Le Mot du Jour

un bouchon – Mot du jour

a traffic jam – French expression

What does ” un bouchon ” mean? How do you say ‘ a traffic jam ’ in French? How is it pronounced? How is it used in a French sentence? Listen to Anne, a French native say it at FrenchHour.com.

un bouchon – a cork – In everyday French, un bouchon means ‘ a traffic jam ‘ .In everyday French though, un bouchon is a synonym of un embouteillage – a traffic jam.

* « Entre les juilletistes et les aoûtiens, y a (il y a) des bouchons tout le temps. »

* “Between the July and the August vacationers, there is no end to traffic jams.”

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aoûtiens – Mot du Jour

un juilletiste – Mot du Jour

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French Wine course

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la gauche caviar – Mot du jour

limousine liberal or champagne socialist – French expression

What does ” la gauche caviar ” mean? How do you say ‘limousine liberal or champagne socialist’ in French? How is it pronounced? How is it used in a French sentence? Listen to Anne, a French native say it at FrenchHour.com.

la gauche caviar – the left caviar. In everyday French, la gauche means ‘the left’, but la gauche also describes the left wing of the French Parliament and all the liberals in general. The expression la gauche caviar is slightly derogatory and underlines the paradox between being a liberal – often a socialist in France – and still having a privileged and cozy way of life. I’ve heard a limousine liberal in English. And Colin, a student had this translation of ‘a champagne socialist’ that I find wonderful. Thank you, Colin.

* « Comment veux-tu qu’elle comprenne ce que les SDF vivent ? Elle a deux maisons de campagne. Elle est une gauche caviar. »

* “How do you suspect she could understand what the homeless are going through? She owns two vacation houses. She’s a limousine liberal/champagne socialist.”

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Prepositions of Places – Today’s French

Asking for directions – Today’s French

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l’avoir cherché – Mot du jour

to have it coming – French expression

What does ” l’avoir cherché ” mean? How do you say ‘ to have it coming ’ in French? How is it pronounced? How is it used in a French sentence? Listen to Anne, a French native say it at FrenchHour.com.

l’avoir cherché – to it to have looked for – In everyday French, l’avoir cherché means that you did everything to get in trouble,  ‘to have it coming’.

* « Il est fâché contre toi, mais tu l’as cherché, quoi ! »

* “He’s mad at you, but you had it coming, right? “

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chercher midi à 14 heures – French expression

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c’est pas faux – Mot du jour

you have a point – French expression

What does ” c’est pas faux ” mean? How do you say ‘ you have a point ’ in French? How is it pronounced? How is it used in a French sentence? Listen to Anne, a French native say it at FrenchHour.com.

c’est pas faux – it’s not false – In everyday French, c’est pas faux means that you realize the person you’re talking to is raising a point you hadn’t thought about, s/he has a point.

Note that the correct form for this expression should read: ce n’est pas faux. Learn more in the lesson.

* « Tu dis que les Français sont râleurs. C’est pas faux ! »

* “You say that the French grouch a lot. You have a point !”

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Negative Sentences – Today’s French

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Period! – French expression

Part of All Levels | French Expressions – Daily Practice

What does ” point barre ” mean? How do you say ‘ period ’ in French? How is it pronounced? How is it used in a French sentence? Listen to me, a French native say it here.

point barre – period slash – In everyday French, point barre means that you want to end the conversation and you’ve made a decision that’s firm, you’re not going to change your mind. In English, I often hear: ‘Period!’ said in the stern voice.

* « C’est décidé, on se prend une RTT pour voir la finale de la coupe du monde de foot. On n’ira pas au boulot, point barre ! »

* “We’ve made up our minds, we’re taking a day off to see the final of the soccer world cup. We won’t go to work. Period! “

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entre guillemets – French expression

en caractères gras – French expression

Strike and Protest – Today’s French

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Soccer terms – Members only

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sur les chapeaux de roues – Mot du jour

rushing to do things – French expression

What does ” sur les chapeaux de roues ” mean? How do you say ‘ rushing ’ in French? How is it pronounced? How is it used in a French sentence? Listen to me, a French native say it at FrenchHour

sur les chapeaux de roues – on the hats of the wheels – are the hubcaps of a car. In everyday French, sur les chapeaux de roues is an expression that means that you’re driving your car so fast isn’t on wheels anymore, but instead, it’s running on its hubcaps. The expression sur les chapeaux de roues means that you’re going fast, that doing a billion things at the same time, you’re rushing to do things and you don’t have time to do much more.

