| argot |
| 1. n-m. slang | |
| 2. n-m. cant (secret language) | |
| polytechnicien |
| 1. adj. related to École polytechnique | |
| Tous les membres de la grande famille polytechnicienne, depuis les élèves de l’école jusqu’aux chefs les plus élevés des administrations qui s’y recrutent. (Journal officiel, 29 décembre 1874 | |
| 2. n-m. graduate of an École polytechnique | |
| Je le sais homme de valeur. Il sort de l'École polytechnique. Je me suis bien laissé dire que le coup de marteau, dont on avance que de nombreux polytechniciens sont affligés, a laissé des trac | |
| 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. | |
| ne |
| 1. part. (literary) not (used alone to negate a verb; now chiefly with only a few particular verbs: see usage notes) | |
| 2. part. not, no (used before a verb, with a coordinating negative element usually following; see Usage Notes, below) | |
| 3. part. (Used in a subordinate clause before a subjunctive verb (especially when the main verb expresses doubt or fear), to provide extra overtones of doubt or uncertainty (but not negating its verb); the so- | |
| 4. part. In comparative clauses usually translated with the positive sense of the subsequent negative | |
| Apprendre le français est plus facile qu'on ne pense. - Learning French is easier than you (might) think. | |
| remplit |
| 1. v. third-person singular present indicative of remplir | |
| 2. v. third-person singular past historic of remplir | |
| remplir |
| 1. v. to fill, to fill up (make full) | |
| Remplir la piscine avec de l'eau. - To fill the pool with water. | |
| 2. v. to fill in | |
| Veuillez remplir les blancs. - Please fill in the blanks. | |
| 3. v. to fulfil | |
| pas |
| 1. n-m. step, pace, footstep | |
| 2. n-m. (geography) strait, pass | |
| Pas de Calais - Strait of Dover | |
| 3. n-m. thread, pitch (of a screw or nut) | |
| 4. adv. The most common adverb of negation in French, typically translating into English as not, don't, doesn't, etc. | |
| Je ne sais pas. - I don't know | |
| Ma grande sœur n'habite pas avec nous. - My big sister doesn't live with us. | |
| J’veux pas travailler. - I don't wanna work. | |
| ou |
| 1. conj. or | |
| 2. conj. either...or | |
| Ou il est fou ou il est bête. - Either he's mad or he's stupid. | |
| Mal |
| 1. Proper noun. Section of Tongres in Belgium | |
| 2. n-m. (as in the phrase: avoir du mal) trouble, difficulty | |
| J'ai du mal à m'imaginer ça. - I have trouble imagining that. | |
| 3. n-m. pain | |
| J'ai mal à la tête. - I have pain at the head. | |
| 4. n-m. evil | |
| Le philosophe abordait de grandes questions du bon et du mal. - The philosopher discussed broad questions of good and evil. | |
| 5. n-m. damage, harm | |
| Le mal est fait. - The damage is done. | |
| 6. adv. badly | |
| C'est mal fait. - It's done badly. | |
| 7. adj. (in set phrases and limited constructions) bad | |
| bon an, mal an - good year, bad year | |
| bon gré, mal gré - willy-nilly | |
| Il est mal de infinitive - It’s wrong to infinitive | |
| C'est mal de infinitive - It’s wrong to infinitive | |
| une |
| 1. num. feminine singular of un | |
| 2. art. a / an (feminine indefinite article) | |
| 3. n-f. front page (of a publication) | |
| fonction |
| 1. n-f. function (what something does or is used for) | |
| Un aspirateur a pour fonction de nettoyer le sol en aspirant la poussière qui s'y trouve. - The function of a vacuum cleaner is to clean the floor by aspirating the dust. | |
| 2. n-f. role (function or position of something or someone) | |
| 3. n-f. (mathematics) function | |
| Je voudrais démontrer que cette fonction est injective. - I would like to prove that this function is injective. | |
| que |
| 1. conj. that (introduces a subordinate noun clause and connects it to its parent clause) | |
