| en |
| 1. prep. in (used to indicate space, also see usage notes) | |
| J'habite en Angleterre. - I live in England. | |
| 2. prep. to (indicates direction towards certain very large locations, see usage notes) | |
| Il est allé en France. - He went to France. | |
| 3. prep. by (used to indicate means) | |
| aller en bus - go by bus | |
| partir en voiture - leave by car | |
| 4. prep. as | |
| Il me traite en ami. - He treats me as a friend. | |
| habillé en père Noël - dressed as Father Christmas | |
| 5. prep. at (used to describe an ability) | |
| fort en histoire - good at history | |
| 6. prep. of, made of (used to describe composition) | |
| une chaise en hêtre - a chair made of beech/a beech chair | |
| une fourchette en métal - a fork made of metal/a metal fork | |
| 7. prep. in (during the following time (used for months and years)) | |
| en 1993 - in 1993 | |
| en janvier - in January | |
| en septembre 2001 - in September 2001 | |
| 8. prep. (followed by a gerund) while | |
| 9. prep. (followed by a gerund) by, in describing a way of getting something | |
| C'est en trichant qu'il est devenu champion. - It was by cheating that he became champion. | |
| 10. prep. in (used to describe color) | |
| une photo en noir et blanc - a photo in black and white | |
| 11. prep. in (used to describe feelings) | |
| en détresse - in distress | |
| 12. prep. in (as part of something) | |
| en équipe - on a team | |
| 13. pron. (Used as the object of a verb to indicate an indefinite quantity; of it, of them. Replaces the partitive article (du, de la, etc.)) | |
| Essaies-en ! - Try some (of it / them)! | |
| Tu as combien de livres ? J'en ai trois. - How many books do you have? I have three (of them). | |
| Y a-t-il beaucoup de pièces ? Oui. Il y en a beaucoup. - Are there many rooms? Yes, there are many (of them). | |
| Martin a trois sandwichs, mais j'en ai seulement deux. - Martin has three sandwiches, but I have only two (of them). | |
| Il y en a combien ? - How many of them are there? | |
| Je bois de l'alcool parce que j'en ai besoin - I drink alcohol because I need (of) it. | |
| 14. pron. Adverbial preposition indicating movement away from a place already mentioned; from there, from it. Replaces the phrase de là or d’ici. | |
| Est-ce qu'elle vient de Barcelone ? Oui, elle en vient. - Does she come from Barcelona? Yes, she comes (from there). | |
| particulier |
| 1. adj. particular | |
| 2. adj. peculiar | |
| 3. n-m. an individual; a specified person | |
| personne |
| 1. n-f. person | |
| 2. pron. (with ne) no one, nobody | |
| Il n'y a personne ici. - There is nobody here. | |
| Qui l'a lu? Personne. - Who has read it? No one. | |
| Il n'a parlé avec personne. - He spoke to nobody. | |
| Personne ne parle avec lui. - No one speaks with him. | |
| 3. pron. anyone | |
| Il le sait mieux que personne. - He knows it better than anyone. | |
| qui |
| 1. pron. (interrogative) who, whom | |
| Tu as vu qui ? - Who have you seen? | |
| Je ne sais pas qui vous êtes. - I don't know who you are. | |
| 2. pron. (relative) who, whom (after a preposition), which, that | |
| La personne qui parle connait bien son sujet. - The person who speaks knows his/her subject well. | |
| Cette voiture bleue qui passe me plait beaucoup. - This blue car which is passing I like a lot. | |
| J’aime les chiens qui sont calmes. - I like dogs that are quiet. | |
| Un homme à qui j’ai parlé. - A man to whom I spoke/have spoken. | |
| Si lugubre que fût l’appartement, c’était un paradis pour qui revenait du lycée. - Gloomy as the apartment was, it was still a paradise for those who came back from school. | |
| Rira bien qui rira le dernier. - Who laughs last laughs well. | |
| 3. conj. (Louisiana French, Cajun French) if | |
