In early 2018, a group of protesters gathered in front of the headquarters of the SNCF (Société nationale des chemins de fer français [French National Railway Company]) to demand that the company convert its empty buildings into public housing:
Logement! -Pour qui? -Pour tous!
Housing! -For whom? -For everyone!
Captions 19-21, Actus Quartier - Devant la SNCF
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Logement is the word for "housing" or "lodging" in general, but it can also refer more specifically to an apartment, house, or home:
J'aurais pas pu avoir mon logement.
I wouldn't have been able to get my apartment.
Caption 58, Actus Quartier - Devant la SNCF
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Lorsque j'avais pas mon logement.
When I didn't have my home.
Caption 110, Actus Quartier - Devant la SNCF
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The verbal form of logement, loger, means "to house" or "to accommodate." It's synonymous with héberger:
ces beaux immeubles vides pour héberger, pour loger les personnes qui sont à la rue.
these beautiful empty buildings to house, to provide housing for people who are on the street.
Captions 17-18, Actus Quartier - Devant la SNCF
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On the flip side, loger can also mean "to be housed," "to stay," or "to live":
Je loge chez mon amie.
I'm staying at my friend's place.
If someone is mal logé, they're living in poor housing conditions:
La honte, la honte à ce pouvoir qui fait la guerre aux mal-logés.
Shame, shame on this authority that's waging war on the poorly housed.
Captions 28-29, Actus Quartier - Devant la SNCF
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And if someone is homeless, they're SDF—an acronym for sans domicile fixe (without a fixed abode):
Moi, je suis là parce que je suis SDF. Je suis sans domicile fixe.
Me, I'm here because I'm homeless. I'm without a fixed abode.
Caption 100, Actus Quartier - Devant la SNCF
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Another word for "homeless" is sans-abri (without shelter).
Many people lucky enough to have a fixed abode pay un loyer (rent) to un/une propriétaire (a landlord/landlady):
j'ai de quoi payer un... un loyer
I have enough to pay... rent
Caption 120, Actus Quartier - Devant la SNCF
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La propriétaire a vendu son appartement.
The landlady sold her apartment.
Caption 103, Actus Quartier - Devant la SNCF
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Propriétaire is also the word for "owner." Un propriétaire foncier is a property owner, such as the SNCF:
Faut quand même savoir que la SNCF, c'est le deuxième propriétaire foncier du pays après l'État.
You should know, however, that the SNCF is the second largest property owner in the country after the State.
Captions 43-45, Actus Quartier - Devant la SNCF
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You'll find two words for "building" in this video—immeuble and bâtiment:
Vous avez vu dimanche le bel immeuble vide
On Sunday you saw the beautiful empty building
Caption 10, Actus Quartier - Devant la SNCF
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Parce qu'ils ont des bâtiments vides, complètement vides
Because they have vacant buildings, completely vacant
Caption 30, Actus Quartier - Devant la SNCF
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While both are general terms for "building," un immeuble can also be an "apartment building" or "apartment block," which is what the protesters are hoping the SNCF will provide for those in need.
In this lesson, we're going to discuss a very common word that isn't very specific. It's un truc, an informal word for "thing" (une chose has the same meaning). You can use it when you're not quite sure what an object is called:
J'attends que le truc passe parce que ça fait un petit bruit...
I'm waiting for the thing to pass because it's making a little noise...
Caption 82, Lea - Cour Saint-Émilion
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Or when you're talking about something abstract:
On n'a plus de souvenirs. C'est ça, le truc aussi.
We don't have any more memories. That's the thing too.
Captions 25-26, Elisa et sa maman - La technologie
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When someone says "it's not my thing," they're saying they don't really like it (it's not their cup of tea) or they're not really good at it (it's not their forte). There's an exact cognate of this expression in French—ce n'est pas mon truc:
La baignade, c'est pas mon truc. -Oh, moi non plus!
Swimming isn't my thing. -Oh, me neither!
Caption 26, Il était une fois - Notre Terre - 25. Technologies - Part 5
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Un truc means "a thing," but it often translates as "something." It's a more informal way of saying quelque chose (something):
Tu sais j'vais te dire un truc. Tu sais c'que c'est qu'une utopie?
You know, I'll tell you something. Do you know what a utopia is?
Caption 70, Actus Quartier - Manif anti-nucléaire à Bastille
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Manon, à toi de commencer. Dis-moi un petit truc en français.
Manon, your turn to start. Tell me a little something in French.
Caption 3, Manon et Clémentine - Virelangues
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Sometimes, un truc (or des trucs) is just "stuff" in general:
Je sais pas encore mais en tout cas je sais que je veux créer un truc.
I don't know yet, but in any case I know that I want to create stuff.
Caption 58, Watt’s In - Louane : Avenir Interview Exclu
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But there is one instance in which truc does have a specific meaning. It's also the word for "trick," as in a magic trick or a clever way of doing something:
Moi, j'ai un truc miraculeux
Me, I have a miraculous trick
Caption 2, Le Mans TV - Benjamin Perrot: "La rébellion du combiné"
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You'll find a synonym for truc in the next caption:
Une astuce qui ne coûte rien
A trick that costs nothing
Caption 3, Le Mans TV - Benjamin Perrot: "La rébellion du combiné"
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Besides ce n'est pas mon truc, there are two expressions with truc with close English cognates. The first is avoir le truc:
Je n'ai pas le truc pour ça.
I don't have the knack for it.
Tu commences à avoir le truc.
You're getting the hang of it.
The second is chacun son truc (literally, "each his/her thing"), synonymous with chacun ses goûts (there's no accounting for taste; literally, "each his/her tastes"):
J'aime les chats. Tu aimes les chiens. Chacun son truc! / Chacun ses goûts!
