#langblrfr

flirting in french; god, how i would love to be smooth in any language. i’d like to think this is pretty important - as this is part of socializing in any language. flirtation is a very different thing than “picking up.” picking up is a kind of hunting game with a very pointed and invariable goal. flirtation, at least in france, is a totally different thing. it’s a different culture, a different lifestyle. it’s a way of being in everyday life, and unlike picking up, it has no defined goal. sometimes the french flirt because it’s just delightful to do so. think salt to pepper relationship. allowing each one to check, and at different levels, if he or she still has some charm operating. 

i would say that simple is always best: merely walk up to your chosen girl or guy and say je vous trouve absolument charmante, or i find you absolutely charming / beautiful. be classy and to the point. with that and mind, read on!

so; why flirt in french?

well, french is a sexy language. not going to lie. 

it’s the planet’s most-hyped language of love.

reaching that level of fluency feels amazing.

it gives you that confidence. social confidence.

helps to develop communication skills. 

french learning and french flirting 

let’s face it: in france, (or in any country for that matter), nobody speaks like a textbook, the president, or a language learning site (i’m looking at you, duolingo). it’s great for memorizing the fundamentals, but lacks that extra step that stands between you and complete fluency. 

flirting is part of socializing - and linguistically (i don’t know, it helped with me) it improves retention. it’s also just interesting to learn! 

flirting is just well.. fun. even if it doesn’t go anywhere.

a bit of verbal charm isn’t always necessary : but in my opinion, it helps you sound more natural / at ease / friendly. 

i somewhat lack verbal charm (i’m very, very awkward in social situations) so i probably need this masterpost as much as anyone else (: 

the classics: make love last.  this is based upon what i’ve heard at school / restaurants / bars.  okay fine: it’s based on the movies i’ve watched too. 

j’ai envie de t’embrasser / embrasse-moi - kiss me.. annouce it - make your intentions known! ‘i’d like to kiss you’ - okay, you could just kiss someone instead of letting them know. but i don’t know.. there’s something romantic about it? best with a longing, meaningful stare. 

je t’aime: i’m pretty sure we all know this one. best with someone you care deeply for, i wouldn’t say this on a first date - but if you’re the direct type : this can help you get from a to z pretty quickly. 

the simple compliments using these with a flirty look / tone of voice  can do wonders. play with your expression while practicing these: it makes a difference, trust me. t’es toujours canon toi ou quoi? you can also add trop ( = too). example: trop belle, trop mignon(ne). you can also add tellement ( = so) example: t’es tellement belle! you can also add si ( = so) example: t’es si mignonne. you can also use grave ( = totally) example: t’es grave belle. 

t’es mignon(ne).

t’es belle (/beau), toi. 

t’es canon. ( = you’re smoking hot). 

t’es con. ( = you’re an idiot) - i’ve seen this used a lot flirtatiously.

t’es drôle. ( = you’re funny)

t’es magnifique. 

t’es charmant(e). 

t'es coquin / coquine! ( = you’re such a tease.)

the ‘social and the flirty’  these can be used as compliments / or flirtatiously. depends on your relationship with the person you’re giving them to. 

cette beauté chaton, tu m’ éblouie. ( = you dazzle me with your beauty.)

une beauté divine. ( = a divine beauty or: you’re so divine.)

ouloulouloulouloulou. ( = you really have to hear this one.)

tu brilles de mille feux.

j'te pécho. ( = like the equivalent of ‘to pick up someone’ in english). 

bg, or beau / belle gosse ( = hot guy, hot girl). 

une petite merveille. ( = a wonder, someone to be marveled at). 

une bombe. ( = bombshell, someone pretty - same thing as ‘belle gosse’.)

le petit côté mystérieux femme fatale je kiffe. - je kiffe means i like. 

la beauté à l état pur ( = beauty at its purest form). 

dingue! ( = crazy, as in crazy beautiful). 

j'ai pas les mots.( = i have no words). 

wahhh, la classe! ( = classy!)

c’est fou, tant de beauté ( = you’re so beautiful, it’s crazy.)

flirting at a bar or restaurant? 

t’as d’beaux yeux, tu sais? the phrase ‘you’ve got beautiful eyes’ pretty much works in any language (though, i think it sounds extra gorgeous in french). the phrase actually comes from a french film called le quai des brumes. fair warning: this is an extreme cliché, : it’s basically the english equivalent of do you come here often? it can be said ironically, if you’re not the cliché type.  

je peux t’offrir / vous (formal) un verre ? : can i buy you a drink?

vous êtes célibataire ? mais comment est-ce possible ? - you’re single? but how’s that possible? 

vous venez souvent ici ? - do you come here often? classic.  a phrase that transcends cultural barriers: “ the sentence could be followed up by complaints — about the bartender, about the clients or about how the bar isn’t as good as it used to be. a french tradition is râler, a sort of complaining. finding things to complain about is a way that many french people choose to bond with new acquaintances. this is not true of anyone.

t’as une miette (you’ve got a crumb) as you pretend to stroke something off of someone’s face, first with your fingers, then with your lips.

tu m’excites ! ( = you turn me on.)

“j’ai une première édition de ‘à la recherche du temps perdu.’ tu veux le voir ?” -  i have the first edition of “in search of lost time. (written by proust). do you want to see it?” in france (for me, at least) cultural knowledge is sexy. in America, we often ask if you’d like a nightcap. choose something cultural and intellectual in france, and you’re far more likely to get a oui.

je veux te revoir. ( = i want to see you again.) 

quoi de beau? ( = how you doin’ - joey, friends.)

excuse-moi. est-ce que t’embrasses les inconnus ? non ? donc, je me présente. excuse me, do you kiss strangers? No? then let me introduce myself.

excuse-moi, j'ai perdu mon numero de téléphone. est-ce que je peux t'emprunter le tien?“ excuse me, i seem to have lost my phone number. could I borrow yours? 

requested by @atnuka idioms + expressions list. mostly idioms. an idiom, as defined by the dictionary of cambridge, is a group of words in a fixed order that have a particular meaning that is different from the meanings of each word on its own.

coucou! french idioms. it’s about all authenticity and truly investing yourself in the pathway towards fluency.  you are going to get confused when you hear expressions like fat morning or to drink like a hole. that’s inevitable, confusion is a part of learning. making mistakes is a part of learning. you may be able to translate these expressions literally, but knowing the figurative definitions and fundamental meanings beyond a fixed group of words is much more important. i’m going to say this once, and i’ll probably say it again: when trying to reach fluency in a language such as french, do NOT translate everything LITERALLY, especially if you’re doing more complicated work. just don’t do it. it will lead to problems down the line, i can promise you that. french and english for example, differ in nature, structural systems, phonetics, many (many) aspects of grammar, basic sentence construction, syntax, semantics, rhythm, etc. it’s essential to realize what some languages require linguistically / socially, and what some do not. 

i wanted to include so many more, so if you guys want a part two i’d totally be open to writing one.

resources of choice

wordreference.com

linguee.fr

if you’d like to search for more french idioms, google them in french “expressions idiomatiques en français”, not in english “popular french idioms”. you’re bound to get more accurate results that way as they’re more often than not written by actual french writers / authors / bloggers.

thank you for 7K followers! i’m planning to do something very special @8.5K. vote on upcoming masterposts

french movie and song playlist

french proverbs: a guide

french idioms and expressions, part two? 

idioms, a-z

au fur et à mésure - as one goes along

à l’eau de rose - sentimental, insipid, bland - usually refers to a book or movie.

à bout de souffle - breathless, out of breath; on its last legs

avoir l’air crevé - to look exhausted. 

avoir d’autres chats à fouetter - to have better things to do

ah la vache - holy cow, oh my god

avoir les yeux plus gros que le ventre - your eyes are bigger than your stomach

au pif -  a general estimate.

avoir le cafard - to lack morale, to be so bored that you’re depressed.

avoir la banane (pêche, patate) - to feel happy, to be in high spirits.

avoir une faim de loup - to be extremely hungry, to be starving

avoir une peur bleue de - to be scared to death of something, to be extremely terrified of something.

avoir la flemme - to be lazy.

aller au droit au but - to go straight to the point

bourrer le crâne - refers to an ill-informed individual

bouge ton cul! - move your ass, hurry up

boire comme un trou - to drink heavily.

brève de comptoir - a one liner

boire un coup - to have a drink

croire dur comme fer - to firmly, strongly believe

ça marche - that works, alright, okay.

ça craint - this/that sucks

ca lui prendre au bout de nez - he/she’s got it coming

ca va barder - shit is going to hit the fan

c’est la fin des haricots - it’s the end, there’s nothing left

casse-toi - get lost

c’est nickel - it’s all good, it’s spotless

c’est casse-couilles, c’est coton - it’s a pain in the ass

coûter les yeux de la tête - to cost an arm and a leg, to cost a fortune

con comme la lune - particularly stupid.

devenir chèvre - describes a state of extreme anger, rage

dire ses quatre vêrités - to tell it like it is.

en avoir marre (j’en ai marre) - to be fed up with something, someone

en avoir rien à foutre/faire -  to not give a shit, to not give damn

en avoir ras le bol - to be fed up with something, sick of something

être canon - to be hot, to fit someone’s standards of beauty

être crevé - to be extremely tired, exhausted

être en train de - be + ing

être paf, être ivre - to be drunk, to be stoned 

être chiant - to be annoying

être à l’ouest - to be spaced out

être mal en point - to be in a bad state

en prendre de la graine - to take a page from someone’s book

fais gaffe - watch out, be careful

faire une nuit blanche - to pull an all-nighter

faire flanelle - to abstain from doing something, to do nothing.

faire un tabac - to be a hit

faire une croix sur - to write something off, to kiss someone goodbye, to give up on

faire la sourde oreille - to turn a deaf ear, to pretend to ignore someone

faire le pont - to take a long weekend

faire la grasse matinée - to sleep in

friser le ridicule - to be a laughing stock

faire la tête - to sulk

jeter l’argent par les fenêtres - to splurge, to carelessly waste money

(jeter) un coup d’oeil - to take a look, to glance at something

larguer quelqu’un - to break up with someone

manger sur le pouce - to eat on the go

mettre du piment dans sa vie - to spice up one’s life.

mise en abyme - the story within, a story within a story

ne pas y aller de main morte - to not pull one’s punches

ne pas sorti de l’auberge - to be well and truly in it, to not be out of the woods

n’y voir que de feu - to be clueless

pleuvoir des cordes - to be raining cats and dogs

pleurer comme une madeleine - to cry your eyes out

prendre la téte - to drive crazy, to give yourself a headache

prendre son courage à deux mains - to summon the courage to do something

point barre! - period, that’s that

prendre quelqu’un la main dans le sac - to catch someone red-handed

prendre ses jambes à son cou - to run for one’s life

poser un lapin à quelqu’un - to stand somebody up

quelque chose qui cloche - to not add up, there’s something wrong

raconter des salades - to talk bullshit, to bullshit

ramener sa fraise - to join a conversation without being invited to do so, get your ass over here.

revenons à nos moutons - let’s get back on topic

s’envoyer en l’air - to get laid, to have sex.

sage comme une image - quiet as a mouse 

sur un coup de tête - on an impulse, on a whim

se casser la gueule - to hurt someone (/fall down), to smash someone’s face in [humor, loose translation]

sentir le sapin - to have one foot in the grave

se ronger les sangs - to be worried to death

se faire une belle jambe - to make oneself look good

s’en mettre plein les poches - to line your pockets.

ta gueule - shut up

tomber dans les pommes - to faint

tenir au courant - to keep up to date, to keep posted

tomber dans le panneau - to fall into a trap

tomber des nues - to be shocked, to be flabbergasted 

tout craché - spitting image

tourner au vinaigre - to get out of control, to get nasty

tu m’étonne - tell me something i don’t know. [ironic]

un coup de foudre - love at first sight

un suppôt de satan - hellbound, a minion of the devil

un froid de canard - to be icy cold

une bouchée de pain - for next to nothing

coucou! for those of you who’d like to better understand the french language , settle right in. i hope this post helps. let me know if you want more of these - i’m thinking of doing a music playlist (french exclusive).  disclaimer: this is from an american point of view. just my personal opinion.

the academic system - how are french exams marked? all exams are in essay format where the elegance of literary expression, proofs, and argumentative reasoning are subjectively marked. multiple choice tests are rarely used.

france employs a twenty-point grading scale which means:

all marks earned over the course of lycée éducation and the baccalaureate exams are calculated out of twenty.

a score of 20 / 20 is considered to be perfection, and as perfection is humanly unattainable: 

such grades are extraordinary and nearly impossible to earn.

it’s possible to earn perfection in subjects like the hard sciences: bio, chem, and math : but you’ve got to be nothing short of amazing. 

as my french professor said: 

“a 20 / 20 is reserved for god, and you’re not god.”

“a 19 / 20 is reserved for the professor and you’re not the professor.”

a 10 / 20 is considered mediocore or average: however, it does not equate to a 50%.

the french baccalauréat or the f i n a l e x a m is based solely on the final grade average – 

which is weighted by the coefficients. 

with a final grade average of 10/20 or more, the diploma is awarded; with a grade average of more than 10/20, an additional mention (level of distinction) is given: assez bien (12/20), bien (14/20), très bien (16/20). 

should a student obtain a score between only 8 and 10:

the student may attend oral examinations in certain subjects in an effort to improve the grade average to over 10/20. 

a baccalauréat jury will then review the student’s school record of the past two years along with the results of the oral examinations.

 if the general grade average is then recalculated to be 10/20 or greater, the student will be awarded the baccalauréat diploma 

in comparison with the alphanumeric system: academic grades on the baccalaureate exams, not to be confused with the rubric used at french facs (or universities). 

18.00 - 20.00 : très honorable avec felicitations du jury 

also known as très bien.

