sound like a veteran francophone!
I like seduisante, the way it sounds and the many layers of meaning it can convey, so much more than “seductive” in English. Poubelle always gives me a giggle, such a pretty word for a trash can.
My students love “ananas” pineapple. They think it’s funny.
I discovered “ch’tis” about a yr ago when I was in France. Apparently it refers to the redneck, white trash qui habite au nord de France et il y a un film aussi!
I also like “les sanglots longs des violons” d’apres le poeme de Baudelaire(?) which was the code to announce D-Day ou J-Jour.
I saw the movie mentioned by Alice, “Bienvenu, chez le ch’tis” on the plane from San Francisco to Paris and have been looking for the DVD ever since in the format that will play in the U.S. Definitely a laugh out loud movie.
One of my favorite words is rigolo, meaning funny as an adjective or a person who jokes around a lot as a noun. To me, the word itself sounds funny.
Very interesting reading other people’s comments here! 🙂
One of my favourite phrases is “Leche la vitrine” which literally means licking the windows or windowshopping
Je vous adore! Not really my favorite… But all are so good!
Yes Jean, that expression is still used (or atl least it still was when I lived there in the late 70’s). I love it too and je trouve que beacoup de ces mots me font rigoler. Peut etre si on les utilise plus souvent, on ne parlera pas francais comme une vache espagnole!
“c’est mon avis…et je le partage” has become my tag-line. Ironicaly, I agree with everyone else’s posts! Vachement fun! (et vive le franglais!)
“Jus d’orange”… love the way this word swishes importantly around the tongue! It is a nostalgic favourite as it is one of the first words my children picked up when we did a drive around holiday in France many years ago when they were 8 and 9 years old… “frites et ketchup et … JUS D’ORANGE” they would say both giggling!
I have several faves as far as mots francais are concerned. One is the expression “Quel gachis!” (What a mess!). I also love the sound of “fripouille” (scoundrel,rascal–but why is it feminine?). And as for animals, I love “moufette”–it sounds way too cute to be a skunk.
Oui! (YES!)
Maybe if everyone said yes to something they would normally say “no” to the world would be a better place! Agree?
“D’accord,” by far. When I hear it I know I have successfully communicated in a language not my own. Also,”souterrain,” for the sound it has and its wonderfull ability to make an,”underpass,” sound sophisticated and for being totally descriptive.
mes favorites:
Mince alors !
Faire des emplettes
Mon chou
“miam, miam” Because my future French mom, loves to hear me when I say this. (not sure if it’s how I pronounce it… or maybe because she sees me as a big kid when eating sweets)
another favorite, when we first met, a couple of days later ma copine sent me a text.. “coucou” (i thought to myself, mmmm.. this girl just called me a cou-cou!!) she laughed all day when i asked her about it. (yes, i laughed too… mon ange c’est crazy)
Favorite word: Egalement. Youo hear it all the time in conversation. Favorite expression: Qui se ressemble s’assemble (birds of a feather…)
Sophia
The post about not asking why, reminded me of an e-mail I received when I first started learning this language. The message said, “Don’t ask why. After all, there is no why in French, only pourquoi!” [which of course is literally ‘for what’] The point was there is never a good answer to why, so take it as it comes. Which then led to the most common French phrase;
“C’est comme ca!”
My favorite phrase in French comes from he book Le Petit Prince. As the Little Prince is watching the developement of the flower bud which will become “his” rose, he sees that she dresses herself slowly, adjusting her petals one by one because she does not wish to show herself “toute fripee comme les coquelicots”. I love to say the words out loud, they never fail to please. (And while roses are lovely, I also enjoy the wrinkled poppies). Thanks for making us smile day after day.
tu ~ you (sweeter than vous,
when it happens to you)
Mouchoir is one of my favorites. I love the sound of the word, and a pretty one in my purse is so special! Mouche is another favorite. I once had a cat named Mouche (after a cat that Victor Hugo owned). And the word mouche has many meanings.