I like cats. You like dogs. To each his own!
Vous commencez à avoir le truc pour "truc"! Stay tuned for our next lesson and tweet us @yabla or send your topic suggestions to newsletter@yabla.com.
The word rendez-vous is the second-person plural imperative form of the verb se rendre ("to go" or "to present oneself"). It literally means "go!" or "present yourself!" But rather than a command, you'll hear it most often used as a noun—un rendez-vous. In English, "a rendezvous" is another word for "a meeting." Un rendez-vous means that and much more, as you'll see in this lesson.
If you're a regular Yabla French user, you'll recognize this word from the final caption of nearly every video in our Voyage en France series:
Je vous donne rendez-vous très bientôt pour de nouvelles découvertes.
I will meet you very soon for some new discoveries.
Caption 50, Voyage en France - Mont-Valérien
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Donner rendez-vous à (literally, "to give meeting to") is to arrange to meet someone, to set up a date or an appointment with someone. Indeed, besides "a meeting," un rendez-vous can also be "a date" or "an appointment":
C'est au premier rendez-vous qu'ils franchissent le pas
It's on the first date that they take that step
Caption 5, Grand Corps Malade - Roméo kiffe Juliette
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J'ai rendez-vous chez le dentiste et je suis en retard!
I have an appointment at the dentist and I'm late!
Caption 10, Micro-Trottoirs - Art ou science?
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Note the discrepancy between the French and the English in that last example: when talking about having an appointment with someone, you don't have to say j'ai un rendez-vous. J'ai rendez-vous will suffice.
In French, you don't "make" an appointment with someone—you "take" (prendre) one:
Aujourd'hui, on va apprendre à prendre rendez-vous chez le médecin.
Today we're going to learn how to make an appointment at the doctor's.
Caption 1, Manon et Clémentine - Rendez-vous chez le médecin
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And if something is by appointment only, it's sur rendez-vous ("on appointment"):
au trente-neuf rue Saint-Pavin des Champs sur rendez-vous
at thirty-nine Saint-Pavin des Champs Street by appointment
Caption 38, Le Mans TV - Le Mans: Ouverture d'un nouvel atelier d'artistes
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Un rendez-vous can refer both to a meeting and a meeting place:
Ce château était un rendez-vous de chasse.
This castle was a rendezvous point for hunting.
Caption 26, Le Mans TV - Mon Village - Malicorne
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Here's an interesting example that uses rendez-vous in more of a metaphoric sense:
Le soleil est au rendez-vous pour ce nouveau numéro de la découverte de la ville de Provins.
The sun is present for this new episode of the discovery of the city of Provins.
Caption 2, Voyage en France - La ville de Provins
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The sun is "at the meeting" for this new episode—in other words, the sun is out. Être au rendez-vous means "to be present." The expression is used in the negative in Part 1 of Le Jour où tout a basculé - J'ai piégé mon fan to describe an actress's lack of success in recent years:
Sophie est une comédienne célèbre, mais depuis quelques années le succès n'est plus au rendez-vous.
Sophie is a famous actress, but success has been hard to come by for several years.
Captions 1-2, Le Jour où tout a basculé - J'ai piégé mon fan
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Mais depuis deux ans, le succès n'est plus vraiment au rendez-vous.
But for the last two years, success has been somewhat elusive.
Caption 41, Le Jour où tout a basculé - J'ai piégé mon fan - Part 1
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That about does it for this lesson. Nous vous donnons rendez-vous très bientôt pour une nouvelle leçon (We'll meet you very soon for a new lesson)!
In the latest installment of Le Jour où tout a basculé, we find two very different uses of the verb passer. The first is a direct cognate of the English verb "to pass," referring to time passing:
Quatre mois ont passé.
Four months have passed.
Caption 30, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Mon père s'oppose à ma passion - Part 6
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The second, referring to taking an exam, is a false cognate. You might assume that passer son bac means "to pass one's baccalaureate exam." But that's wrong! Passer in this context actually means "to take":
J'ai passé mon bac.
I took my baccalaureate.
Caption 41, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Mon père s'oppose à ma passion - Part 6
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If you want to talk about passing an exam, use the verb réussir (to succeed):
Demain il réussira son examen.
Tomorrow he will pass his exam.
Caption 27, Le saviez-vous? - Conjugaison des verbes du 2ème groupe au futur simple
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Passer's other meanings are more predictable. You can use it transitively (i.e., with an object) to to talk about passing something to someone:
Passe le micro.
Pass the mic.
Caption 54, Arles - Le marché d'Arles
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Or you can use it intransitively (without an object) to describe someone passing by or passing from one place to another:
Tous les ans, effectivement, nous demandons à Saint-Nicolas de passer.
Every year, in fact, we ask Saint Nicholas to pass by.
Caption 44, Grand Lille TV - Focus: la tradition de Saint-Nicolas
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Et maintenant on va passer en cuisine avec le chef.
And now we'll go into the kitchen with the chef.
Caption 33, Parigot - Le bistrot
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Just as you can "pass time" (or "spend time") in English, you can passer du temps in French:
Et puis ça permet de passer un bon petit moment ensemble.
And then it allows us to spend a good bit of time together.
Caption 47, Actus Quartier - Fête de quartier Python-Duvernois - Part 2
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The expression passer pour means "to pass for," as in "to be taken for" or "seem like":
La maîtrise des synonymes vous permettra donc d'élargir votre vocabulaire, mais aussi, de ne pas passer pour un psychopathe.
Mastering synonyms will therefore allow you to broaden your vocabulary, but also to not be taken for a psychopath.
