french.md

Dictionnaire français pour des analphabètes

• À la carte: to the... map? card? To order menu items individually, rather than set courses.
• À peu près: more or less.
• Aimer: to like, or to love. Je t'aime plus: "I don't love you anymore" (if S is silent), "I love you more" (if S is not silent). Also, aimer bien is like, but aimer is love.
• Aller: to go. Nous y allons, Allons-y, On y va: all roughly mean "let's go".
• Alors: so/then. See donc for another "so/therefore". Sometimes used in itself to mean "here".
• Appareil: apparatus. The L is silent.
• Appartenir: belong (to). Il appartient à mon oncle: it (he) belongs to my uncle.
• Arrêt: stop.
• Au moins aussi bien que: as well as. From au moins "at least", aussi bien "equally".
• Aucun: No. Aucun problème: no problem.
• Aujourd'hui: Today. au + jour + de + hui: on the day of today.
• d'Abord: First. Viens d'abord faire tes devoirs, tu joueras ensuite: first do your homework, then play. Premier also means first.
• Baiser: to fuck.
• Baisser: to lower.
• Banlieue: suburbs. J'habite en banlieue (no une): I live in the suburbs.
• Bâtiment: building. L'extérieur du bâtiment est sale: The exterior of the building is dirty.
• Beau-pere: step father.
• Belle-soeur: step sister.
• Besoin: need. Sometimes follows avoir (a / as / avons / avez). Les camions ont besoin d'espace: trucks need space.
• Bientôt: soon. Literally "good [and] early". À bientôt: see you soon.
• des Bois: of the woods, not "of drinking".
• Boire: to drink. Je bois: I drink.
• Bronze: to tan. Nous bronzons ensemble: we tan together.
• Calme: calm.
• Ça: it. Short for cela. Ça va: it is going. Ça va bien: it is going well.
• Cadeau: gift. See also: gâteau (cake), château (castle), chapeau (hat), and manteau (coat).
• C'est: is used when the noun has an article (le, la, l', un or une) or a possessive before it. Say: C'est ma femme, not: Elle est ma femme.
• Ce: This. Cet is used if the noun starts in a vowel.
• Celui: the ones. Et que celui qui a de quoi manger partage ce qu'il la: and whoever has enough to eat shares what he has. Or something like that.
• Chante: sing.
• Chat: cat.
• Chaque: every. Chaque jour: every day.
• Chaud: hot. Il fait chaud: the weather is hot.
• Chiffre: digit.
• Chose: thing.
• Cinquante-cinquante: Fifty-fifty.
• Client: customer. Cette magasin a beaucoup de clients: this shop has a lot of customers.
• Cocu: cuckhold. Nous baiserons vos femmes et vous serez cocus: We will fuck your wives and you will be cuckolds.
• Coeur: heart.
• Confiture: jam.
• Comme: like. Comme ça: like this/that.
• Commence: start. Juin commence demain: June starts tomorrow.
• Comment: how. Comment t'appelles-tu: how (comment) t' (you) appelles (call) tu (you), "how do you call yourself".
• Copain: boyfriend. Sometimes just friend. Use: petit ami when talking to old people.
• Copine: girlfriend. Use: petite amie when talking to old people.
• Coq: cock. Le coq sportif: the athletic phallus.
• Couches: diapers. Pronounced KOOSH rather than whatever it is in English.
• Couple: couple, except masculine, because it ends with an E so obviously a rule like that needs exceptions. Le couple: the couple.
• Couteau: knife. See also: couverts (cutlery).
• Couverts: cutlery.
• Croire: to believe. J'le crois pas (not Je ne le crois pas): I can't believe it.
• Croissant: crescent, or rolled-up triangles.
• Écrire: to write. J'écris une lettre: I write a letter.
• Cuillère: spoon.
• Demi-: half. Demi-frere: step brother.
• Dehors: outside. Oh putain, il fait froid dehors: oh fuck it's cold outside.
• Depuis: since. Depuis ma jeunesse, j'ai obéi à tous ces commandements: since I was young I have obeyed all these commandments.
• Difficile: difficult. Le français est très difficile à apprendre: French is very difficult to learn.
• Donc: so, therefore. Donc-quoi: nothing. Use et alors ("and then") for "so what".
• Douter: to doubt. L'homme doute: the man doubts.
• En bas: below. See also: en haut, above.
• En haut: above. Note the H is completely silent. See also: en bas, below. Regarder en haut: look up.