* « — T’as le temps de prendre un p’tit café ce matin ?

* — Oh, non, je n’ai pas le temps. Je suis sur les chapeaux de roues. »

* “– Do you have time to have a cup of coffee this morning?

* — Oh, no, no time. I’m rushing and doing a billion things.”

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DANS, EN, SUR or VERS – Today’s French

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French Verbs and their Prepositions

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qui vivra verra – Mot du jour

time will tell – French expression

What does ” qui vivra verra ” mean? How do you say ‘ time will tell ’ in French? How is it pronounced? How is it used in a French sentence? Listen to Anne, a French native say it at FrenchHour.com.

qui vivra verra – who will live will see – In everyday French, qui vivra verra means ‘let’s wait and see’, or ‘time will tell’.

* « Je ne sais pas comment cette histoire va finir. Qui vivra verra ! »

* “I’m not sure how this story will unfold. Time will tell.”

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Future Tense – Irregular Verbs Quiz – Today’s French

avoir un futur – French expression

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confortable – Mot du Jour

comfortable – French expression

What does ” confortable ” mean? How do you say ‘ confortable ’ in French? How is it pronounced? How is it used in a French sentence? Listen to me, a French native say it here.

confortable – comfortable. Of course, this word seems pretty easy. However, there are 2 things to notice about this word.

* In English, the word is spelled with an M, in French, with an N. That’s the easy note.

* Secondly, in French, a thing can be comfortable, not a person. In English, you can talk about yourself and say : ‘I’m comfortable with that’. In French, you can’t. Say ‘Je suis à l’aise’ instead.

* « Ce fauteuil est super confortable et je suis vraiment à l’aise dedans. »

* “This chair is super comfy and I’m really comfortable in it. “

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Work on the Sound EUIL

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please – French expression

Part of Mots Du Jour | French Culture

What does ” s’il vous plaît ” mean? How do you say ‘ please  ’ in French? How is it pronounced? How is it used in a French sentence? Listen to Anne, a French native say it at FrenchHour.com.

s’il vous plaît – if it to you please – In everyday French, s’il vous plaît means ‘please’. However, s’il vous plaît, also means ‘excuse-me, your attention please, listen up, shush’.

Today, I wanted to share my favorite ‘s’il vous plait’ ever. It’s the one in The Little Prince. Le Petit Prince is too young to master the subtleties of formal and informal French, and he uses both the TU form and the VOUS form in the same sentence. Children tend to do that type of mistake sometimes, and it’s really cute

to wish someone good luck – French expression

Part of All Levels | French Expressions – Daily Practice

What does ” dire merde à quelqu’un ” mean? How do you say ‘ to wish someone good luck ’ in French? How is it pronounced? How is it used in a French sentence? Listen to Anne, a French native say it at FrenchHour.com.

dire merde à quelqu’un  – to say shit to someone – I’ve hesitated a long time to introduce you to this expression because of the coarse language. However, it’s a fact: the French use a lot more crass words and expressions than English speakers do. I’m not sure what to do with that observation.

In everyday French, in a happy context, dire merde à quelqu’un means ‘to break a leg’, ‘to wish someone good luck’. Of course if the context is different, it can also means ‘to tell someone to go to hell’. I want to focus on the good luck context, as, even if it’s awkward,  it’s an expression you hear all the time.

If you don’t want to use this crass word, you can use the euphemistic synonym expression ‘le mot de Cambronne’ instead.

* « Tu vas passer ton interro de français, j’te dis merde !  »

* “You’re going to take your French quiz. Good luck! “

 

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Gros Mots – Today’s French

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