Captions 23-24, Le saviez-vous? - Les synonymes
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As passer is such a versatile verb, it's no surprise that it's used in many, many common expressions. We'll pass along a handful of them to you:
passer à autre chose - to move on to something else
passer à l'acte - to take action
passer à la caisse - to pay/checkout
passer à la télévision - to be on TV
passer à table - to sit down for a meal (also has the figurative meaning "to snitch" or "spill the beans")
passer un coup de fil - to make a phone call
passer de la musique - to put on some music
passer au bloc - to go under the knife/have surgery
passer au peigne fin - to go over with a fine-tooth comb
passer à côté de - to miss/miss out on
laisser passer sa chance - to miss one's chance
You can find even more expressions on this WordReference page.
And to learn about the reflexive form of passer, se passer, check out our lesson Se Passer: To Bypass and Pass By.
You may know that all French nouns are either masculine or feminine, but did you know that some nouns can be both? A word like après-midi (afternoon), for example, can be either masculine or feminine depending on the speaker's preference:
Vous deux, là, qu'est-ce que vous allez faire de beau cet après-midi?
You two, here, what are you going to do that's exciting this afternoon?
Caption 57, Actus Quartier - Fête de quartier Python-Duvernois - Part 1
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On passe une super après-midi.
You spend a great afternoon.
Caption 90, LCM - Rétine argentique, le paradis des photographes
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Un après-midi (masculine) and une après-midi (feminine) both mean "an afternoon." But usually, when a word's gender changes, its meaning changes too. Take the word mode, for example. La mode (feminine) means "fashion," but le mode (masculine) means "mode" or "(grammatical) mood":
Le milieu de la mode est aussi touché hein, forcément.
The world of fashion is also affected, you know, necessarily.
Caption 36, Cap 24 Paris - Alessandro fait les Puces! - Part 1
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Le temps présent fait partie du mode indicatif.
The present tense is part of the indicative mood.
Caption 10, Le saviez-vous? - Le mode indicatif, c'est quoi?
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Like mode, a lot of dual-gender words end in -e. Another common one is poste. When masculine, it means "post" as in "position" or "job" (among other things), and when feminine, it means "post" as in "post office" or "mail":
J'ai trouvé mon premier poste de libraire
I found my first bookseller position
Caption 3, Gaëlle - Librairie "Livres in Room"
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Si je venais à gagner, vous m'enverrez mon chèque par la poste.
If I were to win, you'll send me my check in the mail.
Caption 27, Patricia - Pas de crédit dans le monde des clones - Part 2
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You'll most often find the word livre in its masculine form, meaning "book." When feminine, it means "pound," as in the unit of weight and currency:
L'extérieur d'un livre s'appelle la couverture.
The outside of a book is called the cover.
Caption 4, Manon et Clémentine - Vocabulaire du livre
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Une livre équivaut à environ quatre cent cinquante-quatre grammes.
One pound is equal to around four hundred fifty-four grams.
Voile has related meanings in both its masculine and feminine forms. Both refer to things made of fabric—a veil (un voile) and a sail (une voile):
Un niqab, c'est donc un voile intégral qui ne laisse, euh, voir que les yeux.
So a niqab is a full-length veil that only, uh, shows the eyes.
Caption 10, Cap Caen Normandie TV - Danse - Héla Fattoumi se dévoile
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Il a une seule voile.
It has a single sail.
Caption 11, Fred et Miami Catamarans - Les Bateaux
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This video takes you on a tour (un tour) of Paris, making a requisite stop at the Eiffel Tower (la Tour Eiffel):
La Tour Eiffel, qui est le symbole de la France.
The Eiffel Tower, which is the symbol of France.
Caption 20, Paris Tour - Visite guidée de Paris
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Gender can be tricky in French, doubly so when you're dealing with words that can be both masculine and feminine. Remembering them is just a matter of practice. You can find a comprehensive list of dual-gender words on this page.
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:
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
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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
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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
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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"
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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
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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
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Et si y a le moindre souci avec un vélo...
And if there's the slightest issue with a bike...
Caption 57, Amal - Vélib
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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
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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
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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"!
Did you know that in French, "a person" is always feminine, regardless of their gender? That is, the word personne is always feminine, even when it refers to a male person. Our friend Farmer François refers to himself as une personne (not un personne) when talking to us about his vegetable stand:
Moi, je suis une personne qui est né dans la banlieue.
Me, I'm someone who was born in the suburbs.
Caption 48, Farmer François - Le stand de légumes
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And in another video, a woman describes a male friend of hers as la seule personne (not le seul personne):
C'était un Français, bien sûr. C'est la seule personne que je connais à West Berlin.
It was a Frenchman, of course. He's the only person I knew in West Berlin.
Captions 18-19, Le Journal - Le mur de Berlin s'écroule
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On the flip side, "an individual" is always masculine:
Ce n'est pas Bérangère qui la regarde mais un individu pour le moins étrange.
It's not Bérangère who is watching her but a rather strange individual.
Caption 10, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Espion dans l'immeuble - Part 2
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Elle est un individu sain.
She is a healthy individual.
There's an interesting combination of personne and individu in this article about the recent evacuation of Mont-Saint-Michel. The subject of the article is a man who made threats against police at the popular French tourist destination. He's designated as both il (referring to individu) and elle (referring to personne):
Selon Ouest-France, l'individu aurait affirmé vouloir «tuer des policiers». Descendu de la navette, il se serait ensuite volatilisé avant l'arrivée des gendarmes.... Plusieurs témoins ont signalé cette personne alors qu'elle rentrait sur le site touristique, a annoncé la gendarmerie.
