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Finding the Right Place

The word place is very common in French and poses few problems when it's a direct cognate of the English "place." Other times, however, the meanings diverge, and the word place will translate in a variety of ways depending on context. So, let’s go places and explore the similarities and differences in the use of the word place in this lesson.

 

As we just mentioned, the word place can be used in a similar way in English and in French in some situations. For example, "a place to stay" is une place d’accueil (literally "a place of welcome"). In the video below, welcome centers around France offer des places d’accueil (places to stay) for refugees:

 

C'est près de deux cents places d'accueil...

It's nearly two hundred welcoming places...

Caption 35, Réfugiés de Calais L’accueil des migrants en Finistère

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Une place does not only refer to a physical place, but also to a figurative one, like the place where you belong in life. That's a tough question for this lost soul in Yaaz’s sad song "La Place des anges," who muses over an uncertain future and wonders where angels truly belong:

 

Mais la place des anges n'est pas ici

But the angels' place is not here

Caption 7, Yaaz La place des anges

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Sometimes finding the right place is simply a practical matter. In this well-organized restaurant, the staff is ready to se mettre en place (take their places) before the rush of diners:  

 

Eh ben, on se met en place et on fait tout ça.

Well then, we'll take our places and we'll do all that.

Caption 76, 4 Mains pour 1 Piano Médaillon de Homard - Part 2

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The expression remettre à sa place, though, is not so kind, as it means to put someone back in their place:

 

Le patron l’a remis à sa place.

The boss put him back in his place.

 

So far, we’ve looked at examples of true cognates. Unfortunately, these only work in a limited context, as une place often means something other than “a place.” But it doesn’t have to be complicated. For example, to book a table, a room, seats, or buy concert tickets, just say réserver une place! In the following video, une place means “a ticket” to a concert:

 

Dix mille places se sont arrachées en deux jours.

Ten thousand tickets were snapped up in two days.

Caption 13, Alsace 20 Rammstein à Strasbourg

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Une place can also refer to the seating capacity or number of seats in a venue:

 

Mercredi je joue au Sin-é et... C'est trois cents places

On Wednesday I'm performing at Sin-é and... It's three hundred seats.

Caption 9, Charles-Baptiste Interview

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Or to the seating capacity in a car, or even the sleeping capacity in a bed:

 

On dit un lit à deux places et une voiture à cinq places en français.

We say a double bed and a five-seater car in French.

 

La place can also simply describe the amount of space available for comfort—in other words, “space” or “room”:

 

Qu'à tes côtés y a plus de place et que je ne peux pas rester

That there's no room left by your side and that I can't stay

Caption 24, Babylon Circus J'aurais bien voulu

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And when there is not enough place (room) because something or someone takes up too much space, you can use the expression prendre toute la place (to take up all the space), like the naughty cat in this video:

 

Et en plus, elle prenait... et toi, prenez toute la place dans le lit.

And in addition, she took... and you, [you both] take up all the space in bed.

Captions 27-28, Marie & Jeremy Le chat

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Now that we’ve looked at the various uses of the French word place, let’s look at its English counterpart. Again, you will encounter a variety of translations. When referring to a geographical “place” or location, you can’t use the French place anymore. Instead, use un endroit or un lieu (a place). If that place happens to be your home, or “your place," use chez moi (my place). In their video on Parc de la Villette, Amal and Caroline use all three. First, they talk about un endroit:

 

Je crois que c'est aussi un endroit assez culturel...

II think it's also a pretty cultural place...

Caption 37, Amal et Caroline Le Parc de la Villette

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Then they use a synonym, un lieu:

 

Ce qui est vraiment intéressant, c'est que tu as plein de lieux pour faire la fête.

What's really interesting is that you have plenty of places to party.

Captions 53-55, Amal et Caroline Le Parc de la Villette

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And earlier on, one of them mentions how close they are to her place: 

 

On est même pas à cinq, dix minutes à pied de chez moi.

We're not even five, ten minutes away by foot from my place.

Caption 7, Amal et Caroline Le Parc de la Villette

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(For more information on chez moi, check out our lesson Chez moi, c’est chez toi.)

 

Just to confuse matters further, your “place” or “home” might be located on une place, "a square." In the video below, Joanna and Caroline invite us to visit la place Stanislas (Stanislas Square). Note that there is no need to capitalize place in an address:

 

On a décidé de vous faire visiter la place Stanislas.