• Enfant: child.
• Enfuir: to run away/flee. Je m'enfuis: I run away. Nous nous enfuyons: we run away.
• Entretien d'embauche: job interview. ("interview of hiring")
• Environ: about. Usually used in software menus.
• des Environs: from around.
• Erreur: error. Nous avons rejoint ce meetup par erreur: we joined this meetup by mistake (automatic translation).
• Est-ce que...: (literally Is it that...) magic way to turn a statement into a question. Informal. Est-ce que tu es une pomme?: Are you an apple?
• Être: to be. Vous êtes des idiots: you are idiots.
• Eux: them. Avec eux: with them. (Usually not avec ils, "with they", it seems.)
• Façon: way. La même façon: the same way.
• Faim: hunger. Avez vous faim: Are you hungry? (Do you have hunger)
• Faire: do OR make. Que faisons-nous: what do we do/make?
• Femme: woman. Ma femme: my wife.
• Fil: wire. Sans-fil: wireless.
• Fille: girl. Ma fille: my daughter.
• Fils: son. Say with a hard S.
• Foi: faith.
• Fois: time (occurrence). See also: temps, time (length). C'est ta première fois ?: is this your first time?
• Foncé: dark. La biere est foncée: the beer is dark.
• Fourchette: fork.
• Foyer: home. See also: maison, house.
• Frapper: to hit/strike.
• Frigo: fridge.
• Fromage: cheese. Omelette du fromage: French is the language of love.
• Fumier: manure. J'avais des éclairs de chez nous, de l'étable, du fumier.
• Gamins: kids. Nous comprenons ces gamins: we understand these kids.
• Garçons: A Catholic church staple.
• Gâteau: cake.
• Gazeuse: sparkling? l'eau gazeuse: sparkling water.
• Gendre: son in law.
• Haïr: hate. Je te hais: I hate you (probably).
• Happy Hour: happy hour. Not l'heure d'heur.
• Haut: high (in the height sense).
• Heur: happyness. Usually Bonheur or heureuse. Je suis heurreux: I am happy.
• Heure: hour.
• Homme: man. Mon homme: probably "my man". See Mon mari for "my husband".
• I grec: Y. Literally "Greek I".
• Ici: here.
• d'Impôts: taxes. Nous sommes collecteurs d'impôts: we are tax collectors.
• Incroyable: incredible.
• Jamais: never.
• Jardin: garden. Elle fait un pas dans le jardin: she steps into the garden.
• Journal: newspaper.
• Jupe: skirt.
• Là: either Here or There. Je suis là can mean either "I am there" or "I am here". But "Je suis ici" always means "I am here".
• Langue: either language, or tongue. That's where "mother tongue" came from.
• Laver: to wash. Ne te laves pas: do not wash (take a bath).
• Lire: to read. Nous lisons le journal: we read the newspaper.
• Lit: bed. Il lit au lit: he reads in bed.
• Livre: book.
• Longtemps: long time. Pas très longtemps: not a very long time.
• Lycée: High school.
• Mademoiselle: Miss. Literally Ma Demoiselle, "my damsel" (unwed young woman).
• Magasin: shop.
• Magazine: magazine. See also: journal, newspaper.
• Maître: master. Or "teacher" if referring to Jesus.
• Manger: to eat. Je vais te manger: I am going to eat you.
• Manquer: to miss, or to be a lack of. Tu me manques: I miss you, not you miss me. Literally "You lack me". Le manque d'eau: the lack of water.
• Marché: market.
• Marcher: to walk.
• Mari: husband.
• Médecin: doctor. Sounds like MED-sun.
• Mémoire: memory (mind). See also: souvenir, also memory.
• Merveilleux: wonderful.
• Mettre: to put. J'ai mis ma chemise: I put on my shirt.
• Miracle: miracle, except sounds funny.
• Montréal: a city where the letter T is never pronounced.
• Neuf: new OR nine. quoi de neuf?: What is new?
• Nots clés: Keywords.
• Mourir: to die. Nous allons tous mourir (tous with hard S): we are all gonna die.
• Ne: Not. Ne pas: not not ("do not").
• Nettoyer: to clean.
• Nouveau: new. Je veux voir à nouveau: I want to see again.
• On: informal way to say nous. Not useful. On va s'en sortir: we will get out of this.
• Os: bone, whether singular or plural.