According to Ouest-France, the individual expressed a desire to "kill police officers." After getting off the shuttle, he reportedly disappeared before the officers arrived.... Several witnesses identified this person when he returned to the tourist site, the police reported.
Don't forget that personne can also be used as a pronoun in combination with ne, meaning "no one":
Maintenant on dit: "Il n'y a pas un chat", pour parler d'un endroit où il n'y a personne.
Now one says, "There's not one cat" [not a soul] to talk about a place where there isn't anyone.
Caption 13, Manon et Clémentine - Mots et animaux
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Personne ne peut vivre là-dedans!
No one could live in there!
Caption 16, Il était une fois - les Explorateurs - 10. Amerigo Vespucci - Part 4
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Stay tuned for Patricia's upcoming video on ne... personne and similar expressions, part of her series on negation.
Thanks to Michael H. for bringing this topic to our attention!
The latest episode of Le Jour où tout a basculé begins with a homeless man asking pedestrians for une petite pièce, which is not "a little piece," but rather "a small coin" or "some small change":
Monsieur, s'il vous plaît, une petite pièce, un petit ticket restaurant.
Sir, please, a small coin, a small restaurant voucher.
Caption 30, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Mon père s'oppose à ma passion - Part 1
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Vous n'auriez pas une petite pièce?
You wouldn't have some small change?
Caption 35, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Mon père s'oppose à ma passion - Part 1
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Une pièce is short for une pièce de monnaie, "a piece of change." Monnaie is where we get the English word "money" (l'argent in French), but it actually means "change" or "currency":
Nous allons récupérer de la monnaie.
We're going to retrieve some change.
Caption 50, Lionel - Voyage en train - Part 1
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Une pièce can also be short for une pièce de théâtre ("a theater piece"), that is, "a play":
En général, on prenait la pièce d'un auteur connu.
We usually picked a play from a well-known author.
Caption 33, Flora - et le théâtre
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And its meanings don't stop there. Une pièce is also "a room," which you might think of as a "piece" of a building:
Mais venez avec moi, dans l'autre pièce.
But come with me into the other room.
Caption 25, Il était une fois - Notre Terre - 9. Les écosystèmes - Part 7
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Sometimes, une pièce is just a plain old "piece," whether referring to a piece or part of something else:
Ce puzzle a cinq cents pièces.
This puzzle has five hundred pieces.
J'ai besoin d'une pièce détachée pour mon vélo.
I need a spare part for my bike.
Or referring to an item or object, such as a piece of art or an article of clothing:
Ici, chaque pièce "d'art de la table" est unique.
Here, every piece of "table art" is unique.
Caption 9, Canal 32 - Mesnil-Saint-Loup : moines artisans
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Alors que c'est un ciré de création en pièce unique, quoi.
Although it's a unique piece, a designer raincoat, you know.
Caption 27, Lyon - La Croix-Rousse - Part 2
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You might also see pièce used as an adverb, generally when referencing the price of something. In this case it means "each" or, in a more direct translation, "apiece":
Les livres d'occasion coûtent un euro pièce.
The used books cost one euro each [or: apiece].
For even more pieces of information about the word pièce, see this extensive Larousse entry.
While discussing pigeons in Paris with his friend Lea, Lionel brings up an amusing French idiom referencing those ubiquitous city birds:
Alors se faire pigeonner en français,
So "se faire pigeonner" [to be taken for a ride] in French
c'est vraiment se faire arnaquer,
is really to get ripped off,
se faire avoir par une personne
to be had by a person
qui vous a soutiré de l'argent.
who has extracted money from you.
Captions 54-58, Lea & Lionel L - Le parc de Bercy
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Se faire pigeonner literally means "to be taken for a pigeon." In English too, "a pigeon" can refer to someone who's gullible or easily swindled. Pigeons get a bad rap in both languages!
Let's take a look at some more animal expressions and idioms used in Yabla videos. Here's another bird-related one:
Oui. J'avoue être un peu poule mouillée.
Yes. I admit to being a bit of a wet hen [a wimp].
Caption 23, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Notre appartement est hanté
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Calling someone poule mouillée is equivalent to calling them "chicken." A slightly less pejorative poultry-inspired moniker is un canard:
Qu'ils me disent que je m'affiche,
That they'll say that I am showing off,
qu'ils me traitent de canard
that they'll call me a duck [a slave to love]
Captions 6-7, Grand Corps Malade - Comme une évidence
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Un canard is a person who's so lovestruck they'll do whatever their partner desires. Believe it or not, it's also a slang term for "newspaper." There's even a famous French newspaper called Le Canard enchaîné (The Chained Duck), which Lionel discusses in a few other videos.
Don't confuse canard with cafard, the word for "cockroach." When used metaphorically, cafard means "depression" or "the blues":
Mon cafard me lâche moins souvent qu'autrefois...
My blues don't let me go as much as before...
Caption 8, Debout Sur Le Zinc - Les mots d'amour
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The expression avoir le cafard means "to be depressed," or literally, "to have the cockroach." And there's the adjective cafardeux/cafardeuse, which can mean either "depressing" or "depressed." Encountering a cockroach in your home can certainly be depressing, to say the least!
Though dogs are as beloved in France as they are in other countries, the word chien (dog) typically means "bad" or "nasty" when used as an adjective:
Fais demain quand le présent est chien
Make tomorrow when the present is bad
Caption 3, Corneille - Comme un fils
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You'll find chien in a couple of idioms involving bad weather, such as un temps de chien (nasty weather) and un coup de chien (a storm):
On va avoir un coup de chien, regarde!
We're going to have a dog's blow [stormy weather], look!
