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!
You probably came across the word jour (day) very early on, when you learned the greeting bonjour (hello). But did you know that bonjour has a feminine counterpart, bonne journée (have a nice day)?
And are you aware that there are two words in French not only for "day," but also for "year," "morning," and "evening"?
masculine feminine
day un jour une journée
year un an une année
morning le matin la matinée
evening le soir la soirée
Is there a difference between the masculine and feminine versions? If so, which one should you choose?
The shorter masculine nouns un jour, un an, un matin, un soir refer to a specific point in time, a unit of time, with an emphasis on quantity. The longer feminine nouns une journée, une année, la matinée, la soirée emphasize duration and quality.
Although the masculine and feminine versions of each word translate more or less the same way, they have different shades of meaning that are not necessarily conveyed in English and that can be difficult for French learners to grasp.
In this lesson, we'll explore the differences between jour and journée (day), and we will cover the remaining words in a future lesson.
So, let’s take a closer look at jour (day) first. As mentioned earlier, the shorter masculine word jour refers to a day as a unit of time, or a point in time.
You always use jour when referring to a calendar day, as in:
Quel jour sommes-nous?
What day is it? (literally, "What day are we?")
You would never say, Quelle journée somme-nous?
A point in time doesn’t have to be specific. Un jour can also mean "one day" or "someday":
Un jour le destin lui donnera une occasion de régler ses comptes.
One day, fate will give her an opportunity to settle her score.
Caption 56, Le Jour où tout a basculé J'ai escroqué mon assurance ! - Part 3
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In any case, jour often does refer to a specific or even a special day. In the example below, Sam explains to his mother that today was a special day: lotto day.
Aujourd'hui, c'était le jour du loto
Today was lotto day
Caption 3, Extr@ Ep. 6 - Le jour du loto - Part 5
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And it’s a special day for his friend Nico too, who picked up two girls in a single day:
Ouais. Deux filles en un seul jour.
Yeah. Two girls in a single day.
Caption 17, Extr@ Ep. 6 - Le jour du loto - Part 5
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Note that en une seule journée (in a single day) would be grammatically and semantically acceptable, but maybe not the best choice here. It would mean something like "in the span of a single day." En une seule journée wouldn’t sound quite as striking, as Nico wants to emphasize the record time it took him to pick up two girls!
Meanwhile, Annie is celebrating Sacha’s lottery win. She tells her:
C'est ton jour de chance.
It's your lucky day.
Caption 4, Extr@ Ep. 6 - Le jour du loto - Part 4
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Unfortunately, her jour de chance turns out to be un jour de malchance:
Quel jour de malchance!
What a day of bad luck!
Caption 59, Extr@ Ep. 6 - Le jour du loto - Part 8
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The expression is usually un jour de malchance, since the emphasis is on the unlucky event, but you could say une journée de malchance if you wanted to shift the emphasis onto the duration of the day—perhaps referring to a day filled with unlucky events!
It was also un jour de malchance for the mother in the example below, who remembered ce jour-là (that day) as the day when she found out that her baby was switched at birth:
Ce jour-là, je savais que ma vie ne serait plus jamais la même.
That day, I knew that my life would never be the same again.
Caption 24, Le Jour où tout a basculé Nos bébés ont été échangés... - Part 4
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We use the construction ce jour-là (that day) to look back on a significant day, or event.
And to convey the passage of time and repetition, we have the expression au fil des jours (day by day/as the days go by):
Pourtant, au fil des jours, Edna se laisse peu à peu séduire par René.
However, as the days go by, Edna lets herself be seduced by René little by little.
Captions 15-16, Le Jour où tout a basculé Mes grands-parents sont infidèles - Part 6
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It makes sense to use jours with adjectives of quantity like plusieurs (several) and tous (every), as we are counting the days:
Il s'apprête à passer plusieurs jours en province.
He is getting ready to spend several days outside of Paris.
Caption 25, Le Jour où tout a basculé Espion dans l'immeuble - Part 1
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You also use jours combined with the plural adjective tous (every/all) to explain what you do every day:
Et je travaille ici tous les jours.
And I work here every day.
Caption 4, Fred et Miami Catamarans Les Bateaux
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But watch what happens when you use the feminine form of tout, toute (all, whole):
Et donc, j'ai passé la journée à faire comme ça. J'ai fait Cluzet toute la journée.
And so I spent the day going like that. I did Cluzet all day.
Caption 74, Alsace 20 Laurent Chandemerle, l'homme aux 100 voix
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By switching to the feminine form, toute la journée (all day/all day long), the emphasis is now on duration rather than a point in time. When describing how you spend your day, you need to use journée. You would never say tout le jour to mean “all day”: only toute la journée.
Just like toute, prepositions of duration like pendant or durant (during) also pair with journée:
Deux minutes en moyenne d'attente pendant la journée
Two minutes of waiting on average during the day
Captions 69-70, Adrien Le métro parisien
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And when referring to a day dedicated to a specific cause, such as International Yoga Day, you would also use journée:
Donc c'est la deuxième année qu'est célébrée cette Journée Internationale du Yoga
So it's the second year that this International Day of Yoga is being celebrated
Caption 2, Paix et partage Journée Internationale du yoga
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Finally, le jour can also mean "day" as a general unit of time, the opposite of la nuit (night):
Une demi-heure dans un simulateur de conduite toutes les quatre heures, de jour comme de nuit.