A+ highly honorable with praise 

it’d be easier to fly to neverland and swim with peter pan.

true p e r f e c t i o n of the highest accord.

felicitations du jury is technically not a thing

16.00 - 17.99: très bien - dreaming of this

very good - A+ highest honors

7.3% of those who took the baccalaureate exam in 2016 earned a très bien 

14.00 - 15.99: bien - i want this 

good - A, high honors

14% of those who took the baccalaureate exam in 2016 earned a bien 

12.00 - 13.99: assez bien - i’ll probably get this

quite good - B, honors

about 25% of those who took the baccalaureate exam in 2016 earned an assez bien 

10.00 - 11.99: passable 

C, satisfactory, 

8.00 - 9.99: passable 

D, sufficient, passable as long as the overall average of grades remains above 10

about 40% of those who take the exam don’t get a mention

so… with regard to transcript grades, grade value, international track, and the french track - it goes like this: for reference: i currently have an average of 14.5 / 20 (11th grade), with an average of 20 / 20 in three of my classes with special thanks to english math, english literature, and english language studies. 

french track: 16 - 20 / 20

grade equivalent (GPA): 4.25 and above 

transcript grade equivalent: A +

international (IB?) track equivalent: 7

french track: 14 - 15.99 / 20

grade equivalent (GPA): 4.0

transcript grade equivalent: A

international (IB?) track equivalent: 6 

french track: 12 - 13.99 / 20

grade equivalent (GPA): 3.5

transcript grade equivalent: B + or B depending on the mark

international (IB?) track equivalent: 5

french track; 10 - 11.99 / 20 

grade equivalent (GPA): 3.0, maybe lower

transcript equivalent: C

international (IB?) equivalent: 4

french track: 9 / 20 or below 

grade equivalent (GPA): 1.0 - 2.7 +

transcript equivalent: may range to a C - to F

international IB equivalent: 1 - 3 

it’s me again! sorry back with another french masterpost - tips and tricks to help you better understand french education! i’m not french myself, (i study in france though - i will be entering my senior year fall 2017), but i’m going to try and explain the system as best as i can. little side note: it’s been four - five years since i’ve received american education, which is why i’m not particularly useful when it comes to succeeding in that regard. 

please let me know if you want more / less of these ‘french’ posts! i might do one on the french grading system - feed back is appreciated; this took awhile, please? (: disclaimer: this is from an american point of view. just my person opinion.

what is the french baccalauréat? 

it’s an academic qualification (a diploma) awarded by the French Ministry of National Education.

it marks the end of secondary studies (lycée) and allows you to pursue university education. 

it cannot be obtained in single subjects. 

basically, the bac is a national exam that covers all areas of study.

each test includes a series of essays or problems on issues requiring a thorough analysis : the french system is very strict and very hard - it’s designed to test how well you understand and apply your knowledge   acquired over the course of the final two years of lycée education - it is not about blindly reciting information memorized in a textbook.

it’s not something you can cram for in a day / week / month. 

in france, there are three main types of baccalauréat:

the baccalauréat général (general baccalaureate) - me 

the baccalauréat professionnel (professional baccalaureate) 

the baccalauréat technologique (technological baccalaureate). 

french-curriculum lycées based in canada, france and the united states offer the three sections of the general baccalauréat:

economics and social sciences (ES)

literature (L) - this is my section 

science and mathematics (S).

how is each subject valued in correspondance with each section? the students who sit for the baccalauréat général choose one of three sections (termed séries) in lycée (première, or eleventh grade). each section results in a specialization and carries different weights (coefficients) associated with each subject.

the bac S weighs the following subjects heavily:

mathematics, 

physics & chemistry, 

biology : you can choose bio or engineering sciences, not both

engineering sciences.  

the bac ES weighs the following subjects heavily:

economic and social courses  - SES 

mathematics. 

history  & geography (i think). 

the bac L weighs the following subjects heavily:

french literature

philosophy

history & geography, 

foreign languages  - i take english, spanish, and french. 

format 

takes place in june (with exception to the french oral)

for lycée students, this is the end of the last year, terminale 

most examinations are given in essay-form

you are given block of time (depending on the exam, from two to five hours) to complete a multiple-page, well-argued paper

example: my french test was four hours 

the number  of pages varies from exam to exam, but

typically all answers have to be written down, explained and justified

mathematics and science exams are problem sets but 

some science questions also require an essay-type answer. 

foreign language exams often include a short translation section as well.

the mathematics and the earth & life Sciences tests sometimes contain some multiple-choice questions 

in comparison to the english GCSEs / the american SAT,

french baccalauréat is not a completely standardised test. 

since most answers are given in essay form

the grades may vary from grader to grader 

especially in subjects like philosophy and french literature.

the essay section on the SAT is not the same thing

advantages:

challenging intellectual education 

teaching programs created by the french ministry of national education

majority of teachers are from france

quality education in french by the best North American universities

an international teaching environment

institutions that are part of an unparalleled global network

seriously, it’s hard; especially for people like me who struggle with french and aren’t from france 

how many people take it each year?