If you have any worries, concerns, or problems in a French-speaking country, souci is the word to use to express your predicament. In the first two senses ("worry" and "concern"), it's synonymous with inquiétude: 

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Ne te fais pas de souci. Fais-moi confiance!

Don't worry. Trust me!

Caption 6, Il était une fois... l’Homme - 6. Le siècle de Périclès - Part 4

 Play Caption

Alors, le souci, quand elles en font deux, c'est que si elles sont pas très bonnes productrices de lait...

So the concern, when they have two, is that if they are not very good producers of milk...

Caption 4, Ferme de la Croix de Pierre - Les chèvres

 Play Caption

Pas d'inquiétude. De nos jours, le pont est protégé d'un grillage.

Not to worry. Nowadays, the bridge is protected by a wire fence.

Caption 29, De nouvelles découvertes avec Marion - Le parc des Buttes Chaumont

 Play Caption

Souci and inquiétude both have verbal forms (se soucier, s'inquiéter) and adjectival forms (soucieux/soucieuse, inquiet/inquiète): 

Sans se soucier [or: s'inquiéter] de dévoiler ses sentiments.

Without worrying about revealing her feelings.

Caption 7, Vous avez du talent Paulin - "Elle"

 Play Caption

Donc si vous êtes un petit peu soucieux [or: inquiet] de votre santé...

So if you're a little bit concerned about your health...

Caption 16, Voyage dans Paris - Cité Florale

 Play Caption

Un souci is also "a problem" or "an issue" you might have with something—for instance, if there's something wrong with a bike you've rented: 

...si y a aucun souci avec les pédales.

...if there's any problem with the pedals.

Caption 34, Amal - Vélib

 Play Caption

Et si y a le moindre souci avec un vélo...

And if there's the slightest issue with a bike...

Caption 57, Amal - Vélib

 Play Caption

But un souci doesn't always involve a sense of frustration or anxiety. It can also mean "a concern," as in something you really care about and pay a lot of attention to. 

Le souci du détail est un dogme.

Concern over detail [or: Attention to detail] is a dogma.

Caption 27, Le Journal Chocolats

 Play Caption

Nous avons un grand souci de l'environnement. 
We have a great concern for [or: We really care about] the environment. 

There are also the expressions par souci de and dans un souci de, both meaning "in the interest of" or "for the sake of":

Si une partie de Lyon a été retenue, c'est d'abord par souci de [or: dans un souci de] cohérence.

If a portion of Lyon has been contained, it is primarily for the sake of coherence.

Caption 11, Le Journal - La grippe aviaire - Part 2

 Play Caption

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Finally, souci is also the word for "marigold." So while the informal expression pas de souci most often means "no worries," it can also mean "no marigolds"!

In this lesson, we'll introduce three different ways of saying "to look like" in French. 

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

The first expression is ressembler à, which looks a lot like the English word "resemble" (but note the extra s) and is used in much the same way: 

Chacun de tes gestes ressemble aux miens

Each of your gestures looks like mine

Caption 2, Ina-Ich - Âme armée

 Play Caption

Ressembler is always followed by à, except when à is replaced by an indirect object pronoun: 

Elle me ressemble.

She looks like me.

Caption 31, Le saviez-vous? - La conjugaison au présent, au passé et au futur

 Play Caption

The second expression, avoir l'air de, is more informal and figurative than ressembler à. Its literal translation is "to have the air/appearance of," but it generally means "to look like" or "to seem": 

Tu n'as pas l'air de trouver ça suffisant, Psi.

You don't seem to think that's sufficient, Psi.

Caption 41, Il était une fois... L’Espace - 6. La révolte des robots

 Play Caption

Ce chien a l'air d'un loup. 
That dog looks like a wolf.

When the expression is in front of an adjective, the de is dropped: 

Ça a l'air délicieux, mais j'ai des crampes à l'estomac, je peux rien avaler.

It looks delicious, but I have stomach cramps, I can't swallow anything.

Avoir l'air (de) can often be replaced with the verb sembler (to seem): 

Tu ne sembles pas trouver ça suffisant, Psi. 
You don't seem to think that's sufficient, Psi. 

Ça semble délicieux, mais j'ai des crampes à l'estomac, je peux rien avaler.
It looks delicious, but I have stomach cramps, I can't swallow anything.

Finally, there's on dirait, which literally means "one would say," but is often used idiomatically to mean "it looks like":  

À première vue, on dirait une pharmacie, mais non...

At first glance, it looks like a pharmacy, but no...

Caption 1, Le Journal - Chocolats

 Play Caption

On dirait qu'il va neiger. 
It looks like it's going to snow. 

The main difference between these expressions is that ressembler à is only used to compare similar things, whereas avoir l'air de/sembler and on dirait can also be used to convey an impression of something. 

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

We hope this lesson lived up to its title! Feel free to tweet us @yabla or send your topic suggestions to newsletter@yabla.com.