edu-fuck-cated
I like learning and I have too many blogs
161 posts
Latest Posts by edu-fuck-cated
True Crime shows/channels
#1. Hondelatte raconte, on Europe 1
#2. Faites entrer l'accusé, on RMC Story
#3. Murders explained
#4. Canal crime
Hi mum <3 do you any tag/post about curse words/expressions/slang? haha i promise to use it wisely! j'ai besoin de scold quelqu'un ;)
Hello dear,
I made those! Here's some more:
This is nonsense: Tu dis n'importe quoi (neutral)/Tu racontes de la merde (rude)
Shut the hell up: Ferme bien ta grande gueule
No one likes you: Personne ne t'aime
Chill: Calme ton cul
Random ways to express frustration without insulting anyone: Merde, Putain, Fait chier, Chier, Nique sa race, Nique sa mère, Chiottes, Ça me fait trop chier, Bordel, Putain de bordel de merde de sa race (as you do)...
Random insults that technically aren't rude (vocabulary) but still savage and efficient; doubting of someone's intelligence or worth: (agender) Face de rat, Banane + Benêt + Abruti + Neuneu (dumb) Cloporte, Andouille, Grosse quiche, Grosse tanche, Sale race; (f) Pouilleuse, Grande dinde; (m) Tête de noeud, Vaurien, Vieux con (older), Sale plouc, Gros porc (perv), Minable, Fils de chien, Pouilleux, Sac à vin (drunk)...
Same but actually rude: (a) Mange-merde, Enflure, Trou du cul, Raclure, Casse-couilles, Connard, Sac à merde, Sac à foutre, Sale merde, Grosse merde, Gros tas de merde, Lèche-cul (asslicker) ; (m) Sale bâtard, Crétin, Crevard (stingy), Couillon, Salopard, Tête de con, Connard, Sale boloss, Branleur (lazy), Ducon, Enculé de ta mère; (f) Grosse chienne, Pétasse, Connasse, Pouf/Poufiasse, Crevarde (stingy), Salope, Grognasse...
Bisous!
Three words you probably don't know #2
A whisk: un fouet
The white part of bread: la mie de pain
A tissue: un mouchoir
Hi I was just wondering if you could give me a few more examples of sarcastic/ironic phrases? Because that's how I speak so often in English that it feels weird to speak a language without my personality (if that makes sense) 💓💓💓
Hello,
You’re opening Pandora’s box here! Here are a few:
When someone has achieved something meaningless: T’es un as, un champion, un génie… Si tu n’existais pas ça, il faudrait t’inventer (If you didn’t exist, we’d have to invent you); C’est pas sorcier (It’s not witchcraft): You don’t need to be a magician to know how to do that,
When someone isn’t too bright: Il n’a pas inventé l’eau chaude/le fil à couper le beurre/la poudre (He hasn’t invented warm water / butterwire / powder), Il n’a pas la lumière à tous les étages (He doesn’t have the light on at every floor),
When someone tells you about something you don’t care about: Ça me fait une belle jambe (It makes my leg look good) ; (Ferme) ta gueule, pour voir? C’est mieux (Let’s see: try to shut the fuck up? (silence) That’s better),
Ce n’est pas demain la veille: It’s not tomorrow the day before (It’s not about to happen) ex: Maybe one day we’ll all live in peace but c’est pas demain la veille,
When someone is being fussy: Tu vas pas en chier une pendule?! (You’re not going to shit a clock, aren’t you?); C’est la fin des haricots! (That’s the end of the beans) : We all gonna die; C’est pas tout mais je vais y aller (That’s not all but i’m going to go): I’m bored to death, I’m off; Pleure, tu pisseras moins (Cry about it, you’ll have less to pee).
When someone gives you unpleasant news: C’est la meilleure de l’année (’it’s the best of the year’): that’s the dumbest/worst thing i’ve ever heard; Tu te fous de ma gueule?: you’re shitting me,
When someone presses you to go to an event you don’t care for: Ah bah ça serait dommage de rater ça (That’s be a shame to miss that),
- Is that you? - Non, c’est le pape (It’s the pope),
Something called antiphrase ironique, very popular : saying ‘What a great day’ when it’s raining, ‘Fantastic’ when something breaks…,
And many more! All of my expressions posts.
Hope this helps! x
Writer Beware makes posts on which publishing houses to avoid at all costs, which words to look for and which words to watch out for in contracts, and several other things that will keep you in control and knowledgeable about the publishing process. I’d suggest reading through the website if you want to avoid getting ripped off, cheated, or scammed.
Must-Know French Adverbs! 🔅 PS: Learn French with the best FREE online resources, just click here https://www.frenchpod101.com/?src=tumblr_infographic_adverbs_020723
Learning to read in your target language !
Learning to read in any language is difficult! There’s nothing more frustrating than picking up a book you’ve read in your mother tongue and not understanding a word in your target language. Luckily, it’s a matter of vocabulary !
You won’t understand everything
Even in your native language, you still don’t understand EVERY WORD, you use context to try to figure out something you don’t know. But you’ll find that if you keep at it, you will get visibly better.
I read Harry Potter as my first long text in French and I high lighted every single word that I didn’t know. Looking back, about 35% of the words on the first page are high lighted vs. about 5% on the last page.
To get the most our of language learning, you should start trying to read as soon as possible !