| Je vois que tu parles bien français. - I see that you speak French well. | |
| 2. conj. Substitutes for another, previously stated conjunction. | |
| Si le temps est beau et que tout le monde est d'accord, nous mangerons en plein air. - If the weather is nice and if everyone likes the idea, we'll eat outside. | |
| 3. conj. when, no sooner | |
| Il était à peine parti qu’elle a téléphoné à la police. - No sooner had he left when she called the police. | |
| 4. conj. (Links two noun phrases in apposition forming a clause without a (finite) verb, such that the complement acts as predicate.) | |
| 5. conj. introduces a comparison | |
| 6. conj. (comparisons of superiority or inferiority) than | |
| Il est plus grand que son père. - He is taller than his father. | |
| 7. conj. (comparisons of equality) as | |
| Elle est aussi intelligente que toi. - She is as smart as you. | |
| 8. conj. (used with ne) only, just; but, nothing but | |
| Je ne mange que des fruits. - I eat nothing but fruit. | |
| 9. conj. how (in rhetorical interjections) | |
| Que c'est beau! - How beautiful it is! | |
| Mais que t'es drôle, quoi. - Oh, how funny you are. | |
| 10. pron. (tlb, interrogative) | |
| 11. pron. (slightly formal, accusative) (The inanimate direct-object interrogative pronoun.) | |
| Que pensez-vous de cette peinture ? - What do you think of that painting? | |
| Qu'auriez-vous fait d'autre ? - What else would you have done? | |
| 12. pron. (slightly formal, nominative) (The inanimate subject or predicative interrogative pronoun.) | |
| Qu'est-il arrivé ? - What happened? | |
| Que me vaut cette visite ? - To what do I owe this visit? | |
| Que sommes-nous ? - What are we? | |
| 13. pron. (accusative, relative) (The direct object relative pronoun.) | |
| C'est un homme que je connais très bien. - He's a man whom I know very well. | |
| Je viens de lire la lettre que vous m'avez envoyée. - I've just read the letter that you sent me. | |
| elle |
| 1. pron. she | |
| Je crois qu'elle est partie. - I think she left. | |
| 2. pron. it (feminine gender third-person singular subject pronoun) | |
| Voilà ma voiture. Elle a cinq ans. - That's my car. It is five years old. | |
| 3. pron. disjunctive form of elle; her; à elle = hers | |
| C’est à elle. - It's hers. | |
| sera |
| 1. v. third-person singular future indicative of être | |
| serait |
| 1. v. third-person singular conditional of être | |
| soit |
| 1. conj. or, meaning, that is to say | |
| 2. conj. either ... or | |
| Il veut adopter un animal de compagnie, soit un chat, soit un chien. - He wants to adopt a pet, either a cat, or a dog. | |
| Je lui ai dit que j'aimerais reprendre un de mes vieux passe-temps, soit jouer du piano, soit apprendre une langue. - I told him I want to take up one of my old hobbies agains, be that playing | |
| 3. v. third-person singular present subjunctive of être | |
| 4. v. (math) let be | |
| Soit f une fonction linéaire. - Let f be a linear function. | |
| 5. interj. OK; granted; so be it | |
| occupe |
| 1. v. first-person singular present of occuper | |
| 2. v. third-person singular present of occuper | |
| 3. v. second-person singular imperative of occuper | |
| occuper |
| 1. v. to occupy, to take up | |
| 2. v. to employ | |
| 3. v. to be busy, to keep oneself busy | |
| 4. v. to take care of, to tend to, to deal with someone | |
| Moi, je m'occupe des clients. - Me, I'll take care of the clients. | |
| et |
| 1. conj. and | |
| par |
| 1. prep. through | |
| par la fenêtre - through the window | |
| aller par le parc - go through the park | |
| 2. prep. by (used to introduce a means; used to introduce an agent in a passive construction)) | |
| voyager par train - travel by train | |
| par surprise - by surprise | |
| le bateau est attaqué par des pirates. - the boat is being attacked by pirates. | |
