Thanks to French Word-A-Day readers, we have a treasure trove of colorful ideas and tips on how to improve our French listening skills. Merci beaucoup for your helpful responses after Rob wrote in with the following question: I was wondering if anyone has recommendations for a way for me to build my French listening skills? I am improving in being able to decipher written French, … Continue reading French Listening Skills
L'île de Groix, where we vacationed in 2006. We are heading back to Brittany, to a different island, on Friday…. Note: French Word-A-Day will be on break through August 3rd. rouler de nuit (roo-lay-deuh-nwee) : to drive through the night Audio File: Listen to Jean-Marc's French: Download MP3 file or hear this Wave file Pour rouler tranquille et au frais, roulez de nuit! To drive easy and … Continue reading rouler de nuit
I couldn't find a picture to illustrate today's word (oreiller) so how about a snapshot of a favorite summertime libation? Also a great way to recycle these Domaine Rouge-Bleu wine bottles! oreiller (oh-ray-yay) noun, masculine : pillow prendre conseil de son oreiller = to sleep on it (re decision making)une taie d'oreiller = pillowcaseune bataille d'oreillers = pillow fight les confidences (f) sur … Continue reading Oreiller (Or how to say “pillow” in French) + My Mother-in-Law teases me about my husband’s past love life
Summertime in the seaside town of Cassis. Don't these chairs look like fruity popsicle flavors (that is, if flavor could be visible to the eye)? Grape, blueberry, citron vert, melon, framboise… juilletiste (jwee-ay-teest) m&f : a July vacationer Audio file: Listen to Jean-Marc read this definition: Download MP3 or listen to Wav file Un juilletiste c'est quelqu'un qui prend ses vacances au mois de Juillet, et … Continue reading The French have a very specific word for someone who vacations in July…
Who (or what) is your muse? For me it can be a scene, like this one… and suddenly inspiration comes! Photo taken in Les Arcs-sur-Argens, where we lived from 1999-2007. I tried to find a French synonym for une muse, but I landed on a French definition instead. Here it is, along with the day's story, written two summers ago: une muse (myooz) : une … Continue reading muse
Click on this photo to view it full size. Here are the ladies at the book club in Marseilles. As Agnès (in black, third from right) said, it is a privilege to have girlfriends like these! After agonizing in today's story (the subject is "becoming une dame… when one still secretly believes she's une fille"), I had a good chuckle reading Agnès's group email, in which … Continue reading la dame (today’s word too easy? Read the story-vocab section!)
#doggybag is the term in Twitter speak (tweet with us here), but how do you say "Can I take it home?" in French? Pictured: Braise (left) looks embarrassed as her son, Smokey, is about to ask for a sac de chien for his leftover beurre de cacahouètes, or peanut butter. "Smokey, that's not the correct translation and, besides, we don't ask for those in France!" … Continue reading Doggy Bag – How to say “doggy bag” in French? + Happy Anniversary!
Nothing to do with today's word, just an iconic zinc bar in Marseilles: Le Bar de la Marine (made famous by Marcel Pagnol in his "Marius" Trilogy. un aboiement (ah-bwa-mahn) : bark, barking (of dog) Also: aboyer = to bark, un aboyeur (une aboyeuse) = a barking dog Reverse dictionary: to bark up the wrong tree = porter plainte contre la mauvaise personnehis bark is … Continue reading Woof woof! Bow wow! Aboiement (or how to say dog bark or barking in French)