You get so much passive input out of reading comprehension. It’s easy to subconsciously pick up commonly used phrases and putting grammar points and vocabulary into application.
So, what methods can I use to get the most out my reading?
A.) Read a paragraph through and look up the words and their definitions, then read it again and really try to find the meaning of each sentence. This might be the most taxing method and easy to lose focus or motivation, but honestly it’s the best for learning.
B.) Stop at every word you don’t know and look up the meaning. I personally don’t like this method. I find myself looking more for words I don’t know than the meaning behind the whole sentence. I also don’t like stopping and starting and stopping and starting.
C.) Skim the paragraph or page for words you don’t know, highlight them, define them first, THEN read the whole piece of text. This is my favorite method. I like looking back at the beginning of the book and seeing all the words I didn’t know then but I know now.
D.) Try to gather context of sentence without looking up any words. This is what native speakers do, and it is, of course, the best method but it requires a deeper meaning of the context that most A1/A2 learners have yet to understand.
You might be struggling learning through textbooks because the vocab lists prioritize subjects like “body parts” and “animals” over giving you basic tools to describe things. It’s great to know words like “knee” and “candle” but how often do those really come up in conversation? Instead of finding random lists that might be useful one day, I suggest creating a list of vocab based on your reading content! When you see a word that has come up a few times and you still can’t gather from context what it means, look it up, then every time you see it in the text from now on, it’ll enforce that knowledge in your brain.
If you aren’t sure what kind of texts you should be reading or want more information and tips, check out my other post.
French Prepositions
and how else they can be used
I don’t know about y’all, but prepositions are the WORST. They hardly ever directly translate between languages and when they do, there are so many exceptions it doesn’t even matter. So, I’ve done some research and I’ll try to make the list as comprehensive as possible :)
OKAY ! So here is the most basic “to and from” list.
But as you know, French is not that easy. You will also see de and à frequently interspersed between verbs and even used as adverbs and adjectives. Below I have listed a few verbs that take these prepositions.
Verbs that require the preposition à
Aider (quelqu'un) à (to help someone to)
S’amuser à (to amuse oneself)
Avoir à (to have to)
Apprendre à (to learn how to)
Avoir de la peine à (to have difficulty)
Commencer à
Continuer à
The preposition à can also be used to indicate place, time, manner or possession
À droite (on the right)
À loisir (at leisure)
À la compagne (in the mountains)
À la française ([in] the french way)
Cette voiture est à toi? (This car is yours?)
Verbs that require the preposition de
S’arreter de
Cesser de
Choisir de
Décider de
Se dépêcher de (to be in a hurry
Essayer de
Finir de
Oublier de
Refuser de
Verbs that can be followed by both
Conseiller à (quelqu’un) de (faire quelque chose)
Défendre à… de
Demander à…de
Dire à… de
Offrir à … de
Permettre à… de
Promettre à… de
Proposer à… de
Suggérer à…de
Hope this helps !!
GLOSS - Global Language Online Support System
This online resource has tons of resources for lots of different languages, and it is totally free!
There are lots of lessons catered to different levels which tailor vocab practice as well as listening and reading comprehension. I would say that the vocabulary and scenarios are generally more geared up towards security/defence and diplomacy, so if you are studying international relations or something geared towards the international sphere, this may be particularly interesting!
Then you can select different types of activities, which you can download onto your computer as MP3s and PDFs. The activities are categorised based on what skill they train. There are reading and vocab activities that help build up knowledge. Although the topics are pretty specific, they are really useful for getting vocab practice in areas that you are not so familiar with!
The activities are diverse and varied, with explanations for answers that were not correct!
There is also a glossary for all the new words, which has an audio file to listen to the pronunciation by a native speaker. This is particularly useful for self study, especially when contact with native speakers is less frequent.
All in all I really rate the website, the resources are a really great compliment to language studies, and although they are kind of ‘old school’ in their approach, they seem really effective!
***The link***
https://gloss.dliflc.edu/
Links to Free French Children’s Books
One of the best ways―if not the best way―to improve your foreign language fluency is reading! Children’s books are the perfect place to start. Below I have linked a handful of free French children’s books from Internet Archive for those of you learning French.
Internet Archive is an online library that provides free access to books, movies, audio files, and other digitized materials. An account is required to view some of the listings, but you can create one for free.
Le bonhomme de pain d'épices (The Gingerbread Man) by Janet Brown
Blanche Neige et les sept nains (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)
Hello Kitty: Une surprise pour mama (Hello Kitty: A Surprise for Mom) by Ellen Weiss
La princesse au petit pois (The Princess and the Pea)
Bob l'éponge: Où est Gary? (SpongeBob: Where is Gary?) by David Lewman
Links to PDFs of French Language Books
The Great Gatsby (Gatsby le magnifique)
The Fault in Our Stars (Nos étoiles contraires)
Twilight (Fascination)
New Moon (Tentation)
Eclipse (Hésitation)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Harry Potter à l'École des Sorciers)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter et la Chambre des Secrets)
The Book Thief (La voleuse de livres)
The Notebook (Les pages de notre amour)
Sense and Sensibility (Le cœur et la raison)
The Little Prince (Le petit prince)
The Girl on the Train (La Fille du train)
Animal Farm (La Ferme des Animaux)
1984 (1984)
Romeo and Juliet (Roméo et Juliette)
Me Before You (Avant toi)
The Secret Garden (Le Jardin mystérieux)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Les hommes qui n'aimaient pas les femmes)
Hunger Games (Hunger Games)
Divergent (Divergent)
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (À tous les garçons que j'ai aimés)
French Witchy Vocabulary
Tell me if anything is wrong!