| Qui elle en a, ça va faire. - If she has any, that will do. | |
| enseigne |
| 1. n-f. shop sign | |
| 2. n-f. (by metonymy) any chain store that operates under a shop brand | |
| 3. n-f. (cards) suit | |
| Les quatre enseignes d'un paquet standard sont le cœur, le carreau, le trèfle, et la pique. - The four suits in a standard deck are hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades. | |
| 4. n. (military) ensign | |
| 5. v. first-person singular present of enseigner | |
| 6. v. third-person singular present of enseigner | |
| 7. v. second-person singular imperative of enseigner | |
| enseigner |
| 1. v. to teach, to instruct, to educate | |
| enseigner des enfants et des adolescents - to teach young children and adolescents | |
| 2. v. to teach | |
| enseigner quelque chose à quelqu'un - to teach someone something (literally, to teach something to someone) | |
| enseigner à quelqu'un à faire quelque chose - to teach someone (how) to do something | |
| enseigner (à quelqu'un) que (...) - to teach (someone) that ... | |
| On lui enseigne le français. - We are teaching him/her French. | |
| Elle a l'intention de leur enseigner à résoudre les équations différentielles. - She intends to teach them to solve differential equations. | |
| dans |
| 1. prep. (literal, figurative) in, inside (enclosed in a physical space, a group, a state) | |
| vieillir dans la misère - to grow old in poverty | |
| être dans l'infanterie - to be in the infantry | |
| avoir quelque chose dans la bouche - to have something in the mouth | |
| dans les circonstances d'une pandémie - under the circumstances of a pandemic | |
| Il habite dans le quartier le plus riche de Paris. - He lives in the richest district of Paris. | |
| Il nage comme un poisson dans l'eau. - He swims like a fish in the water. | |
| mettre l'argent dans la poche - to put money into one's pocket | |
| Bienvenue dans le meilleur bar de tout Paris. - Welcome to the best bar in all of Paris. | |
| 2. prep. to (indicates direction towards certain large subdivisions, see usage notes) | |
| Aujourd'hui, je vais dans le Maine, et demain, je vais dans l’État de New York. - Today, I'm going to Maine, and tomorrow, I'm going to New York. | |
| 3. prep. in, within (a longer period of time) | |
| Je serai prêt dans une heure. - I'll be ready in one hour. | |
| Il arrivera dans trois jours. - He will arrive in three days. | |
| 4. prep. (with respect to time) during | |
| dans un temps donné - during a given time | |
| dans ma jeunesse - in my youth | |
| 5. prep. out of, from | |
| boire dans une tasse - to drink from a cup | |
| Il prend le beurre dans le réfrigérateur. - He takes the butter out of the fridge. | |
| 6. prep. (metonymy) in; in the works of | |
| le marxisme dans Sartre - Marxism in the works of Sartre | |
| 7. prep. (colloquial) (Used in dans les) | |
| dans les trentes kilos - about thirty kilos | |
| dans les dix euros - about ten euros | |
| 8. n. plural of dan | |
| Le |
| 1. Proper noun. surname, from=Vietnamese | |
| 2. art. the (definite article) | |
| Le lait du matin. - The milk of the morning. | |
| 3. art. Used before abstract nouns; not translated in English. | |
| L'amour est aveugle. - Love is blind. | |
| 4. art. (before parts of the body) the; my, your, etc. | |
| Il s’est cassé la jambe. - He has broken his leg. | |
| 5. art. (before units) a, an | |
| Cinquante kilomètres à l’heure. - fifty kilometres an hour | |
| 6. pron. (direct object) him, it | |
| Où est Malik ? Je ne le vois pas. - Where is Malik? I don't see him. | |
| Mon sac ? Je vais le mettre dans la voiture. - My bag? I'm going to put it in the car. | |
| 7. pron. used to refer to something previously mentioned or implied; not translated in English | |
