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CarameliciousMonday 21st of March 2005 03:25:45 AM
What is that word? - Directions:
- Is there any word that you ever see in french all the time, but you don't know what it means? The directions are that you will post the word that you want to know what the meaning is. The person below you will define what the word means and use is CORRECTLY in a sentence that must be written in french !


I will start off:

souvient?
-What does this word mean
DorotiThursday 24th of March 2005 07:46:32 PM
- Souvent? = Often?

Est-ce que tu fais le plus souvent dans tes soirs?
(What mostly do you do in the evenings?)
MeryThursday 24th of March 2005 09:50:26 PM
- [b]souvient[/b] is a verb, it comes from [color=red]souvenir[/color] = to remember

E.g. = il se souvient d'elle = he remembers her

:)
DorotiThursday 24th of March 2005 10:52:18 PM
- oh :) I thought about the different word :) without "i" before "e" :) reading mistake, sorry... :)
CarameliciousThursday 24th of March 2005 11:00:23 PM
- Dorti, then game is played if you have a word that you don't know what it means, you ask what it means and the person below you will tell you and use it in a sentence. You can't just ask random questions.
DorotiFriday 25th of March 2005 02:06:02 AM
- Caram, I understand this, so I was trying to answer at your question... ok, newermind...
chelle73Friday 25th of March 2005 04:32:39 AM
- dessin
RJan589Friday 25th of March 2005 08:24:08 AM
- Drawing

J'aime le dessin.

Faire
CarameliciousFriday 25th of March 2005 11:11:30 PM
- Faire - To do or To make

Faire is often used with expressions and the weather also.

Faire beau - To be beautiful (The weather)
faire de l'autostop - To hitchhike
Faites comme chez vous ! - Make yourself at home !
Faire attention (á) - To pay attention (to)
CarameliciousWednesday 06th of April 2005 08:42:34 AM
Donc - Donc ? - What does this mean
UlvenWednesday 06th of April 2005 06:43:14 PM
- donc... = therfore.../and so...

But it is very versatile.

-Hmm, j'aime l'opéra un peu
-Donc, on-y-va?

-[i]Hmm, I like opera a little
-So, are we going then?[/i]

>[b]tandis[/b]
MartaThursday 07th of April 2005 11:46:54 PM
- I think it's always with 'que' -> tandis que

tandis que -> while, when, whereas (fr. pendant)

Tandis que j'attende mes hôtes, ma maman fait un gâteau.
(While I'm waiting for my guests, my mom is preparing a cake.)

I have a little bit diffrent problem. I know what my word (or the expression) mean but I have no idea how to write it. As I noticed it has meaning like: are you done?, finished?, it worked out! I always heard that as a question or as a exclamation. Once I saw a woman waiting for her little son to exit the toilet and when he went out she asked "sayais" (I'm only guessing the spelling;)) So can anyone help me with this one?
slasher1Saturday 09th of April 2005 08:53:56 PM
- Im not sure what does "lui" mean?
UlvenSaturday 09th of April 2005 10:56:06 PM
- Je peux pas t'aider vraiment, mais je dirai des idée pour considérer.
-I can't really help you marta, but I'll throw some ideas up for consideration.

[b]hein? = huh?[/b] If you put "c'est" infront it could sound like sayais - "c'est hein?". But, I'm blindly guessing on these word being used together. lol. Many short idioms don't litarally makes sense, that's why I'm including this as a possible "finished?" ("Is it, huh?")

[b]assez = enough[/b] Maybe it could be said as in "You had enough?"

[b]ça = it/that[/b] This word gets used in hundreds of short idioms that don't REALLY make sense.

Anyway, I know you know all those words (maybe not 'hein'?), but they're just ideas incase they make you wake up one morning a go "Ah, that's what they're saying". Hopefully someone else with more authority on the matter will tell you what is being said;).
-----------------------------------------------------------

[b]lui = him[/b], or in a certain grammatical usage '[b][u]to[/u] him[/b]'

Je lui donnerai mon manteau.
-[i]I'll give him my coat[/i]
[i](I/to him/will give/ my coat)[/i]

I'd like to know if lui would be used for females too, in this sentence. Or does one use [u]elle[/u]? I got the idea that in this grammatical form, [u]lui[/u] is for both men and women. For plural, does anyone know if one uses [u]leur[/u] for 'to them', or is it simply [u]les[/u]?