La sorcellerie - The witchcraft
Les éléments - The elements (M)
La terre - The earth
L’eau - The water (F)
L’air - The air (M)
Le feu - The fire
L’esprit - The spirit (M)
La baguette magique - The wand
L’épée - The sword (F)
La tasse - The cup
Le pentacle - The pentacle
La lune - The moon
Le soleil - The sun
Le cercle - The circle
Le sel - The salt
La bougie - The candle
La pierre - The stone
Le cristal - The crystal
La plume - The feather
Le grimoire - The grimoire
Le sortilège - The spell
La prière - The prayer
La malédiction - The curse
L’autel - The altar (M)
Le sanctuaire - The shrine
La magie - The magick
La nature - The nature
Le culte - The coven/cult
Le panthéon - The pantheon
La sorcière - The witch
Ancien/ne - Ancient
Magique - Magical
Pur - Pure
Blanc/he - White
Noir/e - Black
Gris/e - Grey
Spirituel/le - Spiritual
Religieux/se - Religious
Naturel/le - Natural
Mystique - Mystical
Prier - To pray
Maudire - To curse
Danser - To dance
Chanter - To sing
Guérir - To heal
Croire - To believe
Invoquer - To invoke
Ensorceler - To enchant/spellbind
Écrire - To write
Consacrer - To devote
Ocean vocab - French 🐬
- Water -
♡ Ocean = l’océan ♡ Sea = la mer ♡ Lake = un lac ♡ River = une rivière ♡ River (that leads into the ocean) = un fleuve ♡ Stream = un ruisseau ♡ Waves = les vagues ♡ Foam = l’écume ♡ Shore = le rivage ♡ Beach = la plage ♡ Sand = le sable ♡ Rock = une pierre ♡ Rock (small) = un caillou ♡ Rock (big) = un rocher ♡ Pebble = un galet ♡ Cliff = une falaise ♡ To glisten = briller / scintiller ♡ To crash = se briser ♡ Shell = une coquille ♡ Whirlpool = un tourbillon ♡ Salt water = l’eau salée ♡ Fresh water = l’eau douce ♡ Island = une île ♡ Islet = un îlot ♡ Bubble = une bulle ♡ Reflection = un reflet ♡ Dune = une dune
- Animals -
♡ Dolphin = un dauphin ♡ Whale = une baleine ♡ Killer whale = une orque ♡ Shark = un requin ♡ Fish = un poisson ♡ Sea gull = une mouette ♡ Ray = une raie ♡ Starfish = une étoile de mer ♡ Sea horse = un hippocampe ♡ Crab = un crabe ♡ Lobster = un homard ♡ Mussel = une moule ♡ Clam = une palourde / un clam ♡ Prawn/ shrimp = un crevette ♡ Squid = un calamar ♡ Octopus = une pieuvre ♡ Jellyfish = une méduse ♡ Sea snail = une limace de mer ♡ Penguin = un manchot ♡ Emperor penguin = un manchot empereur ♡ Turtle = une tortue marine ♡ Seal = un phoque ♡ Clown fish = un poisson clown ♡ Tuna = un thon ♡ Salmon = un saumon ♡ Anchovy = un anchois ♡ Puffer fish = un tétraodon ♡ Mermaid = une sirène ♡ Sponge = une éponge ♡ Coral = un corail
- Plants -
♡ Sea weed / algae = les algues ♡ Kelp = le varech ♡ Palm tree = un palmier ♡ Coconut = une noix de coco
- Verbs -
♡ To swim = nager ♡ To surf = surfer ♡ To sunbathe = prendre un bain de soleil ♡ To tan = se faire bronzer ♡ To dive = plonger ♡ To snorkle = plonger avec masque et tuba ♡ To take the boat = prendre un bateau ♡ To take the ferry = prendre un ferry ♡ To fish = le pêcher ♡ To read = lire ♡ To sleep = dormir ♡ To burn = brûler ♡ To play sports = faire des sports
- Other nouns -
♡ Volleyball = le volley-ball ♡ Tennis = le tennis ♡ Football / soccer = le football / le foot ♡ Holiday = les vacances ♡ Sandcastle = un château de sable ♡ Ice cream = la glace ♡ Sea food = les fruits de mer ♡ Cocktail = un cocktail ♡ Fruit = la fruit ♡ Sun cream = la crème solaire ♡ Book = un livre / un bouquin ♡ Bikini = un bikini ♡ Beach towel = une serviette de plage ♡ Parasol (big) = un parasol ♡ Parasol (small) = une ombrelle ♡ Shorts = un short ♡ Sun glasses = les lunettes de soleil ♡ Swimming costume = un maillot de bain ♡ Goggles = les lunettes de natation ♡ Ball = une ball ♡ Beach ball = un ballon de plage ♡ Float = une planche ♡ Sun hat = un chapeau de soleil ♡ Shade = l’ombre
Aimer Conjugation
j’aime = I love
tu aimes = you love
il aime = he loves
elle aime = she loves
nous aimons = we love
vous aimez = you love (formal; plural)
ils aiment = they love (masculine)
elles aiment = they love (feminine)
.