| Je suis petit et lui, il l’est aussi. - ... and he is it too | |
| enseignement |
| 1. n-m. education, teaching | |
| secondaire |
| 1. adj. secondary | |
| enseignement secondaire |
| 1. n-m. secondary education | |
| à |
| 1. Notes. In Canada, à and a are not homophones, à a, a ɑː. | |
| 2. prep. to (destination) | |
| aller au bout - go to the end / go all the way | |
| Je vais à Paris. - I am going to Paris. | |
| 3. prep. to (until) | |
| Le spectacle sera de 18h à 21h. - The show will be from 6 pm to 9 pm. | |
| 4. prep. on the, to (some directions) | |
| Tournez à gauche ! - Turn to the left! | |
| Ne tournez pas encore à droite ! - Don't turn to the right yet! | |
| Le vent vire au nord. - The wind turns north. | |
| L'école est à gauche. - The school is on the left. | |
| 5. prep. at (said of a particular time) | |
| à dix heures et quart - at quarter past ten | |
| Je pars à cinq heures précises. - I am leaving at exactly five o'clock. | |
| 6. prep. at, in, on (said of a particular place) | |
| à la maison - at home | |
| à l'hôtel - at the hotel | |
| au comptoir du bar - at the bar | |
| au bois - in the woods | |
| J'habite à un demi-kilomètre d'ici. - I live half a kilometer from here. | |
| La maison qui a été détruite hier soir ne se trouvait qu'à trois kilomètres de chez nous. - The house that was destroyed last night was only three kilometers from our place.à trois kilomètres d | |
| 7. prep. Used in various interjections used as warnings or exhortations | |
| au voleur ! - stop thief! | |
| à l'assassin ! - murderer! | |
| au meurtre ! - murder! murderer! | |
| à moi ! - help! | |
| à l'aide ! - help! | |
| au secours ! - help! | |
| au feu ! - fire! | |
| aux armes ! - to arms! | |
| à l'attaque ! - attack! forward! charge! up and at 'em! | |
| à l'abordage ! - on board! | |
| au boulot ! - get to work! let's get to work! | |
| au travail ! - get to work! let's get to work! | |
| 8. prep. from (origin) | |
| Nous prenons de l'eau au puits. - We get water from the well. | |
| Je l'ai eu à la bibliothèque. - I got it from the library. | |
| Voilà la femme à laquelle j'ai acheté mon chien - There's the woman I bought my dog from. | |
| 9. prep. of (belonging to) | |
| C'est un ami à moi. - This is a friend of mine. | |
| Cette voiture est à John. - This is John's car. | |
| le chien à Marie - Mary's dog nonstandard: one normally would use de here | |
| 10. prep. till, until (used in farewells) | |
| à plus tard - see you later | |
| à bientôt - see you soon | |
| Salut, donc. À demain. - Bye, then. 'Til tomorrow / see you tomorrow. | |
| 11. prep. (cuisine) cooked in or with | |
| 12. prep. Used to make compound nouns to state what something is used for | |
| moulin à poivre - pepper mill | |
| sac à dos - backpack | |
| boite à musique - music box | |
| 13. prep. (before an infinitive) to (used to express something not completed) | |
| l'équipe à battre - the team to beat | |
| Il n'y a jamais grand-chose à faire par ici. - There's never much to do around here. | |
| Là où tu ne vois pas grand-chose, je ne trouve qu'une grande abondance de choses qui restent à faire. - Where you see nothing great, I only see a great abundance of things that need doing. | |
| Il reste deux tâches à finir. - There are two things left to finish. | |
| Il y a de la bière à boire. - There's some beer to drink. | |
| 14. prep. Used to describe a part of something, often translated into English as a compound adjective | |
| un animal à quatre pattes - a four-legged animal | |
| une femme au visage pâle - a pale-faced woman | |
| un homme à longue barbe - a long-bearded man — a man with a long beard | |
| une chemise à manches courtes - a short-sleeved shirt | |