*[i]I know most people won't be able to help on this question, so that's OK[/i];).

CarameliciousSunday 10th of April 2005 12:50:35 AM
- [quote]lui = him, or in a certain grammatical usage 'to him'

Je lui donnerai mon manteau.
-I'll give him my coat
(I/to him/will give/ my coat)

I'd like to know if lui would be used for females too, in this sentence. Or does one use elle? I got the idea that in this grammatical form, lui is for both men and women. For plural, does anyone know if one uses leur for 'to them', or is it simply les?
[/quote]

Ulven you are one who is full of knowledge :D

The way you explain "lui" I am believeing that it is an indirect object pronoun? When I looked around for it, "lui" can also be used for a female also.

http://french.about.com/library/weekly/aa062899i.htm

And if I follow correctly
as lui = to him, to her, to it

then leur = to them
:D
UlvenSunday 10th of April 2005 02:29:18 AM
- Ah, merci Caramel. Bonne réponse. Très utile;).
Evka22Monday 11th of April 2005 08:06:19 PM
- [quote][i]Originally posted by Marta[/i]



I have a little bit diffrent problem. I know what my word (or the expression) mean but I have no idea how to write it. As I noticed it has meaning like: are you done?, finished?, it worked out! I always heard that as a question or as a exclamation. Once I saw a woman waiting for her little son to exit the toilet and when he went out she asked "sayais" (I'm only guessing the spelling;)) So can anyone help me with this one?[/quote]

C'est une expression familliale. Il faut l'ecrire comme ca: "Ca y est!!" On l'utilise pour dire que nous avos fait quelque chose avec le resultat positive ou il peut etre utilise comme question.
Bon chance:)
CarameliciousSaturday 23rd of April 2005 09:01:44 PM
- I do not know what the word: "même" means?
MerySaturday 23rd of April 2005 09:19:49 PM
- In most cases it can be translated by 'same'

[quote]même [mɛm] déterminant (adjectif indéfini) 1. (avant le nom) [identique, semblable] same
mettre deux choses sur le même plan to put two things on the same level
(en corrélation avec 'que')
il a le même âge que moi he's the same age as me

2. (après le nom) [servant à souligner]
elle est la bonté même she is kindness itself
ce sont ses paroles mêmes those are his very words
ils sont repartis le soir même they left that very evening
c'est cela même que je cherchais it's the very thing I was looking for

même [mɛm] pronom indéfini
le même the same
ce sont toujours les mêmes qui gagnent it's always the same ones who win
mes intérêts ne sont pas les mêmes que les vôtres my interests are not the same as yours

cela ou ça revient (strictement) au même it comes ou amounts to (exactly) the same thing


même [mɛm] adverbe
even
même les savants ou les savants même peuvent se tromper even scientists can make mistakes
elle ne va même plus au cinéma she doesn't even go to the cinema any more[/quote]

CarameliciousTuesday 03rd of May 2005 05:16:17 PM
- Words that I need help with:
:D

1.Réfléchissent
Ex: L'avenir est la seule chose á laquelle ils réfléchissent.

2.Laquelle
Ex: L'avenir est la seule chose á laquelle ils réfléchissent.

3.Auquel
Ex: Le football est le seul sport auquel je joue.


Merci Beaucoup !
:D

EmDee1B86Wednesday 04th of May 2005 08:42:01 PM
- Bonjour Caramel! :)

1.Réfléchissent
Ex: L'avenir est la seule chose á laquelle ils réfléchissent.


Réfléchissent is a conjugation of the verb réfléchir (to reflect/to think about) in the present indicative tense for the third person plural nominative case.

je réfléchis
tu réfléchis
il/elle/on réfléchit
nous réfléchissons
vous réfléchissez
ils/elles réfléchissent= They are thinking/They do think/They think

2.Laquelle
Ex: L'avenir est la seule chose á laquelle ils réfléchissent.