Patreon | Ko-fi
bon matin! c’est tôt pour moi, hmm? today I’ll be sharing some online resources for learning french ranging from vocab lists to full on courses! i hope you find these useful - the internet really is precious when learning languages! <3
⁎⁺˳✧༚ frenchtoday.com
this website threatens to put me out of business and I couldn’t be more delighted! vocab lists galore, free lessons, tips to work on your pronunciation, articles on french culture and even stories and poetry. i haven’t looked at everything available on there, but from what I’ve seen, it’s pretty useful!
⁎⁺˳✧༚ frenchpod101.com
this is a free course you can take, with options for absolute beginners and those already a little familiar with the language. it looks to be good for conversational french and is an easy, no nonsense starting point for beginners, who i know from experience are often easily overwhelmed.
⁎⁺˳✧༚ coffee break french
this is one I’m not quite as familiar with but has come to me highly recommended. it’s a podcast that covers the basics as well as providing dialogues and example role plays. give it a try and let me know how you find it!
⁎⁺˳✧༚ innerfrench (chaîne de YouTube)
this is a really interesting channel! you get to learn french through a variety of different topical discussions and he speaks slowly enough for you to get most of what he’s saying even if you’re a relative beginner, which can make you feel super smart :)
bien, c’est tout! i hope these recs are alright, and I hope we meet again soon~ a bientôt!
The 12 Zodiac signs in French- Les signes du Zodiaque
♈️Bélier : Aries
♉️Taureau : Taurus
♊️Gémeaux: Gemini
♋️Cancer : Cancer
♌️Lion : Leo
♍️Vierge: Virgo
♎️Balance : Libra
♏️Scorpion: Scorpio
♐️Sagittaire: Sagittarius
♑️Capricorne : Capricorn
♒️Verseau : Aquarius
♓️Poissons: Pisces
Exemple: je suis née en fin octobre. Je suis scorpion. Et toi? 👉Quel est ton signe?
For the full lesson and practice exercise, 👉 Click here.
➡️Download your free ebook for beginners => LINK above
Hi, I’m Wynter, I’m Deaf and fluent in ASL (American Sign Language). I get a lot of people telling me they want to learn to sign, but not knowing exactly where to start. So, I am here to provide that!
Let’s start off with some basics, though. ASL does NOT follow English grammar (Signed Exact English/SEE does, but it is not ASL), it only uses English words and a lot of the communication with singing is done via facial expression and body language. Basically, it goes in the order of time > topic > comment. For example, “ I am going to pet dogs next week” would be “next week dogs me pet”, but there are quite a few variants and every person who signs will have a different way of doing this. Sort of how people who speak English in different parts of America have an accent and different ways to sign things. The most important thing to note about ASL is that *American* Sign Language is not universal. Most languages have their own form of SL and a lot of the word signs/alphabets are not at all the same. Another note, learning SEE may seem easier at first, but it can actually make the transition to ASL grammar that much more difficult. An example of differing signs is BSL (British Sign Language) vs ASL.
This is the BSL finger alphabet:
And this is the American one:
So while there is a small bit of crossover, it is very, very different! Don’t get me wrong, a lot of times signers will understand each other at least a little bit, but it does need to be noted that signs can differ by language, country, region, and sometimes person.
Now, onto what you came for…
Alphabet:
ASL Alphabet
ASL ABC’S (NON-CC VIDEO)
The ASL Alphabet
Deaf Culture:
*Note: if you are going to be attending Deaf events, please make sure you familiarise yourself with our culture!
American Deaf Culture
What is Deaf Culture?
The Importance of Deaf Culture
Deaf Culture vs Hearing Culture (NON-CC VIDEO)
Finger spelling:
American Sign Language Finger Spelling
Sign Word List for Finger Spelling
Learn ASL: The Finger Spelling Alphabet for Beginners (CC VIDEO)
ASL Finger Spelling Word Printer (gives you the finger spelling equivalent to what you type)!
Finger Spelling Practice
Sign Language Translator
Grammar:
ASL Grammar
The Basic Structure
Learn ASL Grammar (CC VIDEO)
Learn:
*Note: The best way to learn is through Deaf people/other signers!
Lifeprint
SignLanguage101
The ASL App
100 First Signs (Lifeprint)
Misc:
A Day Through a Deaf Person’s Eyes (CC VIDEO)
Deaftube
What Questions Annoy Deaf People? (CC VIDEO)
Things Not to Say to a Deaf Person (CC VIDEO)
Why I Don’t Sound Deaf (CC VIDEO)
13 Things my Hearing Friends Should Know (CC VIDEO)
National Association of the Deaf
If you want a safe place to learn sign language (including ASL), I have created a Discord called Sign Language Learners! Come join and learn with other learners, Deaf/HoH people, and those curious kids who just want to know how the Deaf communicate.