| une maison aux murs de brique - a brick-walled house / a house with brick walls | |
| 15. prep. by | |
| peu à peu - bit by bit | |
| petit à petit - little by little | |
| minute à minute - minute by minute | |
| jour à jour - day by day | |
| un à un - one by one | |
| 16. prep. or, to (used to express an approximate number) | |
| six à sept personnes - six or seven people | |
| de vingt à trente ans - from twenty to thirty years | |
| tous les cinq à six ans - every five or six years | |
| 17. prep. Used to indicate the recipient of certain phrasal verb. | |
| mettre le feu à - to set fire to | |
| clouer le bec à - to shut (someone) up | |
| donner la chasse à - to give chase to | |
| 18. prep. with | |
| savoir |
| 1. v. to know (something) | |
| Savais-tu qu'il parle si bien l'anglais? - Did you know that he speaks English so well? | |
| Comment savait-il que j'étais là? - How did he know that I was there? | |
| Il est difficile de savoir si elle ment. - It's difficult to know if she's lying. | |
| Il tire cette approche en inventant une situation initiale, dans laquelle on interrogerait les individus sur la forme qu'ils voudraient d'une société sans qu'ils sachent quelle place ils y aura | |
| Difficile à savoir (expression; compare Difficile à dire, voir, faire) | |
| 2. v. to know how (to do something) | |
| Savez-vous nager? - Do you know how to swim? | |
| 3. v. to be able to, to be apt to (especially in the negative or interrogative conditional; used in the positive in Belgium) | |
| Il ne saurait tarder que... - It cannot/will not be long before... | |
| 4. v. to find out | |
| Nous devons savoir pourquoi il a fait ça. - We have to find out why he did this. | |
| 5. n-m. knowledge | |
| à savoir |
| 1. adv. that is, i.e. | |
| 2. adv. namely, to wit | |
| 3. adv. (informal) it remains to be seen | |
| Le |
| 1. Proper noun. surname, from=Vietnamese | |
| 2. art. the (definite article) | |
| Le lait du matin. - The milk of the morning. | |
| 3. art. Used before abstract nouns; not translated in English. | |
| L'amour est aveugle. - Love is blind. | |
| 4. art. (before parts of the body) the; my, your, etc. | |
| Il s’est cassé la jambe. - He has broken his leg. | |
| 5. art. (before units) a, an | |
| Cinquante kilomètres à l’heure. - fifty kilometres an hour | |
| 6. pron. (direct object) him, it | |
| Où est Malik ? Je ne le vois pas. - Where is Malik? I don't see him. | |
| Mon sac ? Je vais le mettre dans la voiture. - My bag? I'm going to put it in the car. | |
| 7. pron. used to refer to something previously mentioned or implied; not translated in English | |
| Je suis petit et lui, il l’est aussi. - ... and he is it too | |
| collège |
| 1. n-m. academy | |
| 2. n-m. junior high school | |
| 3. n-m. (Switzerland) high school, secondary school | |
| 4. n-m. (Louisiana French) college, university | |
| et |
| 1. conj. and | |
| Le |
| 1. Proper noun. surname, from=Vietnamese | |
| 2. art. the (definite article) | |
| Le lait du matin. - The milk of the morning. | |
| 3. art. Used before abstract nouns; not translated in English. | |
| L'amour est aveugle. - Love is blind. | |
| 4. art. (before parts of the body) the; my, your, etc. | |
| Il s’est cassé la jambe. - He has broken his leg. | |
| 5. art. (before units) a, an | |
| Cinquante kilomètres à l’heure. - fifty kilometres an hour | |
| 6. pron. (direct object) him, it | |
| Où est Malik ? Je ne le vois pas. - Where is Malik? I don't see him. | |
| Mon sac ? Je vais le mettre dans la voiture. - My bag? I'm going to put it in the car. | |
| 7. pron. used to refer to something previously mentioned or implied; not translated in English | |
| Je suis petit et lui, il l’est aussi. - ... and he is it too | |
| lycée |
| 1. n-m. a public secondary school | |