My favourite French expression is “bonne continuation”. No, we don’t hear bonne canicule! Quand même.
I often heard my boss, when speaking with his French compatriots using the word “tartempion” (any old so-and-so, or any Tom, Dick & Harry). It was only a few months ago that I saw the word written and was able to get the actual translation. That is my current favorite word.
My favorite expression is:
Les absents ont toujours tort. – The absent are always wrong.
I have always loved the sound of the word “quotidien/ne”. It makes me smile.
I love the sound of chouette too, like Diana and Passante. It’s like an energetic gust of wind. Some French fauna trivia: une chouette is an owl without “ears”, that is, without the tufts that look like ears. Un hibou is like a great horned owl, with tufts that look like ears(or horns). It’s hard to try to precisely translate animal and plant names between French and English sometimes, because we tend to name and group things differently. I gather that the idea that a chouette is a female owl is a common misconception, even among French speakers.
I first heard the words ‘cou-cou’ when I lived in Les Arcs with Kristi in from 2002-2003. My first real girlfriend there was a beautiful artist named CoCo….everytime she would see me in the village she would call out “COU-COU JULES!”. I was told she was calling out “Hi, peekaboo I see you.” I have used cou cou everyday of my life since then, it is my password along with a lot of other secret numbers only I would know.
XOXO
JULES
So many choices but I’m going with “ah bon, ca marche.” The idea implied is of course, success. Love it.
Yes Leslie – same misconception I suppose with “une” fourmi (= ant), “une” hirondelle (= swallow)… “une” souris (= mouse)…
It seems ages since I sent my post with favourites words and expressions. Just been reading all the words and expressions and had a great time. I love:
– the sound -and use- of “mon violon d’Ingres”,
– the dramatic sound and panicky intonation of the word “épouvantable” (mais croyez-moi, c’est épouvantable!…)
– “le truc”! – “ce truc” → that thing / thingummy, whatsit
PS —> “truc” reminds me of “ machin” (= what’s it, what’s its/his/her name?…) One step further and we get to the fabulous and funny combinations of ‘familiar’ favourite words, when the actual ‘right’ word doesn’t come back to our mind:
– machin-chouette (Monsieur “machin-chouette” → (‘what’s his name’)
– machin-truc
– and even “truc machin-chouette.” Great fun!
In the list I gave yesterday (containing “hurluberlu”, “farfelu”, “zinzin”), I could add:
– “dingue”, a bit like “zinzin”. “C’est complètement dingue!” (= It’s utterly crazy/ridiculous)
– “abracadabrant”, a bit like farfelu.
un “truc abracadabrant” – une “histoire acadabrante”!
(= stunning, marvellously bizarre, bizarrely fantastic).
By the way, I also love the picturesque expression: “Petit à petit, l’oiseau fait son nid”, which is more or less the equivalent of:« Little strokes fell great oaks ».
All these French “i”s, stretching your lips into a smile… One could hear the echo of cuicui, cui-cui from the birds. Soft pronunciation… and a positive image conveying something cosy, homely and hopeful.
Two words I heard everyday (all day long) from Max and Jackie – Kristi too.
quoi – what
pourquoi – why
I guess they are always childrens favorite words.
I just returned from what was my last “student trip” to Paris!! (I very recently retired from teaching French – after 30+ years!!) And my 9 students loved the new expression our courier, Marc, taught us: a drag = “une galère”; “Quelle galère!” – what a drag!; “C’est la galère” – it’s a drag. And I was glad to have read about “coucou” because his email subject line was “coucou de Paris”!!! It was great to read how many of you chose MANY of my favorite French words/expressions! Bon été, tout le monde.
My own abso-fave french term is “tout le monde”, probably as much for its naturally-curly feel on the tongue when uttered lightly and smoothly, and for its merry sound, as for its meaning of immense inclusiveness. It’s the first french expression I remembered by myself spontaneously as a small kid; went about chanting it softly and loudly for days. Still warms this ol’ heart to do that!