We've decided to show you around Stanislas Square.

Caption 4, Joanna La Place Stanislas

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Instead of visiter une place, you may prefer to rester sur place (to stay/remain on site). These refugees are fortunate in that they can stay in the same spot for a few months:

 

Ces groupes devraient rester quelques mois sur place

These groups should stay on site for a few months

Caption 37, Réfugiés de Calais L’accueil des migrants en Finistère

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Or you may seek another kind of place that has nothing to do with location. Une place can also be "a position” or “a job"—whether an everyday occupation or the prestigious position of honorary president of the Cannes Film Festival:

 

Madame de Havilland... on vous a proposé en tout cas pour la place de présidente d'honneur à vie de ce festival.

Ms. de Havilland... you were nominated in any case for the position of honorary president of this festival [jury] for life.

Captions 31-33, Interviews au Festival de Cannes Olivia de Havilland

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La place also means "position" in general in expressions such as se mettre à la place de quelqu’un (to put oneself in another person’s position/place):

 

Faut se mettre à la place d'Obama ; pendant trois ans, il s'était farci...

You need to put yourself in Obama's position; for three years, he had been putting up with...

Caption 26, Alsace 20 Laurent Chandemerle, l'homme aux 100 voix

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On the flip side, the French word une position can mean "rank" or "place." In her video, Nelly ranks her favorite places (lieux or endroits) to visit in France:

 

En septième position, nous avons les gorges du Verdon.

In seventh place, we have the gorges of Verdon.

Caption 20, Français avec Nelly 10 Places to Visit in France - Part 2

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The word place has so many meanings that il n’y a pas assez de place (there is not enough space) in this lesson to mention them all. Just remember that context is key and feel free to browse through our Yabla videos and notice how often the word place comes up! 

Vocabulary

Je craque! – The Verb Craquer

The verb craquer (to crack)—not to be confused with croquer (to crunch/bite)—is an interesting word as it can be used in a variety of ways, often in situations that involve strong emotions, either positive or negative. When used informally, craquer has many meanings that range from “breaking down” to “falling in love."

 

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In a negative context, craquer can mean to crack up, or crack under pressure:

 

François est dégoûté. Il craque.

François is disgusted. He's cracking up.

Caption 35, Oldelaf - Le monde est beau

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Craquer can also describe something or someone cracking under pressure:

 

Continue à faire des films aussi flingués et les cités vont craquer.

Continue making gun movies like always and the housing estates are going to crack.

Captions 51-52, Alain Etoundi - Allez tous vous faire enfilmer! - Part 1

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It can also refer to someone "giving in" or "caving":

 

Bon, j'ai craqué parce que...

Well, I caved because...

Caption 52, Le Jour où tout a basculé - À l'audience - Arnaque en couple ? - Part 3

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While craquer means to crack under pressure, faire craquer quelqu’un means to cause someone to crack or to break someone’s spirit, like the mother in the video below who tried to faire craquer (break down) her son’s girlfriend:

 

Sa mère voulait me faire craquer.

His mother wanted to break me down.

Caption 34, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Ma mère fait tout pour briser mon couple - Part 3

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At the other end of the spectrum, however, craquer can describe a positive experience. It's slang for “to fall in love." In the example below, the French pianist Christine Ott is asked:

 

C'est ce qui t'a fait craquer, toi, pour cet instrument?

Is that what made you fall in love with this instrument?

Caption 4, Alsace 20 - Femmes d'exception: Christine Ott

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And the singer Melissa Mars "fell head over heels" for her project "Et Alors!":

 

Et voilà, donc du coup, ben évidemment j'ai craqué sur ce projet,

And there, so as a result, well of course I fell head over heels for this project,

Caption 23, Melissa Mars - Et Alors!

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In the following example, shoppers "fell" for some Christmas ornaments:

 

Et ben on a craqué sur des choses un petit peu typiques, euh...

And, well, we fell for things that are a little bit typical, uh...

Caption 10, Alsace 20 - Ouverture du marché de Noël de Colmar

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And, of course, craquer sur also means to fall for a person:

 

J'avais complètement craqué sur elle

I'd completely fallen for her

Caption 68, Le Jour où tout a basculé - J'ai piégé mon fan - Part 2

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Likewise, faire craquer can mean to make someone fall for someone:

 

Je pouvais avouer, ouais, qu'elle m'a fait craquer

I could confess, yeah, that she made me fall for her

Captions 32-33, Harmelo - Mets Ton Masque Ft. Jade L x Ghetto

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On a spookier note, craquer can mean to creak, as in the sound the floor makes in this couple’s haunted apartment:

 

Ah, c'est le plancher qui craque.