This is a pronom rélatif (relative pronoun) and it is used to complement an indirect object. The format is à + l'objet. The object can either be a subject - à qui - or a thing - à + lequel it would depend on the gender of the indirect object. In this case, the indirect object would be la...chose. This is also called the antecedent and it is any word that precedes the relative pronoun. Here, since it is la...chose, you would use à laquelle. Others would be: auquel (m.); auxquel (m.pl); auxquelles (f.pl)

Literally translates to "The future is the only thing to which they are thinking about," "The future is the only thing to which they think about" or "The future is the only thing to which they do think about."

More here: http://french.about.com/library/weekly/aa021200.htm

3.Auquel
Ex: Le football est le seul sport auquel je joue.


Same explanation as # 2.
"Football is the only sport to which I play/do play???" (:-/
CarameliciousFriday 06th of May 2005 08:45:08 PM
- fenêtre ?
EmDee1B86Monday 09th of May 2005 09:49:25 PM
- fenêtre=window

What is eux?
La_PluieFriday 20th of May 2005 03:55:57 AM
- eux = them (m)
Allons-y chez eux. - Let's go to their place.
PsycheFriday 20th of May 2005 07:44:40 PM
- What does chacun means? The French Eurovision ( yep, I am a looner, and pruoud of it!) is called "Chacun pense a toi" or something like that. My best shot would be "every time", but that would be "chaque fois" I think? Help please :D
DaanFriday 20th of May 2005 10:05:50 PM
- Chacun is probably a "cool" misspelling of "chaqu'un" which means "everybody".
Chacun pense à toi = everybody thinks about you, I assume.

Everytime = chaque fois indeed.
La_PluieSaturday 21st of May 2005 06:53:31 AM
- Hehe... Cool misspelling? Actually, chacun is the correct spelling. I've never thought about it, but I guess it does come from "chaqu'un." I don't know if "chaqu'un" is correct as well, but I've never seen it before.

Chacun = everyone
Aucun = no one

So... uh... the purpose of this thread is to... create an interactive dictionary that takes forever to use? Okay... So what's "griffonant"?

You know, I was going to ask what "cible" meant when I looked through this paragraph... But I realized that I understood it the first time I read it just because of the context... I just didn't even think about the word and focused on the idea.
"Nous avons commencé avec des exercices avec la même langue source et cible."
DaanSaturday 21st of May 2005 06:09:02 PM
- Interesting...we've always been taught to use "chaqu'un" in high school. Well, one learns a new thing every day! Thanks! :)
RionSaturday 28th of May 2005 07:23:27 PM
- "griffonant" comes from the verb griffoner = to scribble/scratch. why???

If we're saying random words, what's a ronronnement?
DaanSunday 29th of May 2005 06:51:37 PM
- Sounds like an uproar to me :p Got no clue what it means though
UlvenTuesday 31st of May 2005 01:38:11 PM
- About all this chacun vs chaqu'un business. Is it possible that chaqu'un is emphatic on the 'un', like 'every single one', 'each last one', whereas chacun blends into the sentence.
Chacun en partent- Everyone's leaving
Chaqu'un en partent- Every single person is leaving (Not even one person is staying)

*Did I use 'en' correct in those examples and these?
Elles y viennent -they're coming (y = to it/the place)
Elles en sont partie - they're leaving (en = from it/the place)
CarameliciousSunday 03rd of July 2005 12:02:14 AM
- l'Armée du Salut ...
Can someone help me with this term?
TierSunday 03rd of July 2005 12:36:49 AM
- Bonjour Caramelicious :)

L'Armée du Salut est une association humanitaire d'origine Anglaise née à la fin du XIXe siècle. Elle a pour vocation d'aider les gens en difficulté, dans leurs problèmes quotidiens (personne âgées, malades, pauvres, etc) mais aussi pour des problèmes exceptionnels (prisonniers politiques, faim dans le monde, etc).

Très connue en France, elle est entrée dans le language courant sous une forme assez négative : "ce n'est pas l'armée du salut ici!". Cela signifie que l'on a pas de temps pour aider la personne demanderesse, ou bien que le service demandé ne sera pas gratuit.

Bonne journée.

Tier


TierSunday 03rd of July 2005 12:42:57 AM
- [quote][i]Originally posted by Rion[/i]


"griffonant" comes from the verb griffoner = to scribble/scratch. why???