Half an hour in a driving simulator every four hours, day and night.
Caption 19, Le Journal Apnée du sommeil
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As you can see, jour and journée are so similar, yet so different. The rules are somewhat flexible, but there are certain situations that call for one word over the other.
Au fil des jours (over time), by watching Yabla videos tous les jours (every day), you’ll find it easier to choose the correct word!
And stay tuned for a lesson on an/année (year), soir/soirée (evening), and matin/matinée (morning) in the future.
In our last lesson, we discussed the expression on se croirait (literally, "one would believe oneself"), which means "it feels like." Now we'll take a look at a similar expression: on dirait. Both are impersonal expressions using a verb in the conditional. On dirait literally means "one would say," but it's also a synonym of il semble (it seems/looks like).
When introducing a clause, on dirait is followed by que:
On dirait que les gens sortent de la terre
It looks like people are coming out of the ground
Caption 31, Lionel - En studio d'enregistrement
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But when it comes before a standalone noun ("it looks like x"), you don't need the que:
On dirait un serpent à pattes.
It looks like a serpent with paws.
Caption 16, Il était une fois: les Explorateurs - 10. Amerigo Vespucci
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You can also use on dirait by itself, without introducing a noun or clause:
C'est ton jour de chance, on dirait.
It's your lucky day, it seems.
Caption 11, Marie & Jeremy - Monopoly
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Je suis rouge de colère.
I'm red with anger.
On dirait pas.
It doesn't look like it.
Captions 1-2, Sophie et Patrice - Les couleurs
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Depending on context, on dirait can mean something more specific than "it seems/looks like":
On dirait que t'as huit ans
You act like an eight year old
Caption 45, Mika - Elle me dit
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On dirait... on dirait Cluzet!
It sounds... it sounds like Cluzet [French actor]!
Caption 71, Alsace 20 - Laurent Chandemerle, l'homme aux 100 voix
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And sometimes it comes closer to its literal meaning:
Belle, c'est un mot qu'on dirait inventé pour elle...
Beauty, it's a word you could say was invented for her...
[Beauty, it's a word that seems to have been invented for her...]
Caption 64, Alsace 20 - Laurent Chandemerle, l'homme aux 100 voix
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But be careful: dire is a very common verb, so you'll just as often encounter on dirait used in a literal sense.
On dirait pas "as-tu", axe verbe en premier, sujet en deuxième...
We wouldn't say "have you," verb in first position, subject in second...
Caption 31, Le Québec parle - aux Français
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On dirait que cette leçon est terminée!
At the end of the second installment of Le Jour où tout a basculé - J'ai volé pour nourrir mon fils, Sarah uses an interesting construction to express remorse about something she did at work:
Et j'avais beau me dire que je l'avais fait pour Nino,
And even though I told myself that I'd done it for Nino,
j'avais vraiment honte.
I was really ashamed.
Captions 54-55, Le Jour où tout a basculé - J'ai volé pour nourrir mon fils
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Beau means "beautiful" or "handsome," but the expression "avoir beau + infinitive" doesn't have anything to do with beauty. It can mean a variety of things depending on context, but it generally describes a failed effort or something done in vain. Sometimes it's just a synonym of bien que, malgré, or quoique ("even though" or "although"), as in the example above:
T'as beau le travailler, ça ne vient pas.
Even though you work at it, it doesn't come.
Caption 67, Alsace 20 - Laurent Chandemerle, l'homme aux 100 voix
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Ça a beau être une pizzeria,
Although it's a pizzeria,
nos prix sont assez élevés pour le commun des mortels.
our prices are pretty high for the everyday mortal.
Caption 5, F&F Pizza - Chez F&F
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Or it can correspond to the English expressions "no matter what" or "no matter how hard":
Elle a beau faire, son copain la critique toujours.
No matter what she does, her boyfriend always criticizes her.
J'ai beau trimer,
No matter how hard I slave away,
sans toi ma vie n'est qu'un décor qui brille, vide de sens.
without you my life is just decor that shines, empty of meaning.
Caption 19, Indila - Dernière danse
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When used with the verb essayer (to try), it means "try as one might":
Et j'ai eu beau essayer de le convaincre
And try as I might to convince him
d'arrêter ses enfantillages, rien à faire.
to stop his childish games, it was useless.
Captions 6-8, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Mes grands-parents sont infidèles
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And when used with être (to be), the expression is often translated as "may be" or "may well be":
Yseult a beau être jeune,
Yseult may be young,
elle sait bien où elle veut aller.
[but] she knows exactly where she wants to go
Caption 5, Watt’s In - Yseult : La Vague Interview Exclu
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Tu as beau être désolé, tu m'as blessé profondément.
You may well be sorry, but you hurt me deeply.
Note that, while the English requires a "but" in both of these sentences, there's no need for a mais in the French. So you wouldn't say: Yseult a beau être jeune, mais elle sait bien où elle veut aller.
Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for our next lesson and tweet us @yabla or send your topic suggestions to newsletter@yabla.com.
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