Ah, it's the floor that's creaking.

Caption 17, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Notre appartement est hanté - Part 3

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And for a little bit of humor, craquer (to rip) can describe a wardrobe mishap. In this video, Elisa and Mashal look at old photographs, and Mashal remembers when her pants ripped in the middle:

 

Enfin, quand j'avais dansé mon pantalon qui avait craqué au mil'...

Well, when I'd been dancing, my pants, which had ripped in the mid'...

Caption 82, Elisa et Mashal - Photos

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Or when referring to shoes, you can say that they are sur le point de craquer (about to burst). In "J'aurais bien voulu," the singer of the ska band Babylon Circus talks about his battered ego sagging down to his socks to the point that his godasses (shoes) are sur le point de craquer (about to burst):

 

J'ai l'ego dans les chaussettes et les godasses sur le point de craquer

My ego's in my socks and my shoes are about to burst

Caption 30, Babylon Circus - J'aurais bien voulu

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There’s another colloquial expression that paints a similar picture, plein à craquer, which means “bursting at the seams” or “overcrowded”:

 

Les hôpitaux sont pleins à craquer.

The hospitals are completely overcrowded.

 

Don't confuse craquer with the English loanword cracker, which means "hacker":

 

Des crackers ont piraté le logiciel.

Some hackers hacked into the software. 

 

(Un cracker can also be of the edible kind… a cracker!).

 

The noun un craque doesn’t refer to "cracking" at all. It's slang for un mensonge (a lie):

 

Mais si tous mes craques t'indiffèrent

But if all my lies leave you indifferent

Caption 28, Mademoiselle K (avec Zazie) - Me taire te plaire

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The English noun “crack,” as in a crack in the wall, is une fissure in French, and the verb is fissurer (to crack), as mentioned in this video about the Liverdun Church during the Second World War:

 

Parce qu'elle a été fissurée pendant la dernière Guerre mondiale.

Because it was cracked during the last World War.

Caption 76, Lionel - L'église de Liverdun - Part 2

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There are other instances when “crack” doesn’t translate as craquer in French. For example, “to crack a joke” is simply raconter une blague (to tell a joke), Lionel’s specialty in his Yabla videos:

 

Lionel adore raconter des blagues sur Yabla.

Lionel loves telling jokes on Yabla.

 

And when you "crack up" at a joke, you éclater de rire (burst out laughing):

 

Les blagues de Lionel me font toujours éclater de rire.

Lionel's jokes always crack me up.

 

One last thing you can do with craquer in French is craquer une allumette (strike a match):

 

On peut craquer une allumette pour voir dans le noir.

We can strike a match to see in the dark.


Nous espérons que vous avez craqué sur cette leçon (We hope you fell for this lesson)!

Vocabulary

How to Hug in French

In our last lesson, we talked about the different words for kissing in French, and how the COVID pandemic has affected the French custom of la bise. Now we'll focus on hugging. Yes, French people hug too! However, there are differences. Unlike in Anglo-Saxon countries, where hugging is what la bise is to French people, hugging is not so prevalent in France. A hug is not used as a greeting, as full-body contact may be considered intrusive. Hugging is more of a private affair, a heartfelt show of affection. So, if you’re not comfortable with la bise, don’t think that you can make a compromise by giving a hug instead! 

 

In fact, the word for “hug” doesn’t have a direct translation in French.

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Instead, you’ll find a paraphrase: serrer dans ses bras (to squeeze in one's arms) or prendre dans ses bras (to hold in one’s arms).

 

J'aurais bien voulu, pour passer le temps

I really would have liked, to pass the time

te serrer dans mes bras amicalement

to squeeze you warmly in my arms

Captions 1-2, Babylon Circus - J'aurais bien voulu

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Un câlin is a more familiar hug, more like a cuddle:

 

Que le mot soit doux comme un câlin

May the word be sweet like a cuddle

Caption 4, Les Nubians - Que le mot soit perle

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You can also use the verbal phrase faire un câlin (to hug or cuddle). Sophie and Patrice even use it when talking about hugging their Christmas tree!

