Tag Archives: French language

Friday’s French – fauchage & faux

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Rosemary Kneipp

There was a sign in front of our house this week saying fauchage which actually means scything or reaping. The word for scythe is faux. Obviously the council workers were not going to appear with scythes. Fauchage now also means … Continue reading →

Posted in French language | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Friday’s French: confondre is confusing!

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Rosemary Kneipp

Confusing is a word we use quite a bit in English to mean that something is unclear and difficult to understand. e.g. “The information he gave me is confusing.” If I confuse John and Paul, it means that I wrongly … Continue reading →

Posted in French language, Mushrooms | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

Friday’s French – au revoir and salut

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Rosemary Kneipp

When I first moved to France in 1975, I don’t remember hearing people saying anything other than au revoir and adieu for goodbye. I had learnt that you only said adieu if you weren’t ever going to see the person … Continue reading →

Posted in French language | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Friday’s French – patrimoine, immobilier, mobilier & immeuble

Posted on September 12, 2013 by Rosemary Kneipp

With the journées du patrimoine coming up, I thought I’d take a look at the word patrimoine. It’s an interesting word because it has so many different meanings all connected with its Latin origin of patrimonium meaning property inherited from … Continue reading →

Posted in France, French language | Tagged | 4 Comments

Friday’s French – consommer

Posted on August 22, 2013 by Rosemary Kneipp

It’s the next day after a wedding. Everyone’s having a late breakfast, including the groom who’s just joined us. The bride is still upstairs in their bedroom. This, of course, wouldn’t have happened in the olden days. They would have … Continue reading →

Posted in French language | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Friday’s French – feu

Posted on August 15, 2013 by Rosemary Kneipp

A Facebook comment by an Australian cousin currently living in France has inspired this post: Dear smokers of France, Although I have an odd accent, I will understand you if you ask me for a lighter. Making expansive gestures and … Continue reading →

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Friday’s French – offrir

Posted on August 9, 2013 by Rosemary Kneipp

You’ve probably heard of faux amis, literally “false friends” or “false cognates”, which are words that look the same in two languages but have different meanings. The word blocage which I talked about last week is an excellent example. Sometimes the … Continue reading →

Posted in French language | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Friday’s French – merde

Posted on August 1, 2013 by Rosemary Kneipp

When kids start to learn a foreign language, the first thing they do is to find out how to say all the four (or five) letter words they know. They’re called gros mots or coarse words in French. I never … Continue reading →

Posted in French language, Paris | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Friday’s French – blocage

Posted on July 28, 2013 by Rosemary Kneipp

I’m introducing an Australian acquaintance to Jean Michel. “Bonjour”,  she says, then turning to me, somewhat flustered, “I’m tongue-tied. How do I say that in French?” “Langue coupée”, I say rather doubtfully. “No, I know, je suis bloquée, j’ai un blocage.” … Continue reading →

Posted in French language | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Friday’s French – comme une vache espagnole

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Rosemary Kneipp

Susan from Days on the Claise published a post recently about a florist shop called Vachement Fleurs. She also mentioned in a comment that her neighbour once told her she spoke French comme une vache espagnole – like a Spanish … Continue reading →

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Posted in French language | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments