Insights into the French way of life and European travels by an Australian living in the Loire Valley
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Tag Archives: French language
Friday’s French – fauchage & faux
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 fauchage in English, faux in English, French language, Friday's French
1 Comment
Friday’s French: confondre is confusing!
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 confondre in English, confusing in French, French language
15 Comments
Friday’s French – au revoir and salut
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
Friday’s French – patrimoine, immobilier, mobilier & immeuble
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
Friday’s French – consommer
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
Friday’s French – feu
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
Friday’s French – offrir
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
Friday’s French – merde
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 Comédie Française, French language, merde, theatre superstitions in France
6 Comments
Friday’s French – blocage
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
Friday’s French – comme une vache espagnole
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

Posted in French language
Tagged chouette, French language, hibou, vache espagnole, vachement, vacherie
10 Comments