- take an ebook in your target language that you wanna read - convert epub to txt - copy txt into unique wordlist maker (http://caerphoto.com/uwc/) - remove words in the list you already know - maybe focus on keeping the high frequency new words - make this list into flashcard deck badda bing badda boom
I did this with my Turkish copy of Animal Farm and pulled 212 new words for my Quizlet deck
Number-based expressions
À deux pas d'ici - Nearby
À nous deux - En garde
À quatre pattes - On all fours
À six pieds sous terre - Buried
À un de ces quatre - See you soon (casual)
Attendre cent-sept ans - Waiting forever
Aux quatre coins du monde - All over the world
Avoir deux mains gauches - Being very clumsy
Avoir deux mots à dire à qqun - Having someone to scold
Avoir du mal à joindre les deux bouts - Struggling to earn enough
Avoir la boule à zéro - Being bald/shaved
Avoir le cul entre deux chaises - Not knowing what to do (casual)
Avoir le moral à zéro - Being depressed
Avoir les deux pieds sur terre - Being realistic
Avoir un cheveu sur la langue - Having a lisp
Avoir un poil dans la main - Being lazy
Avoir zéro défaut - Being flawless
Blague à deux balles, f - Crappy joke
Brûler la chandelle par les deux bouts - Spending too much
Ça fait deux - It's incompatible (Moi et les maths, ça fait deux)
C'est reparti comme en quatorze - Here we go again
C'était moins une - It was almost too late
Chercher à midi à quatorze heures - Complicating things
Cinquième roue du carosse, f - Third wheel
Comme pas deux - Better than anyone (casual)
Compter deux par deux - Skip count by twos
Couper la poire en deux - Finding a compromise
Couper les cheveux en quatre - Being very/too meticulous
De deux choses l'une - Here are the options
De mes deux - useless (Voiture de mes deux!)
De première nécessité - Absolutely essential
De seconde main - Secondhand
Deux fois, ça va, trois fois, bonjour les dégâts - It will be a mess
Deux-pièces, m - Two-roomed flat, Bikini
Deux-roues, m - Two-wheeled vehicle
Deux-temps, m - Two-stroke
Dire à qqun ses quatre vérités - Telling smn a few home truths
Dire qqc cent fois - Repeating oneself
Dormir sur ses deux oreilles - Being at peace with oneself
Durer trois plombes - Taking a long time (casual)
En deux coups de cuillère à pot - Very quickly
En deux temps trois mouvements - very quickly
En huit - Of next week (Jeudi en huit)
En quinze - In two weeks
En un mot comme en mille - In a nutshell
Entre les deux mon coeur balance - I don't know what to pick
État second, m - Trance (after medication, drug, illness)
Être à deux doigts de - Being very close to
Être au septième ciel - Being very happy
Être haut-e comme trois pommes - Being little (for a child)
Être plié-e en deux - Laughing very hard
Être tiré-e à quatre épingles - Being very well dressed
Être uni-es comme les doigts de la main - Being very good friends
Faire deux poids deux mesures - Having double standards
Faire d'une pierre deux coups - Killing two birds with one stone
Faire les cent pas - Pacing
Faire les quatre cents coups - Being up to mischief
Faire les trois-huit - Having an eight hour shift
Freiner des quatre fers - Digging in heels
Grand huit, m - Rollercoaster
Jamais deux sans trois - All things come in threes
Je te le donne en mille - You'll never guess
Le mot de cinq lettres - Shit (Merde)
Les deux font la paire - They are two of a kind
Les deux mon capitaine - Both options are reasonable
Les quatre fers en l'air - Flat on the back
Manger comme quatre - Eating a lot
Ménage à trois - Love triangle
Merci mille fois - Thank you so much
Mille-feuilles, m - Cream slice
Mille-pattes, m - Centipede
Mouton à cinq pattes, m - Something exceptional
Ne faire ni une ni deux - Deciding without hesitating
Ne faire qu'un (avec) - Being one with
Ne pas avoir un radis/rond - Being broke (casual)
Ne pas gagner des mille et des cent - Not earning much
Ne pas se le faire dire deux fois - Not having to be told twice
Ne pas y aller par quatre chemins - Going straight to the point
Ne rien savoir faire de ses dix doigts - Being lazy, uncapable
Neuf fois sur dix - Nine times out of ten
Nombre premier, m - Prime number
Paris ne s'est pas fait en un jour - Rome wasn't built in a day
Prendre son courage à deux mains - Plucking up courage
Quatre à quatre - Very quickly
Quatre-heures, m - Snack
Quatre-quarts, m - Pound cake
Recevoir cinq sur cinq - Understanding stg perfectly
Remettre les compteurs à zéro - Starting over
Repartir à zéro - Starting over
Semaine des quatre jeudi, f - The month of Sundays
Se mettre en quatre (pour qqun) - Doing a lot to give a favour
Se mettre sur son trente-et-un - Dressing up to the nines
S'en moquer comme de l'an quarante - Not caring (casual)
Se parler entre quatre z'yeux - Talking face to face
Se ressembler comme deux gouttes d'eau - Looking identical
Se saigner aux quatre veines - Depriving oneself
Tomber sur un os - Hitting a snag
Tourner sept fois sa langue dans sa bouche (avant de parler) - Thinking before speaking
Tous les trente-six du mois - Once in a blue moon
Treize à la douzaine - In large quantities
Trente-trois tours, m - Long-playing record
Troisième âge, m - Senior citizens
Un à la fois - One at a time
Un-e de perdu-e, dix de retrouvé-es - Plenty more fish in the sea
Un homme averti en vaut deux - Forewarned is forearmed
Un jour ou l'autre - Some day
Vingt dieux - Holy crap (casual/old)
Vingt-quatre heures sur vingt-quatre - 24/7
Voir trente-six chandelles - Seeing stars
Y regarder à deux fois - Thinking before making a decision
*Qqun/Quelqu'un - Someone; Qqch/Quelque chose - Something
Negations
A
Au grand jamais - never
Aucun-e(s) - none : Je n’en ai vu aucun / I have seen none of them
Aucunement (rare) - by no means
D
Dégun (southern slang) - no one
E
En aucun cas - under no circumstance
En aucune façon - under no circumstance
En aucune manière - under no circumstance
En rien - under no circumstance
G
Goutte - nothing (old, rare) : On n’y voit goutte ici / We can’t see anything
Guère - almost not/nothing (old, rare) : Ce n’est guère plus rapide que le train / This isn’t any faster than the train
J
Jamais - never : Plus jamais ça! / Never again!