Caption 55, Il était une fois: les Explorateurs - 10. Amerigo Vespucci
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You can also say un temps de cochon (pig weather) instead of un temps de chien:
Et aujourd'hui on a pas un temps de cochon par contre.
And today we don't have pig weather [rotten weather] however.
Caption 22, Lionel - La Cathédrale de Toul
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In American English, "pigs" is a slang term for "cops." But the French call them vaches (cows):
Mort aux vaches, mort aux cons!
Death to the cows ["pigs," i.e., cops], death to the jerks!
Caption 5, Patrice Maktav - La Rue
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Finally, they don't celebrate April Fools' Day in France, but rather "April Fish":
En tout cas j'espère que ce n'est pas un poisson d'avril.
In any event, I hope that it's not an April fish [April fool].
Caption 21, Lionel - à Lindre-Basse
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You can find out more about the poisson d'avril tradition here. And be sure to check out Manon and Clémentine's video Mots et animaux to learn some more expressions featuring cats, dogs, and wolves.
In the latest episode of Le Jour où tout a basculé, Sarah receives some troubling news from her son Nino that could put her job in jeopardy:
Sarah ne se doute pas un instant
Sarah doesn't suspect for a moment
de la tournure des évènements.
the turn of events.
Captions 2-3, Le Jour où tout a basculé - J'ai volé pour nourrir mon fils
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The verb douter looks a lot like the English verb "to doubt," and indeed, the two are exact cognates:
Et puis, je commençais aussi à douter.
And then, I also began to doubt.
Caption 26, Le Jour où tout a basculé - À la recherche de mon père
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But se douter, the reflexive form of douter, doesn't mean "to doubt oneself," as you might expect. Instead, it means "to suspect" or "to guess":
Mais il ne se doute pas
But little does he know [he doesn't suspect]
qu'à sa place va se présenter Edna,
that in her place will be Edna,
la complice de Louise.
Louise's accomplice.
Captions 63-65, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Mes grands-parents sont infidèles
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If you're really certain about something, you can use the phrase se douter bien:
Avec un regard comme celui-là,
With a look like this,
on se doute bien qu'il a dû en voir.
one might well guess that he must have seen a lot.
Caption 1, Le Journal - Le photographe Cartier-Bresson
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Je me doute bien qu'il sait comment cuisiner.
I'm sure he knows how to cook.
Both douter and se douter can be followed by de or que. (Se) douter de always comes before a noun (as in Sarah ne se doute pas un instant de la tournure des évènements), while (se) douter que always comes before an independent clause (as in je me doute bien qu'il sait comment cuisiner).
But douter and se douter differ in another important way besides their meaning. While se douter que always takes the indicative mood (since it expresses a certainty or near certainty), douter que can take the indicative or the subjunctive depending on context. In general, douter que takes the subjunctive in the affirmative and the indicative in the negative:
Je doute qu'il sache comment cuisiner.
I doubt he knows how to cook.
Je ne doute pas qu'elle sait la meilleure façon d'y arriver.
I don't doubt she knows the best way to get there.
As you may recall, the subjunctive is used to express a wish, uncertainty, or doubt. So if you're saying you don't doubt something, it makes sense that you would use the indicative rather than the subjunctive in that case.
We'll be back with a new lesson soon, sans aucun doute (without a doubt)!
The adjectives sensé(e) and censé(e) are easy to confuse, since they have the same pronunciation and almost the same spelling (in other words, they're homophones). Sensé(e) is related to the English word "sense," and means "sensible," "reasonable," or "sane":
J'étais face à trois personnes que
I was facing three people whom
je considérais comme étant parfaitement sensées.
I considered to be perfectly sane.
Captions 80-81, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Notre appartement est hanté
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Censé(e) might remind you of the words "census," "censor," or "censure," but it means something quite different. It's the word for "supposed," as in "supposed to do something." Just like "supposed to," it's nearly always preceded by the verb "to be" (être) and followed by an infinitive:
On est censé... faire réparer des objets qui ont quelques problèmes.
We're supposed to... bring items that have some problems for repair.
Caption 2, Actus Quartier - Repair Café
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On était censé n'avoir aucun souci,
They were supposed to have no concerns,
avoir des centrales complètement fiables.
to have totally reliable power plants.
Caption 25, Manif du Mois - Fukushima plus jamais ça
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Alors que la police, elle est censée être là pour nous protéger.
While the police are supposed to be there to protect us.
Caption 14, Banlieues françaises - jeunes et policiers, l'impossible réconciliation?
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You can always say supposé(e) instead of censé(e), which might be a little easier to remember:
...son fameux pont
...its famous bridge,
qui était supposé être un lieu où [on] profitait de beaux panoramas.
which was supposed to be a place where you enjoy beautiful panoramas.
Captions 26-27, De nouvelles découvertes avec Marion - Le parc des Buttes Chaumont
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Or you can use the verb devoir, especially in the past tense:
...bien qu'elle se demanda
...although she wondered
en quoi cela devait l'aider à se rendre au bal.
in what way that was supposed to help her get to the ball.
Captions 47-48, Contes de fées - Cendrillon
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Whichever version of "supposed to" you use is perfectly sensé!
In Part 2 of "Elle a banni le sucre pendant un an," Danièle Gerkens, a journalist at Elle magazine, talks about the health benefits she experienced after cutting sugar from her diet for one year. When the year was almost up, she was expecting to break her sugar fast with mountains of whipped cream, but it was actually a single piece of dark chocolate that did her in:
Je me disais que j'allais me rouler dans la chantilly, et cetera.
I told myself that I was going to wallow in whipped cream, et cetera.
Et puis en fait, plus ça arrivait,
And then in fact, the closer it came [to the end],
plus je me disais, mais... qu'est-ce que je vais faire?
the more I was wondering, but... what am I going to do?