 

Moi, j'aime bien faire des câlins aux arbres.

I really like hugging trees.

-Allez viens. On va lui faire un petit câlin

-Come on, we'll go give it a little hug

Caption 86, Sophie et Patrice - Après Noël

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And you can give bisous, bises, and câlins in writing too, with no fear of contamination! It's equivalent to "kisses and hugs" at the end of a letter, text message, or email:

 

Bisous, câlins, Maman.

Kisses and hugs, Mom.

Caption 40, Extr@ Ep. 1 - L'arrivée de Sam

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Finally, there's the more formal une étreinte, which is "an embrace," and its verbal form étreindre (to embrace):

 

J'aurais voulu que cette étreinte avec mon père dure éternellement.

I would have liked this embrace with my father to last forever.

Caption 25, Le Jour où tout a basculé - À la recherche de mon père

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Le soir, on s'étreint, les deux pieds dans l'eau

In the evening, we embrace, both feet in the water

Caption 21, Duel - Caramel

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The word embrasser is cognate with "embrace," but don't let that confuse you: it means "to kiss," not "to hug." See our last lesson for more on that.

 

The French might not hug each other as much as Americans do, but they have quite a few different ways of saying "hug"!

Vocabulary

Surtout, Above All

The adverb surtout is actually two words combined: sur (over, above) and tout (all). Once you know that, its meaning is self-explanatory:

 

Et surtout n'oubliez rien.

And above all, don't forget anything.

Caption 9, Bande-annonce - La Belle et la Bête

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There are a couple different ways of saying "above all" in English, all of which are encompassed by surtout. There's "most of all":

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Mais surtout c'est toi

But most of all, it's you

Caption 30, Aldebert - La vie c'est quoi ?

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"Especially":

 

J'ai du mal à mentir, surtout quand c'est pas vrai

I find it hard to lie, especially when it's not true

Caption 29, Babylon Circus - J'aurais bien voulu

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And "particularly" or "in particular":

 

J'aime surtout la cuisine japonais.

particularly like Japanese cuisine. / I like Japanese cuisine in particular.

 

Note, though, that "especially," "particularly," and "in particular" have more direct equivalents in French as well:

 

C'est le sujet qui nous intéresse tous spécialement aujourd'hui.

It's the subject that's especially of interest to all of us today.

Caption 62, Uderzo et Goscinny - 1968

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Mais quand on est sensible à la peinture,

But for one who appreciates painting,

ici, la lumière est particulièrement belle.

the light here is particularly beautiful.

Caption 8, Arles - Un Petit Tour d'Arles

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Les plages de la côte atlantique et en particulier

The beaches on the Atlantic coast and in particular

de la côte basque sont des plages très étendues.

on the Basque coast are very vast beaches.

Caption 31, Voyage en France - Saint-Jean-de-Luz

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Surtout can also mean "mainly" or "mostly," which isn't quite the same as "above all":

 

En fait c'est ça surtout

In fact that's it, mostly

Caption 37, Alsace 20 - La chronique Mode de Caroline: mode éthique

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Aujourd'hui j'ai surtout travaillé au bureau.

Today I mainly worked in the office.

 

In informal speech, surtout is also the equivalent of "whatever you do" or "be sure to":

 

Surtout, ne rate pas le prochain épisode de "Extra"!

Whatever you do, don't miss the next episode of "Extra"!

Caption 10, Extr@ - Ep. 5 - Une étoile est née

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Surtout, regardez les vidéos les plus récentes sur Yabla French!
Be sure to check out the most recent Yabla French videos!

Vocabulary

Face-to-face with "la face"

In his new travel video on the Parisian suburb of Saint-Mammès, Daniel Benchimol uses the word face quite frequently when giving directions on getting around town: 

 

Face aux péniches de Saint-Mammès,

Facing the barges of Saint-Mammès,

arrêtez-vous quelques instants face au numéro quarante-et-un.

stop for a few moments in front of number forty-one.

Captions 8-9, Voyage en France - Saint-Mammès

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Face à Saint-Mammès,

Opposite Saint-Mammès,

nous sommes à Saint Moret-sur-Loing maintenant.

we are in Saint Moret-sur-Loing now.

Caption 40, Voyage en France - Saint-Mammès

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Face à is a useful expression meaning "facing," "in front of," or "opposite." You can even put the verb faire in front of it to make the verbal expression for "to face," in the sense of both "to be in front of" and "to cope with": 

 

La NASA a dû faire face à une avalanche

NASA had to face an avalanche

de données et de preuves embarrassantes.

of data and embarrassing evidence.

