Portmanteau Words – Today’s French

What is a portmanteau word? What are examples of portmanteau words in French? How are  they used in a sentence. Listen to Anne, repeat after her. Learn French at FrenchHour.com

The word portmanteau comes from French portemanteau. It means ‘coat rack’, ‘coat hanger’.

What is a portmanteau word – un mot-valise? It’s a blended word where the last syllable of the first word and the first syllable of the second are combined somehow.

Here is a short list of the most common ones. I’m hoping you can use some of them in a sentence. Send me your work. I’ll go over it.

* adulescent.e – adulte+adolescent = teen-adult

* alicament – aliment+médicament = food that cures

* beurgeois.e – Beur+(bour)geois.e = person from North-African descent having a bourgeois life-style

* bobo = bourgeois+bohème = yuppie with an attitude

* Brexit – Br(i)tain+Exit – Brexit

* coronapéro – coronavirus+apéro = virtual cocktail with friends and family during Covid-19

* courriel – courrier+électronique = email

* franglais – français+anglais = Frenglish

* infox – informations+intoxication = fake news

* lundimanche – lundi+dimanche = all the days of the week are the same

* motel – moteur+hôtel – motel

* pourriel – poubelle+courriel = spam email message

Related – En relation

lundimanche – French Expression

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