Captions 102-104, Le Figaro - Elle a banni le sucre pendant un an
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Note the two different translations of je me disais here: "I told myself" and "I was wondering." The reflexive verb se dire can mean a number of things depending on context, namely "to tell/say to oneself" and "to wonder/think." In a sense, these both mean the same thing: when you wonder or think about something, you're telling yourself about it.
When multiple people se disent, they could be thinking about something or telling themselves something, but they could also just be talking to each other:
Christine et Alice sont de meilleures amies. Elles se disent tout.
Christine and Alice are best friends. They tell each other everything.
Se dire can also mean "to say of oneself," or in other words, "to claim to be":
Le Charles de Gaulle,
Charles de Gaulle,
où la direction se dit d'abord victime de son image.
where the management claims first to be a victim of its image.
Caption 29, Le Journal - Hôpital ultra-moderne à Burkina Faso
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Or se dire can simply mean "to be said," which has a few different connotations. Here Danièle is (somewhat cheekily) talking about something she thinks is taboo and can't be mentioned in public. Believe it or not, she's referring to her love of milk chocolate!
Je sais, ça se dit pas, mais j'adorais ça.
I know you're not supposed to say it, but that's what I loved.
Caption 112, Le Figaro - Elle a banni le sucre pendant un an
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In its most general sense, se dire refers to anything that "is said" in everyday language:
Par contre,
On the other hand,
"faire le beau" se dit d'un chien qui se tient sur les pattes arrière
"faire le beau" is said of a dog that stands on its hind legs
pour réclamer un sucre.
to beg for a lump of sugar.
Captions 24-25, Margaux et Manon - Emplois du verbe faire
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"Je n'ai pas des biscuits": ça se dit en français? -Non. Il faut dire: "je n'ai pas de biscuits".
Can you say je n'ai pas des biscuits in French? -No. You have to say je n'ai pas de biscuits [I don't have any cookies].
Don't confuse ça se dit with ça te dit (or ça vous dit in the plural), which means "how does that sound" or "how would you like..." (literally, "does it speak to you"):
Ça te dit de réviser les multiples sens de l'expression "se dire"?
How would you like to review the multiple meanings of the expression se dire?
There are two new videos dealing with food on Yabla this week. The first is the latest episode of Le Jour où tout a basculé, which focuses on a struggling frozen-food worker and her difficult son. The second is an interview with Christian Le Squer, the head chef at the three-Michelin-starred restaurant Le Cinq. Both videos contain a good number of interesting food-related words, which we'll go over in this lesson.
1. Des pâtes
Y a quoi pour le dîner? -Des pâtes.
What's for dinner? -Pasta.
Captions 3-4, Le Jour où tout a basculé - J'ai volé pour nourrir mon fils
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"Pasta" is a singular noun, but when you say you're having pasta for dinner, you don't mean you're just having one piece of pasta, right? That's why you say des pâtes (plural) in French when talking about a pasta meal. Une pâte (singular) refers to one piece of pasta, and it's also the word for "paste," "pastry," and "dough." Don't confuse it with le pâté, which means—you guessed it—"pâté."
2. Bouffer
Pourtant, ça empêche pas mes potes de bouffer de la viande.
Even so, that doesn't stop my buddies from eating meat.
Caption 49, Le Jour où tout a basculé - J'ai volé pour nourrir mon fils
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This is a very common slang word meaning "to eat." You can use it instead of the standard verb manger when speaking informally. And instead of la nourriture (food), you can say la bouffe.
3. Des plats surgelés
Sarah, quarante-cinq ans,
Sarah, forty-five years old,
est secrétaire dans une société de fabrication de plats surgelés.
is a secretary at a frozen-food manufacturing company.
Captions 34-35, Le Jour où tout a basculé - J'ai volé pour nourrir mon fils
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Des plats surgelés are frozen foods, but the term literally means "frozen dishes." Surgelé(e) is mostly used in food contexts and is often interchangeable with the related adjective congelé(e). The more general word for "frozen" is simply gelé(e).
4. Le couvert
Une quarantaine de couverts...
About forty place settings...
Caption 9, Christian Le Squer - Je ne fais que goûter!
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Couvert is the past participle of the verb couvrir (to cover), but when used as a noun (le couvert) it means "place setting" or "cutlery." This makes sense if you think about it, since when you set a table, you cover it with plates, glasses, and silverware. In fact, the phrase mettre le couvert means "to set the table," or literally, "to put down the place setting."
5. Torréfier
Faut la faire torréfier.
It's got to be roasted.
Caption 23, Christian Le Squer - Je ne fais que goûter!
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Christian Le Squer is referring to a hazelnut (une noisette) that he thinks needs to be roasted. Torréfier is mainly used when talking about roasting nuts or coffee beans. When you're roasting meat or vegetables, you use the verb rôtir or faire rôtir.
6. Une entrée
...viande, poisson, entrée, et sucrée.
...meat, fish, starters, and sweets.
Caption 34, Christian Le Squer - Je ne fais que goûter!
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In American English, "entrée" is another word for "main course." But une entrée actually means an "appetizer" or "starter" in French. It also means "an entrance." To remember this difference in meaning, just think of an appetizer as the "entrance" to a meal. If you'd like to learn the history of the word "entrée" in English, check out this interesting blog post.
And for more food-related words, see this Yabla lesson.
Lionel is back with his cousin Jean-Pierre, who, in addition to being a wildlife expert, is also a dog expert. With the help of his trusty border collie, Chic, Jean-Pierre gives Lionel some helpful pointers on training dogs.