Caption 7, La Conspiration d'Orion - Conspiration 3/4

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The word face is used in a number of other directional expressions, such as en face (across, opposite), as the lead singer of Babylon Circus uses it when lamenting the seating arrangement of him and his love interest: 

 

Je suis assis en face, et pas à tes côtés

I'm sitting across from you and not by your side

Caption 23, Babylon Circus - J'aurais bien voulu

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They might not be sitting close, but at least they’re maintaining eye contact by sitting face à face (face-to-face)!

Unsurprisingly, the French face is related to the English "face," but it usually doesn’t refer to the front part of your head. French actually has two words for that: la figure and le visage. (To see some incredible French faces, check out our interview with artist and master visage-painter Niko de La Faye.)

Sometimes face can in fact mean "face," mainly in a figurative sense: 

 

Ça change pas la face du monde, mais qui sait?

That doesn't change the face of the world, but who knows?

Caption 26, Le Journal - Laurent Voulzy

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Il peut voir la face cachée des choses.

He is able to see the hidden face of things. 

 

If you're particularly concerned about your reputation, you might make a lot of effort to sauver la face (save face) or worry that you might perdre la face (lose face). 

By itself, la face generally just means "side" (synonymous with le côté). Chef Wodling Gwennaël uses face in this way when explaining his delicious recipe for fried scallops: 

 

On va les saisir, euh, à peu près une minute sur chaque face.

We're going to sear them, uh, for about one minute on each side.

Caption 14, Les Irrésistibles - Recette: Saint-Jacques poêlées

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Face also applies to the side of a coin, namely, the "heads" side (that is, the side that usually features someone's face). So whenever you want to settle something in French with a coin toss, you can say: 

Pile ou face

Heads or tails?

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Voyons les choses en face (let’s face it): the word face has many faces! In other "face"-related news, make sure to check out our Facebook page for all the latest information from Yabla. 

 

Vocabulary

What do your mother, your mayor, and the sea have in common?

Give up? Start thinking in French. Do you see it now? They're all French homophones! So what are the tricks to distinguishing between mère, maire, and mer.

Let’s start off where life itself does—with our proud moms. In French, your mother is your mère.

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Annie Chartrand, from Quebec, recalls the limited English ability of her own mère (as well as her père, her father).

 

Si je pense à mes parents, à mon père et ma mère,

If I think of my parents, my dad or my mom,

ils parlent anglais, mais c'est un peu plus,

they speak English, but it's a bit more like,

comme on dit en bon québécois, "baragouiné".

as we say in good Quebecois French, "baragouiné."

Captions 14-16, Annie Chartrand - Grandir bilingue

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Charles Baptiste, from Paris, sings of something nobody wants their mother to do (nobody nice anyway) in the song Je sais:

 

Tandis que ma mère se met à pleurer

Whereas my mother starts crying

Caption 21, Charles-Baptiste - Je sais

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Let's move away from such sadness (we hope Charles's mère is feeling better) to our second homophone: maire (mayor).

One way to distinguish this word from its homophones: maire (mayor) is a masculine noun and so is preceded by the masculine article le. But la mère (the mother) and la mer (the sea) are both feminine. Note that more people nowadays are using la maire to refer to a female mayor (see our lesson about the feminization of professions in French), although the officially correct term is la mairesse.

The mayor of Groslay, a town north of Paris, is not very popular… He banned chicken in municipal lunchrooms because of fears of avian flu.

 

L'interdiction du maire a également déclenché la colère des agriculteurs.

The mayor's ban has also triggered the anger of the farmers.

Caption 9, Le Journal - Le poulet dans les cantines

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However, some mayors are less cautious than others. The mayor of Lille, for example, not only supported protesters who recklessly (and illegally) switched off street lighting in the city center, she joined their rally, French flag in hand!

 

Et c'est toujours au nom du service public

And it is still in the name of the public service

que la maire de Lille soutient les agents d'EDF en grève.

that the mayor of Lille supports the EDF agents on strike.

Captions 22-23, Le Journal - Grève de l'EDF à Lille

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Let's move on to our last homophone: la mer (the sea).

