Lover of Languages

Concevoir - to design, devise

Épandre - to spread

Retrousser - to roll up, hike up

Moisir - to rot, to gather dust

Se relayer - to take turns/shifts

Bâtir - to construct, to build

Enrôler - to enlist

S’inscrire - to enroll

Chamarrer - to embellish, to adorn

Franchir - to cross, to pass

S’interpeller - to shout at one another

Se frayer un passage - to fight your way through

Empêcher - to prevent

S’escrimer - to strive, to toil

Affiler - to sharpen

Aiguiser - to sharpen

Effleurer - to brush, graze

Rugir - to roar

Frissonner - to shiver

Rehausser - to raise, increase the height of

Calfeutrer - to block off, to caulk

Ménager - to conserve, to save

Livrer - to deliver

Faner - to wilt, wither

Râper - to grate, rasp

Reluire - to gleam

nouns

amitié f friendship

amour m love

art m art

aube f dawn

avenir m future

baiser m kiss

champ m field

ciel m (cieux pl.) sky

espoir m hope

étoile f star

être humain m human being

humain m human

humanité f humanity

joie f joy

joue f cheek

lumière f light

lune f moon

monde m world

naissance f birth

nature f nature

nom m name

nuage m cloud

océan m ocean

œil m (yeux pl.) eye

paix f peace

peau f skin

poésie f poetry

prénom m first name

rire m laughter

sol m sun

soleil m sunlight

sourire m smile

terre f earth

univers m universe

vie f life

verbs

aimer to love

apprendre to learn

briller to shine

donner un baiser [à qqn] to kiss [someone]

naître to be born

se réveiller to wake up

rire to laugh

sourire to smile

tomber amoureux/se [de qqn] to fall in love [with someone]

toucher to touch

vivre to live

adjectives

aimable friendly

argenté(e) silver

bon(ne) good

brillant(e) shining, glowing, sparkling

calme calm

curieux/se curious

délicat(e) delicate

doux/douce soft

généreux/se generous

gentil(le) kind

heureux/se happy

honnête honest

lisse smooth

tendre gentle

Learn Chinese Characters from the radicals 艹：草字头(cǎo zì tóu)

e.g.

When you don’t work on a language for a while and you can literally feel yourself forgetting words and grammar rules one by one

Some Ancient Near Eastern humor for you guys. ♡

The link for “Why dead languages are important.” is found here.

Please let me know if there are any mistakes, I’ve only recently starting learning the language :) [thanks @languageoclock for your notes, I fixed the things you had pointed out!]

Halloween Vocabulary in Italian

Once again, it’s that time of the year! :D I included definite articles for the Italian terms.

I believe it’s impossible for a human being to always use correct grammar, spelling, pronunciation, etc. when speaking or writing. I myself stutter, stumble over words, forget the names for things, mispronounce and misspell things, misuse grammatical constructions and say “uh…” in the middle of sentences all the time in my own native language. I cannot tell you the number of times I had to look up the definitions of words and check my spelling, grammar and punctuation while writing this response. With this in mind, I think it is quite unfair that the general consensus, at least in the English speaking world, especially among those who don’t have much experience with foreign languages, and who don’t consider them to be a vehicle for communication, rather than just a subject at school, is that being “fluent” involves knowing every word in the dictionary and being able to speak with a perfect accent and using eloquent grammar without ever making a “mistake”, stammering, or misunderstanding. The incredible uncertainty surrounding this commonly accepted definition of the word “fluent” is the reason I avoid using it. “Fluency” is not the same as “accuracy” and it is also not necessarily a reflection of an individual’s actual level in any given language. Successful “fluent” communication includes not only understanding the meanings of individual words, but also cultural awareness, context, humour, and nuance. Someone can be “fluent” at a B1 level if they are able to well make use of the skills they do possess to draw attention away from the gaps in their knowledge and keep a conversation running smoothly. Likewise it is possible for someone to have an incredibly expansive vocabulary and understanding of grammar, yet struggle to put their theoretical proficiency to use due to lack of confidence and or experience with the language in real world contexts.

i just really wanted to share my favorite grammar pattern with you guys

verb＋满 mǎn

essentially 满 mǎn means “full” or “packed” and when paired with a verb it means “something is filled with that action”

the way i learned it, there has to be a verb in front of 满 mǎn for this specific pattern, and it needs to fit what’s being described. it’s really hard to explain so i’ll just give examples

春天的时候，公园里开满了花

chūntiān de shíhòu, gōngyuán lǐ kāi mǎnle huā

during the spring, the park is full of flowers

开 can be used to describe blooming, so it is put with 满 to describe a park that is filled with flowers that have bloomed

在地上掉满了雪／在地上落满了雪

zài dìshàng diào mǎnle xuě/zài dìshàng luò mǎnle xuě

the ground is packed with snow

either 掉 or 落 can be used to describe falling snow

在地铁里挤满了人

zài dìtiě lǐ jǐ mǎnle rén

the subway is packed with people

挤 means to crowd in or to squeeze/press

在园子里飞满了文字

zài yuánzi lǐ fēi mǎnle wénzì

the yard is full of mosquitos

飞 means to fly and since mosquitoes fly, that’s the verb you’d use with 满