In part two of the series, Jean-Pierre gives Chic a number of basic dog commands, which Chic performs perfectly. We'll go over some of those commands in this lesson. You may want to revisit our lessons on the imperative mood before reading on, since most of the commands are in that mood.
We'll start with the most basic ones—"come," "look," and "sit":
Viens! Regarde. Viens. Assis!
Come! Look. Come. Sit!
Captions 31-33, Lionel - au club canin
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Of the above commands, can you spot the one that isn't in the imperative? If you guessed assis, you're correct! Assis is in fact the past participle of the verb s'asseoir (to sit) and literally means "seated." Jean-Pierre could also have said assieds-toi (sit), which is the true imperative of the verb s'asseoir, but assis is more commonly used as a command for dogs.
Jean-Pierre uses another past participle as a command a few captions later:
Allez, couché.
Go on, lie down.
Caption 39, Lionel - au club canin
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Couché is the past participle of coucher (to go to bed), but to a well-trained dog, it's a command to "lie down."
After Jean-Pierre throws a ball, he says:
Prends! Voilà. Apporte.
Catch! That's it. Fetch.
Captions 50-52, Lionel - au club canin
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Prends and apporte are imperative forms of the verbs prendre (to take) and apporter (to bring). So it makes sense that they also mean "catch" and "fetch."
Jean-Pierre uses another word for "catch" at another point in the video:
Tu sais attraper, là?
Can you catch, there?
Caption 35, Lionel - au club canin
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Finally, he tells Chic to heel, or, literally, to "come to foot":
Viens au pied, là.
Come to foot [heel], there.
Caption 45, Lionel - au club canin
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You'll also find a fair number of races de chiens (dog breeds) mentioned in this video:
un teckel - a dachshund
un dalmatien - a Dalmatian
un chien de chasse - a hunting dog
un berger allemand - a German shepherd
un chien terrier - a terrier (un terrier also means "a burrow")
un bâtard - a mutt
And of course, there's un border collie, like Chic!
Daniel Benchimol concludes his latest video, on the town of Montmorency, a little differently than he usually does. He introduces us to Philippe, the man behind the scenes of Daniel's numerous travel videos. Philippe does it all: he films, he directs, he edits. Daniel uses some basic film terminology in his description of Philippe:
Laissez-moi vous présenter mon compagnon de tournage, Philippe,
Let me present to you my filming companion, Philippe,
qui réalise, qui monte
who directs, who edits,
et qui fait l'ensemble de ce que vous ne voyez pas.
and who does everything that you don't see.
Captions 47-48, Voyage en France - Montmorency
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Tournage comes from the verb tourner, which, as you might have guessed, means "to turn." But in movie parlance, tourner means "to film" (and le tournage means "filming" or "film shoot"). To remember this, just think of film reels turning on an old movie camera.
We discussed the verb réaliser in a previous lesson. Among its many meanings is "to direct" a film or stage production. The related word réalisateur (masculine) or réalisatrice (feminine) means "director" or "filmmaker"—in other words, the person who "realizes" the film.
Yabla has a lesson on monter as well! Its basic meanings are "to climb" and "to put up," but monter can also mean "to edit" a film. The English word "montage" refers to a specific technique of combining short clips to form a continuous sequence, but the French le montage refers more generally to the "editing" of a film.
Another Yabla video takes us to Concarneau in Brittany, where a film crew documented the town's rich maritime heritage. You'll find some interesting film-related words at the beginning of the video:
Moteur!
Action!
Séance de tournage sur le port de Concarneau.
Filming session on the Concarneau harbor.
En face de l'objectif, le maître du port.
In front of the camera lens, the harbormaster.
Captions 1-3, Télévision Bretagne Ouest - Concarneau: Un tournage sur la vie maritime
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Moteur usually just means "motor" or "engine," but here it means "Action!" This is actually a shortened version of the phrase silence, moteur, action! (literally, "silence, motor, action!"), the French equivalent of "lights, camera, action!" You can also say moteur, ça tourne, action! ("motor, it's filming, action!").
You might be wondering what a "camera lens" has to do with an "objective." If you consider that un objectif also means "an aim," the relationship might be clearer. A filmmaker or photographer aims their camera lens at their subject, so it makes sense that objectif is the word for "camera lens."
Check out this lesson for some more French film words.
Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for our next lesson and tweet us @yabla or send your topic suggestions to newsletter@yabla.com.
Our friend Lionel is known for his witty puns and excellent comedic timing. He even filmed a standup set for Yabla! Apparently, a good sense of humor runs in his family. In Lionel's latest video, his cousin Jean-Pierre cracks a joke about the Vosges mountain range:
Y a une blague à propos de...
There's a joke about...
justement des Vosges du Nord.
precisely about the Northern Vosges.
Quand on voit pas les Vosges du Nord,
When you don't see the Northern Vosges,
c'est qu'il pleut.
it's because it's raining.
Et quand on les voit bien, c'est qu'il va pleuvoir.
And when you see them clearly, it means that it's going to rain.
Captions 85-90, Lionel - à Lindre-Basse
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If you didn't laugh at Jean-Pierre's joke, you probably had to be there (near the Northern Vosges, that is).
Une blague doesn't only refer to a verbal joke. It can also be a trick or a prank you play on someone:
On va leur faire une bonne blague!
We're going to play a nice trick on them!
Caption 23, Il était une fois - Notre Terre - 9. Les écosystèmes
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Une farce and un tour are the other words for "trick," "prank," or "practical joke":
Une farce joyeuse et de franche gaieté.
A joyous prank with uninhibited gaiety.
Caption 10, Il était une fois... l’Homme - 6. Le siècle de Périclès
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Ils ont plus d'un tour dans leur sac.
They have more than one trick in their bag [up their sleeves].