• l'Ouest: the west. Je vais vers l'ouest: I go towards the west.
• Paix: peace. Je vis en paix: I live in peace.
• Parler: to speak. Parle-nous: speak to us.
• Partager: to share, or to divide. The word implies sharing has an element of giving up something.
• Partir: to leave. Je pars: I am leaving. Nous devons partir: we must leave.
• Partout: everywhere, all over. Je veux te suivre partout: I want to follow you everywhere.
• Pas: not. Ne pas: not not ("do not"). Also means "step".
• Passe: pass. Qu'est ce passe-t-il: what is happening.
• Pêcheur: fisherman.
• Pécheur: sinner.
• Personne: no one. Personne: nobody. Une personne: one person.
• Peser: to weigh. Combien tu pèses: how much do you weigh.
• Peu: little. Un peu plus de lait: a little more milk.
• Pièces: Either rooms or coins. Or whatever you feel like it should mean. Pièces de résistance: the chief dish of a meal.
• Poivre: pepper. Poivrière: pepper shaker.
• Portables: Laptops. Outside of Canada you may need to call it an ordinateur portables.
• Pomme: apple.
• Portefeuille: wallet. Literally "Door leaf".
• Pourquoi: why/for what.
• Pouvoir: can/may. Je peux aller aux toilettes: I can go to the toilet (I'm a big boy now).
• Prêt: loan. Avez vous besoin d'un prêt?: Do you need a loan?
• Proche: close/near. la fin du Canada est proche: the end of Canada is near.
• Punis: punish. Ne te punis pas: do not punish me.
• Quartier: neighbourhood or district. Le marché du quartier: the neighbourhood market.
• *Que est ce que, ce est: what is this that this is?
• Quelqu'un: somebody, someone, anyone. From quel que un, "some one". Il y a quelqu'un ici qui parle français: Is there anyone here who speaks French.
• Recevoir: to receive. Elle reçoit des cadeaux: she receives gifts. Vous recevez: you receive.
• Réduire: to reduce.
• Remercier: to thank. Ils la remercient: they thank her.
• Rentre: to return. Rentre chez toi: go back to your house.
• Repas: a meal. Je repas à zéro probably means "I have a meal at zero".
• Repars: restart. Je repars à zéro: I restart at zero.
• Reposer to rest. Durant la nuit, je me repose: during the night, I rest.
• Revenir: to return. One of the conjugates is revenue.
• Riche: rich.
• Robe: robe, or dress.
• Roi: king. See also: reine (queen).
• Rouge: red.
• Sauve: to save. Sauve-moi: save me.
• Savoir: to know. Je sais: I know.
• Sel: salt. Salière: salt shaker.
• Sentir: to sense, often by smell. Je ne me sens pas bien: I don't feel good. Il sent mauvais: he smells bad. Il sent mal: he senses poorly.
• Servir: to serve. Celui que commande comme celui qui sert: the one that commands as the one that serves.
• Si: If. Sometimes also "Yes" only when used to contradict a non said by someone else. S'il vous plaît: "if it pleases you".
• Sinon: Otherwise. Literally si non, "if not".
• Soupe: soup.
• Souper: supper. Le souper c'est glélé: the supper is frozen.
• Souvenir, to remember, or a (uh) souvenir. Je ne m'en je suis pas souvenu: I did not remember it.
• Soyez prêt: be ready.
• le Sud: the south.
• Suivre: to follow. Suis-moi: follow me.
• -t-: To use to invert questions whose pronouns end with a vowel. For other types of pronouns, invert as usual. Comment va-t-il?: How is he doing? Ou sera-t-il: Where will he be? The most formal way of asking a question is to use an inversion.
• Toujours: always. Toujours frais: always shit.
• Tout: all. Tous les hommes verront le salut de Dieu: all men will see the salvation of god.
• Trésor: treasure.
• Trompe l'oeil: optical illusion. Literally "deceive the eye.
• Truc: slang for "thing". Qu'est ce que c'est que ce truc?: what (the heck) is this thing? See also: Qu'est-ce?, the formal version of "what is this".
• Va-t-en: go away. Literally "Get on with you". Va-t-en d'ici: go away (get out) of here.
• Voici: look here. Le voici: "look here", not "it looks here".
• Voilà: look there. See Alors for similar expression.
• Voir: to see. Je vous vois tous cornus: I see you all horned.
• Voiture: car.
• Voix: voice. Sounds exactly the same as voi and vois.