The “eui” words fascinate me, like fauteuil. They are very difficult for English speakers to pronouce correctly. A friend, the historian Michael K. Jones, and I once worked on the pronunciation for three weeks during a trip in France, but our guide said we never did get it just right. It all started in the ville de Verneuil.
I love the pictures that come to my mind when I literally translate “les pommes de terres” and “la chauve souris”. I love to say “les pantoufles” and “la quincaillerie.”
Mes Filles…Mes Petits-Enfants.
My daughters..my little children(Grandchildren).
And an expression..”Je t’aime gros gros gros comme le ciel~”
I love you as big as the sky~
And..
Bisous~xxx
When trying to tell others why I love the French language and how beautiful it is compared to some of our English words like “garbage” —–my favorite word is “la poubelle”. I that not the loveliest word ever for trash/garbage etc????
My favourite term of endearment is “mon petit chou.”
When trying to endear people to the beauty of French you have, I think, only to tell them that the word for a paper-clip is…
“petit trombone”
Words and favorite expressions are, to me, always associated with certain memories. “Ce n’est pas grave,” along with a smile takes the sting out of any situation; cou cou”/”un petit coucou” always brings a smile to the face of the receiver; “voila”, and the situation is tied up with a piece of ribbon and handed over, completed.
premierement, vachement, franchement, inoubliablement, mathemathiquement (sp?) … I love the adverbs.
Thanks to this, I found a lot of interesting words that I can add to my blog !
My favourite words are the names of the countries and nationalities in French – chinois, Allemagne, Belgique, Etas-Unis, Pays-Bas, japonais. etc etc .
Thanks Kristin !
One expression I hear over and over is “mais, c’est normale!” which I take to mean “that’s just the way it is” or “no big deal.”
In no particular order:
Hebdomadaire,
Crepuscule,
Rocambolesque.
As for an expression, anyone who works avec les enfants precoces should know, «J’en ai ras le bol!».
Arondissement–sounds like coups de tambour, thumps on a drum
I’m belatedly – hope not too late – jumping into the discussion.
“Les sanglots longs,” etc. I believe wwas taken from a poem by Verlaine.
A close equivalent of “when all is said and done” could be “en fin de compte” (literally, at the last accounting, finally, in the last analysis, etc.)
When I was in France in 1972, there was a huge ad in one of the metro stations for Laughing Cow (vache qui rit) cheese. It noted that even in summer, Paris was still full of “vachequiriphiles,” people who love that cheese! A nifty word.
Three favorite (of many) French words:
“Pifometre,” a fun word to describe the nose. If you do something without exactly knowing how, figuring it out as you go, you are doing it “au pifometre.”
“Kinesitherapeute” – physical therapist. Not one I use often, but being able to say it in French gives one a sense of mastery, and it has a brisk sound.
La rosee (dew) – It conjures up images of sparkling drops, perhaps occasionally in the form of tiny roses.
For the record – a French family told me that the longest word in French is “anticonstitutionnellement.”
My word of choice also is Chouette, which is why I named my poodle this! As my French friend said after meeting her, “Chouette is, well, chouette!”
Has nobody done “lunettes” (glasses, as in spectacles) yet? I’m always asking shops, restaurants and bars for them.
Somebody else already mentioned “déranger”, and I always think of the English offshoot “deranged” and what I’m sort of literally saying: “Excuse me for deranging you, but I’ve lost my little moons!”
Hou about “nounours” for teddy bear? I love this one.
tiré par les cheveux”, literally “pulled by the hair”
When someone gives you an illogical, far-fetched explanation, you can adopt a very doubtful expression and respond, ” Ça me paraît tiré par les cheveux . . . ”
Mon p’tit chou and mon coco: two ways of saying sweetie or honey