Jamais au grand jamais - never ever (dramatic)
Jamais de la vie - never ever
K
Keud (slang), short que ‘que dalle’ (slang for Nothing)
Keutchi (slang)
N
N’ - ne + vowel : Je ne t’aime pas / I don’t love you
Nada - nothing at all : - Did you hear about that? - Nada!
Nan (slang) - nah
Ne - not : Je ne sais pas / I don’t know
Ni - neither/nor : Je n’ai vu ni le chien ni le chat depuis que je suis arrivée / I haven’t seen neither the cat nor the dog since I got here
Niet - nope! (often angry)
Non - no
Non plus - (n)either : Je ne sais pas non plus / I don’t know either
Non plus que
Nul-le - none : Nos jeunes filles à nous sont tellement accomplies, que nulle des filles d’Ève ne peut lutter avec elles ! — (Modeste Mignon, Honoré de Balzac, 1844)
Nulle part - nowhere : Je ne le vois nulle part / I can’t see him anywhere
Nullement - not in any way
O
Ô/oh grand jamais : never ever (dramatic)
P
Pas - not : Je ne sais pas / I don’t know
Pas autrement - not any other way : C’est comme ça et pas autrement
Pas encore - not yet
Pas forcément - not necessarily
Pas plus que
Pas un-e - not one : - Did they offer their help? - Pas un!
Pas un chat - not one cat : Il n’y a pas un chat / There’s no one here
Personne - nobody : Il n’y a personne ici / There’s no one here
Plus : no more - Je ne t’aime plus / I don’t love you anymore
Point - not : Je ne sais point / I don’t know (rare, old)
Q
Que dalle (slang) - nothing : - Did you know about that? - Que dalle!
Que nenni - no (old) : - Are they here yet? - Que nenni!
Que tchi (slang) - nothing
Queude (slang, short for Que dalle) - nothing
R
Rien - nothing : Je ne vois rien / I don’t see anything
Number-based expressions
À deux pas d'ici - Nearby
À nous deux - En garde
À quatre pattes - On all fours
À six pieds sous terre - Buried
À un de ces quatre - See you soon (casual)
Attendre cent-sept ans - Waiting forever
Aux quatre coins du monde - All over the world
Avoir deux mains gauches - Being very clumsy
Avoir deux mots à dire à qqun - Having someone to scold
Avoir du mal à joindre les deux bouts - Struggling to earn enough
Avoir la boule à zéro - Being bald/shaved
Avoir le cul entre deux chaises - Not knowing what to do (casual)
Avoir le moral à zéro - Being depressed
Avoir les deux pieds sur terre - Being realistic
Avoir un cheveu sur la langue - Having a lisp
Avoir un poil dans la main - Being lazy
Avoir zéro défaut - Being flawless
Blague à deux balles, f - Crappy joke
Brûler la chandelle par les deux bouts - Spending too much
Ça fait deux - It's incompatible (Moi et les maths, ça fait deux)
C'est reparti comme en quatorze - Here we go again
C'était moins une - It was almost too late
Chercher à midi à quatorze heures - Complicating things
Cinquième roue du carosse, f - Third wheel
Comme pas deux - Better than anyone (casual)
Compter deux par deux - Skip count by twos
Couper la poire en deux - Finding a compromise
Couper les cheveux en quatre - Being very/too meticulous
De deux choses l'une - Here are the options
De mes deux - useless (Voiture de mes deux!)