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La mer is often a romantic image in popular songs. (Who doesn't love a little Charles Trenet?) Lyon-based ska band Babylon Circus sings about the sea in a song about dreams and lost hopes:

 

Les rames étaient trop courtes pour atteindre le niveau de la mer

The oars were too short to reach sea level

Caption 12, Babylon Circus - J'aurais bien voulu

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So now, no more confusion between la mère (the mother), le maire (the mayor), and la mer (the sea)!

Vocabulary

Brought to You by the Letter C: Côté, côte et cote

You may have noticed the difference a little accent mark can make. Take the words côté, cote, and côte, for example. It’s the same four letters, but depending on the accents, both the meaning and the pronunciation can change.

Côté is a two-syllable word, while côte and cote are one-syllable words, each with its own unique pronunciation (though in some regions of France there may be little distinction in pronunciation).

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In its most straightforward definition, côté means “side.”

 

Que je suis assis en face, et pas à tes côtés

Over the fact that I'm sitting across from you and not by your side

Caption 23, Babylon Circus - J'aurais bien voulu

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It may seem a bit odd that "by your side" is à tes côtés (plural) and not à ton côté (singular), but this is just how it's done in French.

When getting directions, you will often hear du côté droit (on the right hand side) or du côté gauche (on the left hand side). “Next to” (which, if you think about it, could be said “on the side of”) is expressed as à côté:

C'est juste à côté de la voiture.

It's right next to the car.

Côté can also be used to describe an aspect, a quality, or a “side” of something:

 

Je dirais les ingrédients qu'on a dans cette farce

I would say the ingredients in this stuffing

va [sic] donner ce côté savoureux et moelleux à la volaille.

will give the bird a savory and tender quality.

Captions 33-34, Le Journal - Gourmet en Bretagne

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But the word côté is not only used literally. It also appears in expressions like:

D’un côté... D’un autre côté...

On one hand... On the other hand...

Côté can also be used to show someone’s opinion, their “side” on an issue, or their perspective.

 

De son côté, Nicolas Sarkozy annonce sa volonté

For his part, Nicolas Sarkozy announces his desire

de rupture avec la politique africaine de la France.

to break away from France's African policies.

Caption 17, Le Journal - Sarkozy en Afrique du Sud - Part 1

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And we see the same sort of côté in the video on the marché in Rennes:

 

Bon, du côté de Cocotte, secret défense.

OK, as for Cocotte, it's top secret.

Caption 14, Le Journal - Gourmet en Bretagne

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But côté is not only used to express the perspective of a person. It can also be translated as “about” or “on the subject of” or “as for.” In the following example, it’s used to distinguish between the main and secondary railway lines:

 

Côté grandes lignes, la SNCF

As for the main lines, the SNCF

a depuis longtemps pensé aux voyageurs handicapés.

has kept handicapped travelers in mind for a long time.

Caption 12, Le Journal - Manifestation de paralysés

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Just in case that’s not enough to satisfy your curiosity, keep in mind the word côté’s similarly spelled (and hence easy to confuse) counterparts...

For starters, there's côte, one of the primary meanings of which is very similar-sounding to its English equivalent: “coast” (as in "the Pacific coast"). Actually, en français, the French Riviera is called the “Côte d'Azur.”

 

Venu de sa Côte d'Azur natale,

Having come from his native French Riviera,

il est tombé amoureux de l'île et de ses fonds marins.

he fell in love with the island and its sea depths.

Caption 7, Le Journal - L'île de Pâques

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Côte can also mean “rib,” as in côte d’Adam or côte d’agneau (what we call a “lamb chop”).

And last but not least, the second video in the series on Sarkozy’s trip to South Africa gives us an example of an entirely different kind of cote, which means “stock.” This can be in the literal sense (stock market) or refer to the general worth/esteem of something or someone, as below. 

 

Alors que sa cote continue de chuter,

As his stock continues to tumble,

Nicolas Sarkozy tente un quitte ou double vis-à-vis de l'opinion.

Nicolas Sarkozy tries to double down on opinion.

Captions 17-18, Le Journal - Sarkozy en Afrique du Sud - Part 2

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There’s also a related verb, coter, which means to rate, quote, or list the price of something.

Cette voiture est cotée à 24.000$ dans le journal.

This car is listed at $24,000 in the newspaper.

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Whether you’re talking economics, opinions, proximity, food, or geography, you’ll be better equipped knowing the nuances and differences of these similarly spelled words!

Vocabulary