mon petit canard [hiatus]

hi friends! this list is basically a mash of literature/writing-related words…?

【 books/writing forms 】

l’anthologie (f) | anthology

le brouillon (m) | draft

le dictionnaire des synonymes (m) | thesaurus

épistolaire | epistolary

l’épopée (f) | epic

la nouvelle (f) | short-story

la pièce de théâtre (f) | play

la poésie (f) | poetry

la prose (f) | prose

la rédaction (f) | essay

le roman (m) | novel

【 literary devices 】

l’allégorie (f) | allegory

l’allitération (f) | alliteration

l’anaphore (f) | anaphora

la comparaison (f) | simile

l’hyperbate (f) | hyperbaton

l’imagerie (f) | imagery

la litote (f) | litotes/meiosis

la métaphore (f) | metaphor

l’oxymore (m) | oxymoron

la rime (f) | rhyme

【 people in the writing process 】

le/la dramaturge | playwright

l’écrivain (m) | author

l’éditeur/éditrice | publisher

l’égérie (f) | muse/creative inspiration

le rédacteur en chef/ la rédactrice en chef | editor (of a newspaper)

le réviseur/la réviseure | editor

【 punctuation 】

l’apostrophe (f) | apostrophe

les deux-points (m) | colon

les guillemets (m) | quotation marks (« »)

la parenthèse (f) | parenthesis/bracket

le point d’exclamation (m) | exclamation mark

le point d’interrogation (m) | question mark

le point (final) (m) | full stop

le point-virgule (m) | semi-colon

les points de suspension (m) | ellipsis

la ponctuation (f) | punctuation

le tiret (m) | dash

le trait d’union (m) | hyphen

la virgule (f) | comma

【 words 】

la consonne (f) | consonant

l’espace (f) | space

la lettre (f) | letter (of the alphabet)

le mot (m) | word

le paragraphe (m) | paragraph

la phrase (f) | sentence

la syllabe (f) | syllable

la voyelle (f) | vowel

【 extra 】

la bibliothèque (f) | library

la librairie (f) | bookstore

la littérature (f) | literature

la grammaire (f) | grammar

l’orthographe (f) | spelling

le stylo plume (m) | fountain pen

inspired by @duolingoandchill-remade and @franlearnslanguages Portuguese food posts, linked here and here

NOUNS / NOMS

food- la nourriture

meal - le repas

breakfast- le petit-déjeuner

lunch- le déjeuner

dinner- le dîner (Fr), le souper (Belg, Sui, Can)

hunger- la faim

thirst- le soif

apple- la pomme

avocado- l’avocat (m)

banana- la banane

bean- l’haricot (m)

beef- le bœuf

beer- la bière

berry- la baie

blackberry- la mûre

blueberry- la myrtille, le bleuet (Can)

bottle- la bouteille

bowl- le bol

bread- le pan

butter- la beurre

candy- le bonbon

candy- le gâteau

can- le bidon

carrot- la carrotte

cheese- le fromage

chicken- le poulet

chocolate- le chocolat

chopstick- la baguette

coffee- le café

cook- le cuisinier (-ière)

cookie- le biscuit

cup/mug- le tasse

diet- le regime, la diète

drink- le boisson

egg- l’œuf (m)

fish- le poisson

fork- une forchette

fruit- le fruit

garlic- l’ail (m)

glass- le verre

grape- le raisin

ice cream- la glace

juice- le jus

kiwi- le kiwi

knife- le couteau

lemon- le citron

lime- le citron vert, la lime (Can)

meat- la viande

milk- le lait

oil- l’huile (f)

onion- l’oignon (m)

orange- l’orange (f)

pasta- les pâtes (f)

peach- la pêche

pear- la poire

pepper- le poivre

pineapple- l’ananas (m)

plate- l’assiette (f)

pork- le porc

potato- le pomme de terre, la patate (inf)

raspberry- une framboise

rice- le riz

salt- le sel

sandwich- le sandwich

sauce- la sauce

soup- la soupe

spoon- la cuillère

sugar- le sucre

strawberry- une fraise

tea- le thé

tomato- la tomate

vegetable- le légume

water- l’eau (f)

watermelon- la pastèque

wine- le vin

VERBS / VERBES

to eat- manger

to drink- boire

to cook- faire la cuisine, cuisinier

to cut- couper

to boil- faire bouillir

to taste- goûter

ADJECTIVES / ADJECTIFS

bitter- amer

delicious- délicieux

fried- frit

salty- salé

sour- aigre

Here are some basic fruits and vegetables in French. Hope it will be useful to somebody…

Medical Terms in French

Hyphens (-) in French can be a pain, especially when it comes to nouns and pronouns. So here’s how to know if you need a hyphen:

