Vive le printemps !

By Marie-Claire Lander

Now that les beaux jours arrivent (the nice days are coming), how about celebrating le printemps (spring) with a lesson on this time of growth and renewal for humans and nature alike? So, let’s look out for signs of spring in the natural and the human world and explore some spring-related vocabulary.

People like to celebrate spring in different ways. For some, it’s a great opportunity to refresh a winter wardrobe with something fleuri (flowery) and printanier (springlike). In this video, a boutique offers sustainable fashion, like this ethical robe fleurie (floral/flowery dress):

Hein, c'est joli? -C'est très fleuri. -C'est printanier. -Ouais.

It's pretty, don't you think? -It's very flowery. -It's springlike. -Yeah.

Caption 28, Alsace 20 La chronique Mode de Caroline: mode éthique
Play Caption

For the practically minded, le printemps is an excellent time to start un nettoyage de printemps (spring cleaning):

Les gens courageux et motivés font un nettoyage de printemps tous les ans.

Motivated and hard-working people do a spring cleaning every year.

In any case, most of us like to fêter le printemps (celebrate spring) and the arrival of nice weather by venturing outdoors. Sophie and Edmée even enjoy seeing others profiter du beau temps (enjoy the nice weather):

On vient de fêter le printemps le vingt-et-un. Du coup, c'est assez logique qu'il fasse beau... et c'est génial de voir des gens en terrasse prendre des cafés, profiter du beau temps.

We just celebrated spring on the twenty-first. So it's quite logical that the weather is nice... and it's great to see people on the terraces having coffee, enjoying the beautiful weather.

Captions 30-31, 39-40 Sophie et Edmée Le beau temps
Play Caption

As for Marie and Sandra, they too are excited to see that le soleil est sorti (the sun is out).

Oui, oui, oui, ben là le soleil est sorti

Yes, yes, yes, well now the sun is out

Caption 6, Marie et Sandra Atelier d'art - Part 4
Play Caption

Which reminds Sandra that Marie, her art student, wanted to dessiner des feuilles et des fleurs (draw leaves and flowers):

Et je me souviens que tu m'avais dit que tu voulais dessiner des feuilles et des fleurs.

And I remember that you had told me that you wanted to draw leaves and flowers.

Captions 8-9, Marie et Sandra Atelier d'art - Part 4
Play Caption

Marie decides to draw some flowers that she picked (cueillies) on her way to class, among them a dandelion (un pissenlit):

Donc en venant ici, j'en ai cueillies... Ben, ce que j'ai trouvé dans la rue en fait, un pissenlit...

So coming here, I picked some... Well, what I found in the street in fact, a dandelion...

Captions 10, 13, Marie et Sandra Atelier d'art - Part 4
Play Caption

She might have picked some primevères (primroses) or jonquilles (daffodils) had they been available:

Elle n’a pas trouvé de primevères ou de jonquilles.

She didn’t find any primroses or daffodils.

Sometimes people simply dream of beautiful jardins (gardens) with fragrant pivoines (peonies) and roses, like the lucky lady in this video:

J'étais dans un jardin avec des odeurs formidables. Avec des fleurs, des pivoines, des roses...

I was in a garden with wonderful smells. With flowers, peonies, roses...

Captions 19-20, Micro-Trottoirs Rêves et cauchemars
Play Caption

While some dream of spring gardens, others might compose a poem with a spring theme. In her beautiful words, poet and novelist Suzy Le Blanc depicts love as an ephemeral rose qui est éclose (that opens up) in spring and qui se fane (that withers) in winter:

L'Amour est comme une fleur. Il est comme la Rose

Qui au matin est éclose et nous éblouit. Mais quand viennent l'hiver et la nuit

Elle se fane et on l'oublie.

Love is like a flower. It is like the Rose

Which in the morning opens up and dazzles us. But when the winter and the night come

It withers and we forget it.

Captions 1-3, Suzy Le Blanc Romancière, poète
Play Caption

In any case, it’s best to enjoy spring while it lasts. Parisians do just that. They fully appreciate their local garden avec ses arbres tout en fleurs (with its trees in full bloom):

Au beau milieu des tours du treizième arrondissement, faites une petite halte repos au Jardin Baudricourt avec sa jolie fontaine et aussi ses arbres tout en fleurs.

Right in the middle of the towers of the thirteenth arrondissement, make a small rest stop at the Baudricourt Garden, with its beautiful fountain and also its trees in full bloom.

Captions 22-24, Voyage dans Paris Le Quartier Asiatique
Play Caption

Spring is also a time when fruit trees like cerisiers (cherry trees), abricotiers (apricot trees), and pêchers (peach trees) are in bloom. To learn about other types of trees in French, check out this lesson:

Les arbres fruitiers comme les cerisiers, les abricotiers et les pêchers sont en fleurs en mars, avril, mai.

Fruit trees such as cherry trees, apricot trees, and peach trees are in bloom in March, April, and May.

As for vines, la floraison (flowering) comes later in June in France:

Vers le... début juin, mi-juin, ça dépend des années, on a la floraison qui va se faire.

Toward the... beginning of June, mid-June, it depends on the year, we'll have the flowering that will occur.

Captions 32-33, Provence Domaine Rouge-Bleu - Part 2
Play Caption

People are also on the lookout for the first bourgeons (buds) of the season. In his song "Bienvenue chez moi" (Welcome to My Home), Stromae makes a passing reference to spring to describe his home, a dichotomy of good and bad, à moitié bourgeons (half budding):