Caption 34, Il était une fois... la vie - 14. La bouche et les dents
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There's also another word for "joke": une plaisanterie. This example explains what happens in your body when you laugh at a joke:
Vous savez que ce sont les lèvres glottiques
You know that it's the glottic folds
qui sous l'effet d'une plaisanterie se mettent à vibrer.
that start vibrating when a joke is told.
Captions 8-9, Le Journal - Les effets bénéfiques du rire!
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So how do you say "to crack a joke" or "to tell a joke" in French? You can either say raconter une plaisanterie or raconter une blague:
Il aime raconter des plaisanteries [or des blagues] grivoises.
He loves to tell dirty jokes.
But if you're talking about "joking" or "joking/messing around," then you use the verbs plaisanter or blaguer:
Ils blaguaient tout le temps pendant leur enfance.
They always used to joke around when they were little.
Tu plaisantes! Je ne crois pas ça. -Non, je ne plaisante pas!
You're kidding! I don't believe that. -No, I'm not kidding!
Thanks for reading! We'll be back soon with a new lesson. Sans blague! (No joke!)
Animals are generally (and perhaps unjustly) considered to be less intelligent than humans, which explains why the French word bête can mean both "beast" and "stupid":
Après tout, c'est bête la guerre.
After all, war is stupid.
Caption 25, Il était une fois: les Explorateurs - 15. Bruce et les sources du Nil
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The related noun bêtise can mean anything along the lines of "stupidity" or "idiocy." You can use it in a general sense to talk about "something stupid":
Après les parents, ils me disent, quand ils font une bêtise...
Later the parents tell me, when they do something stupid...
Caption 56, Banlieues françaises - jeunes et policiers, l'impossible réconciliation?
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Or you might use it to refer to something more specific, such as a mistake. Une bêtise isn't just any old mistake, but a particularly stupid one:
Vous allez réparer vos bêtises.
You're going to repair your stupid mistakes.
Caption 31, Il était une fois: Notre Terre - 9. Les écosystèmes
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Of course, if you tell someone he or she has made a stupid mistake, you could be implying that the person him or herself is stupid. Une erreur is a more neutral word for "mistake" that doesn't connote stupidity:
Elle fait une terrible erreur.
She's making a terrible mistake.
Caption 4, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Mes grands-parents sont infidèles
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The plural bêtises is often used to refer to "nonsense," "mischief," or any kind of naughty behavior:
Arrête tes bêtises.
Stop your nonsense.
Mais si on fait des bêtises, on sait jamais...
But if we get into mischief, you never know...
Caption 90, Actu Vingtième - Le Repas des anciens
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If you argue with someone over des bêtises, you're arguing over nothing:
Mes enfants se disputent toujours pour des bêtises.
My kids are always arguing with each other over nothing.
When it comes to learning a language, there's no such thing as a stupid mistake. So don't fret if you forget an accent mark or type in the wrong word in a Yabla game—you've just made a simple erreur, not une bêtise!
For fun, here's an 80s throwback for you: Sabine Paturel's "Les Bêtises," which was a smash hit in France in 1986.
In a recent lesson, we talked about the words bon/bonne and mauvais/mauvaise, which respectively mean "good" and "bad," but can also mean "right" and "wrong" depending on context. It's easy to confuse these with the words bien and mal, which have similar meanings ("well" and "badly/poorly") but different functions.
Bon/bonne and mauvais/mauvaise are adjectives, which means they change according to the number and gender of the noun they modify:
Alors justement je crois que c'est vraiment une très bonne chose...
So, exactly, I think that it's really a very good thing...
Caption 56, Alsace 20 - 100 recettes pour 100 vins
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Il y a eu la destruction de la partie de maison existante
There was the destruction of the existing part of the house
qui était en très mauvais état.
that was in very bad shape.
Caption 22, Thomas - Thomas et sa maison
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On the other hand, bien and mal are adverbs, which can modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Unlike adjectives, these never change in French:
...un grand orfèvre parisien que Balzac connaissait bien.
who was a great Parisian goldsmith whom Balzac knew well.
Caption 28, Exposition - Balzac, architecte d'intérieurs
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Il paraît que les voyages en train finissent mal en général
It seems that train rides generally end badly
Caption 54, Grand Corps Malade - Les Voyages en train
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Just as it's ungrammatical to say "whom Balzac knew good" and "train rides generally end bad" in English, in French you can't say que Balzac connaissait bon or les voyages en train finissent mauvais. You have to use bien/mal.
Bien and mal can also function as nouns. In philosophical terms, they refer to "good" and "evil":
Quelle est la différence entre le bien et le mal?
What is the difference between good and evil?
But they have more down-to-earth meanings as well. For instance, the plural les biens means "goods," as in commodities or possessions. And mal can also refer to illness or harm, as in the expressions avoir mal and faire mal:
J'ai mal à l'oreille.
I have an earache.
Ne me fais pas mal!
Don't hurt me!
In everyday speech, bon and bien are also used as interjections, in which case they're more or less interchangeable. They both correspond to the English interjection "well" in this context:
Eh bien, j'espère que vous avez passé un bon moment, ici, sur Arles.
Well, I hope you had a good time here, in Arles.
Caption 21, Arles - Un Petit Tour d'Arles
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Bon, il y a des raisons personnelles évidemment qui jouent.
Well, obviously there are personal reasons that come into play.
Caption 17, Alphabétisation - des filles au Sénégal
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It's sometimes hard to tell the difference between good and bad, but at least now you know the difference between bon, mauvais, bien, and mal!
Stay tuned for our next lesson and tweet us @yabla or send your topic suggestions to newsletter@yabla.com.