1. For the word non

Non means no in French, but it can also have the same meaning as non in English (e.g.: nonhuman, nontoxic, etc.). Unlike in English, though, non is separate from the word it describes. However, it only takes a hyphen if the word following it is a noun:

e.g.: Une non-intervention (a non-intervention)

If the word following it is an adjective, there is no hyphen:

e.g.: Non solvable (non solvable)

2. For the words même, ci, and là

Always takes a hyphen:

e.g.: Moi-même (myself), ces jours-ci (these days), ces gens-là (those people)

3. For pronouns placed after the verb

Always takes a hyphen; if there is a t between the verb (as is the case when the verb preceeding il or elle does not end with a t), there is a hyphen before and after the t.

e.g.: Le faut-il (is it needed), le verrons-nous (will we see him), l’oublie-t-elle (did she forget it)

4. For the word saint

The word saint is a bit special, as it only takes a hyphen when not referring to the saint himself. So for example, if a street, building, or monument is named after a saint (an extremely common occurrence in Quebec), then the words are hyphenated.

e.g: Saint Jean (Saint John)

e.g.: Rue Sainte-Catherine (Saint Catherine Street)

i don’t even know where to begin with french…i love learning languages so much, i really wish my parents had started me when i was younger. i started taking french in seventh grade but i really hope to spend a semester abroad in france & visit senegal when im older. however, french can get super crazy with accents and hard pronunciation and fancy vocab, which can get really confusing, so here’s a masterpost w all of the french resources i’ve gathered :) 

where to start

duolingo aka the most amazing free language learning program ever

rosetta stone- i’ve heard really great things about this program, but it is not free 

bonjour- this website is rlly helpful & even if you’re already in a french class like me, you can find lots of resources for when you’re confused :) plus it’s free!!

babbel- they have programs for beginners + advanced 

grammar + spell check

bonpatron-  grammer + spell check

languagetool- grammar + spell check

reverso- grammer + spellcheck

how to change the spellcheck language on word

dictionaries

collins

word reference (this is my personal favorite, i highly recommend it + it is so much better than google translate & much more reliable!!) 

larousse

linternaute

linguee (this one is probably my second favorite)

you can get word reference (free!!) on the app store, as well as linguee (which i think is free as well??)                               

phonology

french vs english phonology

french pronunciation for beginners

pronunciation chart

guide to french pronunciation

exercises you could try

+ more practice

the ultimate guide to french pronunciation w videos!!

10 pronunciations you won’t learn in school

ok so i just found out the other day that if you’re on flashcards on quizlet & you press the little speaker icon it will say the word for you!! this has been super helpful on my auditory quizzes + generally getting a feel for the pronunciation of words. but i wouldn’t say it’s too reliable so definitely check out these other resources (link to quizlet) 

grammar

passe compose help (past tense)

passe compose w/ avoir

passe compose w/ etre

passe compose practice (+ more)

imparfait vs passe compose 

a helpful post explaining imparfait vs passe compose

intro to accents

type french accents w/o a french keyboard (just copy/paste into your document)

how to put accents on letters

noun gender

7 tips on learning french grammar

grammar practice

conjugation practice

how to conjugate 

french grammar masterpost

music

these are a few of my favorites:

stromae- hip hop//electronic but i still like his music

maitre gims- rapper but he sings quite a bit in his songs 

joyce jonathan- omg her songs are so cute please go listen

christophe mae-can we just talk about his song “tombe sous le charme” i love it + he sort of reminds me of jack johnson 

vianney!!- guys “je te deteste” is my favorite song on my french playlist right now. the sophomore that sits next to me in our french class recommended him to me & i can’t stop listening 

christine & the queens

also check out these links for more music:

universal music france

this post with french music recommendations

my post on music//podcasts for learning languages (lots of people have been recommending artists which has made this post so much better so please message me if you have any other recommendations or questions!!)

8tracks- french music

other stuff to listen to//watch

french youtubers

10 podcasts for french learners

the ten best tv shows to watch for french learners

ok don’t throw anything at me but watching peppa pig in french is actually a good method (i don’t remember who suggested this to me but thank you so much @ whoever it was) 

easy to understand french movies

news + culture

savoirs

euronews

1jour1actu

l’humanite

multilingual books

some blogs (not on tumblr) in french + about french culture (frenchcrazy, i learn french, oui, c’est ca, french together, fluentfrenchnow)

my tips

definitely keep a vocab notebook where you can either paste vocab lists or write them in on your own

listen to french music. find your own favorite artists. and tell me, so i can put them in here. but seriously, go do it & get those phrases + pronunciations stuck in your head!!