De première nécessité - Absolutely essential
De seconde main - Secondhand
Deux fois, ça va, trois fois, bonjour les dégâts - It will be a mess
Deux-pièces, m - Two-roomed flat, Bikini
Deux-roues, m - Two-wheeled vehicle
Deux-temps, m - Two-stroke
Dire à qqun ses quatre vérités - Telling smn a few home truths
Dire qqc cent fois - Repeating oneself
Dormir sur ses deux oreilles - Being at peace with oneself
Durer trois plombes - Taking a long time (casual)
En deux coups de cuillère à pot - Very quickly
En deux temps trois mouvements - very quickly
En huit - Of next week (Jeudi en huit)
En quinze - In two weeks
En un mot comme en mille - In a nutshell
Entre les deux mon coeur balance - I don't know what to pick
État second, m - Trance (after medication, drug, illness)
Être à deux doigts de - Being very close to
Être au septième ciel - Being very happy
Être haut-e comme trois pommes - Being little (for a child)
Être plié-e en deux - Laughing very hard
Être tiré-e à quatre épingles - Being very well dressed
Être uni-es comme les doigts de la main - Being very good friends
Faire deux poids deux mesures - Having double standards
Faire d'une pierre deux coups - Killing two birds with one stone
Faire les cent pas - Pacing
Faire les quatre cents coups - Being up to mischief
Faire les trois-huit - Having an eight hour shift
Freiner des quatre fers - Digging in heels
Grand huit, m - Rollercoaster
Jamais deux sans trois - All things come in threes
Je te le donne en mille - You'll never guess
Le mot de cinq lettres - Shit (Merde)
Les deux font la paire - They are two of a kind
Les deux mon capitaine - Both options are reasonable
Les quatre fers en l'air - Flat on the back
Manger comme quatre - Eating a lot
Ménage à trois - Love triangle
Merci mille fois - Thank you so much
Mille-feuilles, m - Cream slice
Mille-pattes, m - Centipede
Mouton à cinq pattes, m - Something exceptional
Ne faire ni une ni deux - Deciding without hesitating
Ne faire qu'un (avec) - Being one with
Ne pas avoir un radis/rond - Being broke (casual)
Ne pas gagner des mille et des cent - Not earning much
Ne pas se le faire dire deux fois - Not having to be told twice
Ne pas y aller par quatre chemins - Going straight to the point
Ne rien savoir faire de ses dix doigts - Being lazy, uncapable
Neuf fois sur dix - Nine times out of ten
Nombre premier, m - Prime number
Paris ne s'est pas fait en un jour - Rome wasn't built in a day
Prendre son courage à deux mains - Plucking up courage
Quatre à quatre - Very quickly
Quatre-heures, m - Snack
Quatre-quarts, m - Pound cake
Recevoir cinq sur cinq - Understanding stg perfectly
Remettre les compteurs à zéro - Starting over
Repartir à zéro - Starting over
Semaine des quatre jeudi, f - The month of Sundays
Se mettre en quatre (pour qqun) - Doing a lot to give a favour
Se mettre sur son trente-et-un - Dressing up to the nines
S'en moquer comme de l'an quarante - Not caring (casual)
Se parler entre quatre z'yeux - Talking face to face
Se ressembler comme deux gouttes d'eau - Looking identical
Se saigner aux quatre veines - Depriving oneself
Tomber sur un os - Hitting a snag
Tourner sept fois sa langue dans sa bouche (avant de parler) - Thinking before speaking
Tous les trente-six du mois - Once in a blue moon
Treize à la douzaine - In large quantities
Trente-trois tours, m - Long-playing record
Troisième âge, m - Senior citizens
Un à la fois - One at a time
Un-e de perdu-e, dix de retrouvé-es - Plenty more fish in the sea
Un homme averti en vaut deux - Forewarned is forearmed
Un jour ou l'autre - Some day
Vingt dieux - Holy crap (casual/old)
Vingt-quatre heures sur vingt-quatre - 24/7
Voir trente-six chandelles - Seeing stars
Y regarder à deux fois - Thinking before making a decision
*Qqun/Quelqu'un - Someone; Qqch/Quelque chose - Something
Links to PDFs of French Language Books
The Great Gatsby (Gatsby le magnifique)
The Fault in Our Stars (Nos étoiles contraires)
Twilight (Fascination)
New Moon (Tentation)
Eclipse (Hésitation)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Harry Potter à l'École des Sorciers)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter et la Chambre des Secrets)
The Book Thief (La voleuse de livres)
The Notebook (Les pages de notre amour)
Sense and Sensibility (Le cœur et la raison)
The Little Prince (Le petit prince)
The Girl on the Train (La Fille du train)
Animal Farm (La Ferme des Animaux)
1984 (1984)
Romeo and Juliet (Roméo et Juliette)
Me Before You (Avant toi)
The Secret Garden (Le Jardin mystérieux)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Les hommes qui n'aimaient pas les femmes)
Hunger Games (Hunger Games)
Divergent (Divergent)
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (À tous les garçons que j'ai aimés)
Hello! I've just started learning French and I'd like to try reading something. A whole novel sounds quite intimidating, so do you know of any short stories with simple language?
Hello,
My mind goes to :
Les lettres de mon moulin by Alphonse Daudet
Trois contes by Gustave Flaubert
Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmès by Maurice Leblanc (ha!)
Les diaboliques by Jules Barbey d’Aurevilly (pretty)
Le sommeil de la raison by Gabrielle Wittkop
Contes de l’Absurde + Histoires perfides by Pierre Boulle (emo)
Je voudrais que quelqu’un m’attende quelque part by Anna Gavalda
Les filles du Feu by Gérard de Nerval (v pretty)
Le mur by Jean-Paul Sartre (classic)
La Fontaine aux Fées by Chantal Robillard
L’Exil et Le Royaume + L’Étranger by Albert Camus (classic)
Solitude de la Pitié by jean Giono
Des Filles bien élevées by Anne Wiazemski
La Rêveuse d’Ostende by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt
La Chapelle Sextine by Hervé Le Tellier (naughty)
Le Ratichon Baigneur by Boris Vian
Poussières d’anges by Ann Scott
Contes cruels by Octave Mirbeau (weirdo)
L’arbre des Possibles by Bernard Werber
Mordre au travers by Virginie Despentes (feminist, weird)
Clair de Lune + L’Inutile Beauté + Boule de Suif + Le Horla (has a slight Dorian Gray vibe, classic) by Guy de Maupassant
Les Plaisirs et les Jours by Marcel Proust,
L’Heptaméron by Marguerite de Navarre,
Cantatrix sopranica by George Pérec,
Deux et deux font cinq by Alphone Allais
Religere + Déchirures by Sir Cédric (goth)
Gloire à nos Illustres Pionniers by Romain Gary
Les Vrilles de la Ligne by Colette (badass lady)
Nouvelles sous Extasy by Frédéric Beigbeder (v weird/edgy)
La Botte Secrète by Éric Boisset
And that’s probably enough. Hope this helps! x
Aspirated H- nouns
I have mentioned before that h- nouns, depending on if they come from the (most likely) Germanic or the Latin language, will be treated differently: a Frankish noun will not have a liaison (Un haricot, Les-/-haricots) but a Latin noun will have one (Un-(h)iver, Les-z-hommes). Think of them as the aspirated H- and the mute H-.