| 3. prep. over (used to express direction) | |
| Viens par ici ! - Come over here! | |
| 4. prep. from (used to describe the origin of something, especially a view or movement) | |
| voir par devant - see from the back | |
| le liquide est arrivé par le robinet - the liquid arrived from the tap | |
| 5. prep. around, round (inside of) | |
| par tout le cinéma - all around the cinema | |
| 6. prep. on (situated on, used in certain phrases) | |
| par terre - on the ground | |
| 7. prep. on, at, in (used to denote a time when something occurs) | |
| par un beau jour - on a nice day | |
| par un soir - in one evening | |
| 8. prep. in | |
| marcher par deux - walk in twos | |
| 9. prep. per, a, an | |
| trois fois par semaine - three times a week | |
| 10. prep. out of (used to describe the reason for something) | |
| par pure colère - out of pure anger | |
| par tristesse - out of sadness | |
| 11. prep. for | |
| 12. n-m. (golf) par | |
| extension |
| 1. n-f. extension | |
| 2. n-f. (linguistics) semantic widening | |
| par extension |
| 1. prep. (semantics) by extension, broadly | |
| 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. | |
| inutile |
| 1. adj. unused | |
| 2. adj. useless, unnecessary, pointless | |
| incapable |
| 1. adj. unable, incapable | |
| 2. n-m. incompetent (person) | |
| maladroite |
| 1. adj. feminine singular of maladroit | |
| maladroit |
| 1. adj. awkward; clumsy; maladroit | |
| voire |
| 1. adv. (obsolete) truly | |
| 2. adv. (literary) even, indeed | |
| 3. adv. (literary) it remains to be seen | |
| plus |
| 1. adv. more, -er (used to form comparatives of adjectives) | |
| Ton voisin est plus moche que mon frère. - Your neighbour is uglier than my brother. | |
| Le tien est beaucoup plus grand que le mien. - Yours is much bigger than mine. | |
| Elle est plus belle que sa cousine. - She is more beautiful than her cousin. | |
| Elles sont toutes plus entêtées les unes que les autres. - They are each more stubborn than the last. | |
| 2. adv. more, -er (used to form comparatives of adverbs) | |
| Elle le fait plus rapidement que lui. - She does it more quickly than he does. | |
| plus vite ! - faster! | |
| 3. adv. (after a verb) more, -er (indicating a higher degree or quantity) | |
| Je travaille plus en ce moment. - I am working more at the moment. | |
| Je veux faire plus. - I want to do more. | |
| 4. adv. more (indicating a greater quantity) (+preo, noun) | |
| Elle a plus de chocolat. - She has more chocolate. | |
| Plus de la moitié reste. - More than half is left. | |
| 5. adv. more (supplementary, preceded by de) | |
| Une heure de plus et il serait mort. - One more hour and he would be dead. | |
| Un kilo de plus, s'il vous plaît. - One more kilo, please. | |
| 6. adv. (preceded by a definite article) the most, -est (used to form superlatives of adjectives and adverbs) | |
| la plus grande - the biggest | |
| le plus difficile - the most difficult | |
| 7. adv. (usually with the negative particle ne, see usage notes below) no longer, not ... any more | |
| Tu n'existes plus. - You no longer exist. / You don't exist any more. | |
| Il n'y a plus de travail. - There is no more work. | |
| 8. adv. (elliptically, introducing each clause) the more ..., the more ... | |
| Plus je vois, plus je veux. - The more I see, the more I want. | |
| 9. adv. (similarly, used with other comparatives) the more ..., the ... | |
| Plus j'écoute, moins je comprends. - The more I listen, the less I understand. | |
| 10. n-m. plus, the symbol + | |
| 11. v. singular past historic of plaire | |
| 12. Participle. masculine plural of plu | |
| généralement |
| 1. adv. generally, in general | |
| imbécile |
| 1. adj. stupid, foolish, acting like an imbecile | |
| 2. n-m. imbecile | |
| Me prenez-vous pour un imbécile ? - Do you take me for an idiot? | |