If we're saying random words, what's a ronronnement?[/quote]

Hello Rion :)

Ronronnement is the typical noise that make a happy cat :)

Un chat ronronne de plaisir. Il ronronne sous les caresses.

Ce mot n'est pas utilisé en dehors de ce contexte, excepté toutefois pour des parallèles féminins et souvent d'un léger érotisme : "une femme ronronne de plaisir, etc".

A bientôt.

Tier
CarameliciousSunday 03rd of July 2005 01:09:21 AM
- Merci Tier!
CarameliciousWednesday 06th of July 2005 07:25:27 AM
- Je ne comprends pas, le phrase or the verbal construction "un coup de..."? Can someone explain this to me?

And also, I don't know how to spell this word but I will try: "Merde" ? I don't know, I was watching a lesson of French in Action and the girl knocked over a bottle of nail polish and she said it?
swthoneyceeSunday 10th of July 2005 12:55:57 PM
- Ulven, I don't recall ever seeing 'en' used like that before. I'm probably wrong though. lol

And, Aaron, I think "merde" is a curse word equivalent to {i dont think we're allowed to curse in here} s--t. At least that's what I was told.
hatemSunday 10th of July 2005 04:39:58 PM
- sault tous
je veux savoire le mot "en train" je sais le train ce le train en englais mais "en train" non je veus savoire quel verb
merci d'avence
CarameliciousMonday 11th of July 2005 01:17:20 AM
- What is the difference between:
Un homme
Un type
Un mec

KazekiMonday 11th of July 2005 01:38:26 AM
- Caramelicious, the difference between those three words are as followed:

un homme-is equivalent to the English word "man"
un type- is equivalent to the word "chap" [British English] (e.g. Good day old chap!)
un mec- is a colloquial phrase meaning "guy"

I hope that was a good explanation.
MaverickThursday 21st of July 2005 11:24:23 AM
- Hatem, Je pense que vous voulez dire "en train de". Je crois q'il dit "in process of".

Nous sommes en train de apprendre le français.



J'entends souvent dans la TV, "où vas tu comme ça".
Quelle est la phrase "comme ça"?
MaverickFriday 22nd of July 2005 09:56:58 AM
- Caramel, Try http://www.stim.com/Stim-x/9.1/curses/curses.html. I remember hearing that on French in Action as well, and it really surprised me (on a PBS program?). Maybe it's not as bad in French as in other languages, but I know in Portugese it is very harsh.

Now I don't condone the use of profanity, but I feel that it is good to be able to recognize it so that if someone curses at you at least you know what they're saying to you!

[quote][i]Originally posted by Caramelicious[/i]


Je ne comprends pas, le phrase or the verbal construction "un coup de..."? Can someone explain this to me?

And also, I don't know how to spell this word but I will try: "Merde" ? I don't know, I was watching a lesson of French in Action and the girl knocked over a bottle of nail polish and she said it?[/quote]
MeryFriday 22nd of July 2005 11:32:03 PM
- [quote][i]Originally posted by Maverick[/i]
Nous sommes en train de apprendre le français.

J'entends souvent dans la TV, "où vas tu comme ça".
Quelle est la phrase "comme ça"?[/quote]

Nous sommes en train [b]d'apprendre[/b] le français (vous ne pouvez pas avoir deux voyelles qui se suivent en français)

J'entends souvent [b]à la TV[/b]...


Hmm, où vas-tu comme ça?

Je ne connais pas la traduction exacte de cette expression. Je vais donc essayer de vous donner un exemple.

Exemple:

Pierre et Marie discutent et tout à coup Pierre se lève et se dirige vers la porte. Marie lui dit: où vas-tu comme ça? Pierre répond: j'ai cru entendre quelqu'un m'appeler.

MaverickThursday 28th of July 2005 11:13:12 AM
- Merci beaucoup pour l'aide Mery.

Tout le monde, nous avons besoin de un mot nouveau!
CarameliciousThursday 28th of July 2005 11:56:24 AM
- Je ne pense pas de un mot que je ne connais pas a ce moment... :(
LOL
(As if I would be able to think of it, if I didn't know it. MDRR!)
CarameliciousThursday 28th of July 2005 12:22:52 PM
- I have one! I see this word a lot, usually associated with something funny.... peut-être?