A few things to note:
Most of H- nouns are mute as French is a romance language, direct heir of Latin - the roman empire is known for philosophy, thinking, culture, politics. The Franks however led simpler lives and spent most of their time outside; when they invaded us, they left their mark in the vocabulary, especially in practical things: trees, foods, animals, weapons...
If you're unsure, try to think of the translation of a noun in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, or even Latin: if they're siblings, your noun is romance. Homme: hombre, uomo, etc.
If you don't know those languages, here's another test: try doing L' + noun and see if it could get mixed up with another word. Ex: La hache > L'hache > Lâche. This is especially true if the following vowel is -a- as it would be harder to pronounce.
If the word is borrowed to English (a Germanic heir), the H- is aspirated (Hamburger, Hockey, Hippie).
If an aspirated H- noun doesn't come from the Germanic language ("Vieux francique"), it might come from Old Norse (Houle), Arabic (Hasard), Latin (Harpe), or an onomatopeia (ex: An owl is Un hibou, which might just be a version of Hoo hoo, just like the Egyptians called cats "Mau").
A few common aspirated H- nouns:
Hache, f - ax
Haie, f - hedge, fence
Haine, f - hatred
Hâle, f - slight tan
Hameau, m - hamlet
Hanche, f - hip
Handicap, m - disability
Harcèlement, m - harassment
Haricot, m - bean
Harnais, m - harness
Hasard, m - chance, coincidence
Hâte, f - haste
Haut, m - top (Le haut du mur)
Hauteur, f - height (of objects)
Hérisson, m - hedgehog
Héros, m - hero
Heurtoir, m - door knocker
Hiérarchie, f - hierarchy
Hochement, m - nodding
Homard, m - lobster
Hongrie, f - Hungary
Honte, f - shame
Hors d'oeuvre, m - appetizer
Houle, f - swell (sea)
Hoquet, m - hiccups
Hors-la-loi - outlaw
Huis clos, m - closed session
Huitième - eighth
Hurlement, m - scream
♥French vocabulary : mystery ♥
Le mystère = mystery
mystérieux = mysterious
un secret, une arcane = a secret
cacher, dissimuler = to hide
murmurer, chuchoter = to whisper
un masque = a mask
une mascarade = a masquerade
les ténèbres, l'obscurité = darkness (both nouns are feminine)
un voile = a veil
la poussière = dust
l'éternité = eternity (feminine)
éternel = eternal
un mensonge = a lie
mentir = to lie
le temps = time
une épine = a thorn
un fil = a thread
la magie = magic
un spectre, un fantôme = a ghost
expliquer = to explain
découvrir = to discover
un trésor = a treasure
un conte = a tale
la fumée = smoke
croire = to believe
douter = to doubt
un miroir = a mirror
la vérité = truth
Gucci Campaign (with Ignasi Monreal)
📱📱📱SMS en Français📱📱📱
Here are some shorthand abbreviations of common words in French that you might see or would like to use when texting:
Slt (salut) - Hi
Pk (pourquoi) - why
Bcp (beaucoup) - a lot
Stp (s’il te plâit) - please
Tkt (ne t'inquiète pas) - no worries
à tte (à toute) - see you, bye
Mdr (mort de rire) - lol
Ptdr (pété de rire) - lmao
Dsl (desolée) - sorry
French vocabulary on time, timing, and speeds
Timing of arrival
être à l'heure = to be on time
être ponctuel = to be punctual
être en avance = to be early
être en retard = to be late
être à la bourre = to be running late (familiar)
être pressé = to be in a hurry
l'heure de pointe = rush hour
Earliness/Lateness
tôt = early
tard = late
de bonne heure = early (lit. at a good hour)
sans tarder = at once (lit. without delay)
dès que possible = as soon as possible
Expressions about speed
démarrer sur les chapeaux de roues = to take off like a shot (lit. to set out on the caps of wheels; familiar)
démarrer en trombe = to set out in a whirlwind
y aller mollo = to take it easy/slow (lit. to go about something slowly; familiar)
recent vocab !
here’s some miscellaneous french vocabulary that i’ve acquired during my french journalling over the past few days! can you tell what i’ve been up to?
l'argile (f) - clay le corail - coral le décolorant - (hair) bleach la démangeaison - itching, itch l'eau de Javel (f) - (cleaning product) bleach le lobe de l'oreille - earlobe la mèche - strand of hair, lock of hair
à la main - by hand déchirant - harrowing
convenir - to suit, to agree with décolorer - to bleach (hair) percer - to pierce rajeunir - to rejuvenate, to feel rejuvenated repousser - to grow back, to repel se teindre les cheveux - to dye one’s hair