making quizlets for vocab will benefit you more than just using someone else’s

find friends in your class to help (if you’re in highschool, upperclassmen are a blessing pls go ask them questions if you’re lost in class), the senior that sits next to me is really good at conjugating, and i’m pretty good at remembering vocab so we make a great team

find/join a study group!! the freshman girls in my french class made a group chat & we all send links to quizlets/other resources & help each other with homework 24/7

ask questions/do speaking exercises during class. trust me, you will benefit from it. plus, having your teacher correct you on your pronunciation during class is much less embarrassing than getting an F on that speaking test 

french help on tumblr

this french idiom masterpost

more french resources

french grammer masterpost

if you’re still looking for help, definitely check out the tag #langblr

or ask me a question here

or send me a message

or ask any studyblr studying french :))

my posts

essay masterpost

studying when ill masterpost

music resources for language learners

studying a foreign language

Mythical Creatures in French

faire [du pain] - bake [bread]

faire fondre - to melt

refroidir - to cool down

fouetter - to wisp

mélanger - to mix

le moule - the baking mold/tin 

mettre à cuire - bake (in the oven)

le sucre - sugar

le farine - the flour

sucre en poudre - powdered sugar 

le beurre - the butter

les oeufs (le oeuf) - the eggs

du lait - milk

le chocolat - the chocolate

le vanillé - the vanilla

le gâteau - the cake

le macaron - the macaroon

le croissant - the croissant

le gâteau au chocolat - the chocolate cake

le mousse au chocolat - the chocolate mousse  

[changeable] ! please correct me if i’m wrong !

“Faire fondre le chocolat avec le beurre au bain-marie ou au four à micro-ondes.” 

Ça m'est égal: This is the safest way to say “I don’t care in French. It literally means “It’s equal to me”.

Je m’en fiche: This is the phrase that most people use. It is not vulgar, but it carries more power than the first phrase.

Je m’en fous: This phrase is vulgar, equivalent to saying, “I don’t give a shit.”

Je m’en bats les couilles: This is vulgar, and stronger than the previous. However, this is a bit long and unnecessary, and most people use “Je m’en fous” instead.

1 - Used after some verbs.

Croire en Dieu.

Mise en œuvre.

2 - Can specify the nature of an object.

Un évier en émail.

3 - Indicate the location.

Être en France. — Aller en Amérique.

Mettre quelqu’un en prison.

Marcher en tête.

4 - This preposition can have several specific uses. Very often, it’s used before a word indicating or specifying the inner state or relative state, the way to be, the modification or the way of someone or someone to be “set”. 

Mettre en ligne.

Un habit en lambeaux.

Teindre, colorer en bleu, en rouge.

5 - It also can insert the word specifying what someone is busy doing

Être en affaire, en prières.

6 - The result of a nature modification Narcisse fut métamorphosé en fleur.

Éclater en sanglots.

7 - The shape 

Des arbres taillés en buisson. 

Une fenêtre en ogive.

8 - The kind of way to grow

Cet hectare est en vignes. 

Ce terrain a été mis en potager, est en potager.

9 - The way to divide 

Diviser en deux, en trois, etc.

Une comédie en cinq actes.

10 - The kind of clothes someone wears 

Être en uniforme. 

Être en pantoufles.

11 - It also helps adding very frequently the word specifying to what is relative, what is restraining, from what point of view is considered the thing, the quality, the action specified in the sentence.  

Bon en mathématiques. 

Docteur en médecine.

Une terre fertile en blé.

12 - It also used to point conformity out

En bonne règle. 

Je vous le dis en vérité.

13 - The way an action is made

Je vous expliquerai la chose en deux mots.

Ils s’y rendirent en toute hâte.

14 - The language or the kind of writing you’re using

Écrire un ouvrage en grec, en français, en latin, etc.

Ils s’entretenaient en anglais.

15 - The destination

Mettre en vente.

Donner en otage.

16 - The purpose that make people act or the goal you want to reach

En vue de lui plaire.

17 - Related to time or the amount of time

En hiver. 

En votre absence. 

En temps de paix.

18 - Means of transport (when you’re inside the vehicule, like a car or a plane, when you’re straddling, like a bike or a horse for example, we use “à”). 

Je suis allé en Corse en avion, mais je suis revenu en bateau.

19 - Form the gerund

Lambert hochait la tête en souriant. (Beauvoir, Mandarins, 1954)

En allant à l’université, j’ai rencontré une belle fille.

20 - Replace à la or à l’ of a country or continent location or season.  ———–* Consonne               *—+ Voyelle                      +

Masculin / Singulier ———–* aller au Québec      *—+ aller en Iran              + ———–* venir du Québec     *—+ venir d’Iran               +

Masculin / Pluriel ———–* aller aux Pays-Bas  *—+ aller aux États-Unis  + ———–* venir des Pays-Bas *—+ venir des États-Unis +