Dr(o+^)le

DaanThursday 28th of July 2005 09:22:02 PM
- drôle means "funny"
CarameliciousFriday 05th of August 2005 06:52:19 AM
- Car? (I am assuming it isn't used as in English lol :D ;) )
DaanFriday 05th of August 2005 05:03:05 PM
- car = because

J'apprends le français car je veux vivre là = I am learning French because I want to live over there
patrick123Friday 05th of August 2005 06:04:29 PM
- [quote][i]Originally posted by Daan[/i]
J'apprends le français car je veux vivre là = I am learning French because I want to live over there[/quote]

"J'apprends le français car je veux [b]y[/b] vivre"

You can only say "je veux vivre là" when you are showing where you want to live.

I'd even say "j'apprends le français parce que je veux vivre en France/Belgique/etc"
I don't know why but I don't use "car" that often and to replace "France" by "y" it should have been mentioned before.
DaanFriday 05th of August 2005 09:29:28 PM
- ah naturellement :) tu as raison

moi, je n'utilise pas "car" aussi, je dis "parce que", mais parce que il a demandé que ça veut dire, j'ai écrit une phrase avec "car" :)
ChapeaumelonSaturday 06th of August 2005 12:12:24 PM
- [quote]moi, je n'utilise pas "car" aussi, je dis "parce que", mais parce que il a demandé que ça veut dire, j'ai écrit une phrase avec "car" :)[/quote]

[...] mais parce qu'il a demandé ce que ça veut dire [...]
DaanSaturday 06th of August 2005 02:04:24 PM
- i succumb...
CarameliciousSaturday 06th of August 2005 10:17:32 PM
- Hmmmm.... I understand that it means "Because", but I am still not understanding where or when I use it instead of "parce que", which I use a lot.
DaanSunday 07th of August 2005 12:03:36 AM
- they are interchangeable as far as I know :)
patrick123Sunday 07th of August 2005 02:42:23 AM
- I'd say the same than Daan.
I can't really see any difference between both words.

From my dictionary:
[b]Car[/b] [i]Conjonction[/i] Conjonction de coordination qui introduit une explication (preuve, raison de la proposition qui précède). Voir Parce que, puisque, vu que... (Ex [i]Il ne viendra pas car il est malade[/i])

[b]Parce que[/b] [i]Conjonction[/i] Exprime la cause.
DaanSunday 07th of August 2005 03:59:20 AM
- [quote][i]Originally posted by Patrick[/i]
I'd say the same [b]than[/b] as* ;) Daan.
[/quote]
patrick123Sunday 07th of August 2005 06:22:02 AM
- Thanks
Unfortunately my English is far from being perfect.
DaanSunday 07th of August 2005 04:02:27 PM
- donc je peux t'aider et tu peux m'aider ;)
MaverickTuesday 09th of August 2005 12:11:17 PM
- Peut-être une meilleure traduction pour "car" est "for". Pour exemple: Je lis la Bible française et il souvent dit "car voici", ou "for behold".

Dites moi si je n'ai pas raison, merci.
CarameliciousSaturday 27th of August 2005 04:12:15 AM
- mon ami m'a dit "mouais" ?
janis1Saturday 27th of August 2005 04:50:43 AM
- "mouais" is a way to say "oui" but without conviction.
For example :
Question : Ca va ?
Answer : mouais.
You can say that when you're bored or ill. I hope my explanation is clear enough.
CarameliciousSunday 28th of August 2005 10:05:27 AM
- Merci!
Et du mot "bégayé"?
Je lis le livre "L'étranger" par Albert Camus. Je suis surprise que je comprends lol. Il y a des mots que je ne connais pas...
J'aime le livre, j'ai appris beaucoup de vocabulaire, probably pas très utile pour moi maintenant avec mots comme l'aisle, enterrement, choses de that sort. Maintenant dans le livre sa mère est morte....
Mais j'ai parlé du livre enough... lol
J'aime beaucoup though ;)
So far....
pableras28Sunday 28th of August 2005 06:33:45 PM
- Salut, Caramelicious! :D J'ai trouvé ce que veut dire le verbe "bégayer". Il veut dire to stammer ou to stutter.

Alors, ne bégayez pas! :p

Un exemple:

Quand ils ont questionné s'il disait la vérité, il commençait à bégayer.

[color=red]EDIT MERY: quand ils ont demandé s'il disait la vérité, il a commencé à bégayer. T'as de sérieux problèmes avec la conjugaison :/[/color]
CarameliciousSunday 28th of August 2005 10:41:40 PM
- Merci beaucoup!
pableras28Monday 29th of August 2005 05:26:00 AM
- Oui, j'ai problèmes avec les conjugaisons. :( En fait, je dis ça en mon profil, peut-quelqu'un m'aider avec ceci? T__T
CarameliciousTuesday 30th of August 2005 05:43:43 AM
I have a reverse request :D - How do I say "Empty Inside" like in a poetic way?
rionTuesday 30th of August 2005 03:21:21 PM
- Hmmm... moi, je dirais 'vide dedans', ou 'vide au sein/coeur', mais je ne suis pas sur, et je crois que Mery va me corriger! ;)
MeryTuesday 30th of August 2005 05:44:58 PM
- Moi je dirais "le vide intérieur" mais sans certitude *-)
CarameliciousTuesday 30th of August 2005 06:02:12 PM
- Merci
NeilaWednesday 07th of September 2005 05:24:02 AM
- alors, il y a quelques mots que je n'ai pas trouvé dans mon dico
manouche
raboin
balconnets
bouillonnement
juxtaposition
mitigé
escomateur
mouvance
se mirer
marchand de cacahuètes
ils vient d'un livre sur le cirque francais.
Merci pour m'aider
MeryWednesday 07th of September 2005 06:25:39 AM
- Coucou,

manouche (je ne connaissais pas ce mot) => personne qui appartient à l'un des trois groupes dont l'ensemble forme les Tsiganes.

raboin (je ne connaissais pas non plus ce mot) => c'est pas dans le dictionnaire :(

balconnet => soutien-gorge découvrant le haut de la poitrine

juxtaposition => quand on pose deux choses une à côté de l'autre => on les juxtapose

mitigé => partagé / ex: un avis mitigé = un avis partagé

escomateur => je ne connais pas ce mot et il n'est pas dans mon dictionnaire

mouvance => domaine dans lequel qqn ou qch exerce son influence

se mirer = se refléter

marchand de cacahuètes => quelqu'un qui vend des cacahuètes (peanuts)

Voilà!:)

NeilaWednesday 07th of September 2005 04:32:42 PM
- Merci beaucoup Mery.
Les mots que tu ne connais pas, sont peut-être des mots de la langue "cirque" qui ne sont qu'utilisés par les gens de cirque... alors, il faut que je trouve des circassiens pour les demander.
MeryWednesday 07th of September 2005 09:04:38 PM
- Pas de problème :)

En fait, je crois que tu voulais dire 'escamoteur' et pas 'escomateur'. Si c'est le cas, voici le définition de ce mot:

Escamoteur = personne qui fait disparaître quelque chose par une manière habile.

Pour le reste, je crois que comme tu le disais, ce serait mieux de demander à des gens qui s'y connaissent dans le domaine du cirque.
NeilaFriday 09th of September 2005 08:34:09 PM
- oui, escamoteur. parfois je ne sais pas lire ma propre écriture.
merci
pableras28Sunday 11th of September 2005 04:19:57 AM
- Quand tu as dit "raboin", voulais-tu dire "rabbin"? Si c'est le case, un rabbin est un prêtre hebreu.
NeilaSunday 11th of September 2005 05:22:02 AM
- Non, je voulais écrire raboin.
et voilà, le prochain mot que je ne connais pas: ringard

CarameliciousSunday 11th of September 2005 05:48:00 AM
- J'ai le même avis de Neila.
Um.... Avec le dictionaire online que je utilise... je ne trouve pas "ringard".
Et pour tout le monde, j'ai trouvé un dictionaire online et il n'est pas un translator. :D

http://www.online-dictionary.biz/french/english/
Click sur la lettre de le mot que tu as besoin de trouver....


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