bien |
1. adj. good, all right, great | |
2. adj. good looking, nice | |
3. adv. well | |
Ça va bien ? - It goes well? | |
Il joue vraiment bien au football. - He plays soccer really well. | |
4. adv. indeed; so | |
Bien, on peut partir maintenant ? - So, can we leave now? | |
5. adv. (followed by de, des, or du) a lot (of) | |
Macy Gray a traversé bien des épreuves. - Macy Gray got through a lot of ordeals. | |
6. adv. very; really | |
C'est bien aimable à vous. - it's very considerate of you. | |
C'est bien beau, mais... - It's all very well, but... | |
Je te trouve bien silencieux aujourd'hui. - You seem very quiet today. | |
Il est bien moche, ce type. Ce type est vraiment moche. - That guy is really ugly. | |
7. adv. (in comparisons) much (more, less, better, etc.) | |
Jérémie est bien plus fort que moi. - Jérémie is much stronger than me. | |
bien meilleur que ... - much better than ..., much better than ... | |
8. n-m. good as opposed to evil | |
9. n-m. a commodity, a good | |
10. n-m. a possession | |
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. | |
bien que |
1. conj. although | |
Bien qu'il puisse être difficile à croire, je ne suis pas parfait. - Although it can be difficult to believe, I am not perfect. | |
On pense que la majorité des Céphéides classiques pulsent selon le mode fondamental, bien qu'il ne soit pas facile de distinguer le mode d'après la forme de la courbe de lumière. - We think tha | |
les |
1. art. plural of le: the | |
2. art. plural of la: the | |
3. pron. plural of le: them | |
4. pron. plural of la: them | |
lois |
1. n. plural of loi | |
loi |
1. n-f. law (legal code) | |
la loi de la France - the law in France, French law | |
2. n-f. law (scientific principle) | |
la loi de Boyle - Boyle's law | |
de |
1. prep. of (expresses belonging) | |
Paris est la capitale de la France. - Paris is the capital of France. | |
2. prep. of (used to express property or association) | |
Œuvres de Fermat - Fermat’s Works | |
Elle est la femme de mon ami. - She is my friend’s wife. | |
le voisin de Gabriel - Gabriel's neighbor | |
3. prep. from (used to indicate origin) | |
Elle vient de France. - She comes from France. | |
Êtes-vous de Suisse ? - Are you from Switzerland? | |
Ce fromage vient d’Espagne. - This cheese is from Spain. | |
C’est de l’ouest de la France. - It’s from the west of France. | |
Le train va de Paris à Bordeaux. - The train goes from Paris to Bordeaux. | |
4. prep. of (indicates an amount) | |
5 kilos de pommes. - 5 kilograms of apples. | |
Un verre de vin - A glass of wine | |
Une portion de frites - A portion of fries | |
5. prep. used attributively, often translated into English as a compound word | |
Un jus de pomme - Apple juice | |
Un verre de vin - A glass of wine | |
Une boîte de nuit - A nightclub | |
Un chien de garde - A guarddog | |
Une voiture de sport - A sportscar | |
Un stade de football - A football stadium | |
6. prep. from (used to indicate the start of a time or range) | |
De 9:00 à 11:00 je ne serai pas libre. - From 9 to 11 I won’t be free. | |
Je travaille de huit heures à midi. - I work from 8 o'clock to noon. | |
un groupe de cinq à huit personnes - a group of from five to eight people | |
7. prep. used after certain verbs before an infinitive, often translated into English as a gerund or an infinitive | |
J’ai arrêté de fumer. - I stopped smoking. | |
Il continue de m’embêter. - He keeps annoying me. | |
Elle m’a dit de venir. - She told me to come. | |
Nous vous exhortons de venir. - We urge you to come. | |
8. prep. by (indicates the amount of change) | |
Boire trois tasses par jour réduirait de 20 % les risques de contracter une maladie. - Drinking three cups a day would reduce the risks of catching an illness by 20%. | |
9. art. Used in the plural with prepositioned adjectives. | |
Ce sont de bons enfants. - They are good children. | |
Il y a d’autres exemples. - There are other examples. | |
10. art. Used in negated sentences with the grammatical object. | |
Elle n’a pas de mère. - She doesn’t have a mother. | |
Il ne mange pas de viande. - He doesn’t eat meat. | |
Il n’y a pas de problèmes. - There are no problems. | |
11. n-f. abbreviation of dame | |
décentralisation |
1. n-f. decentralisation | |
aient |
1. v. third-person plural present subjunctive of avoir | |
avoir |
1. n-m. asset, possession | |
2. v. to have (to own; to possess) | |
J'aimerais avoir 20 dollars. - I would like to have 20 dollars. | |
3. v. (auxiliary) to have (auxiliary verb to form compound past tenses of most verbs) | |
J'ai parlé. - I have spoken, I spoke. | |
Qu'est-ce que vous m'avez fait ? - What have you done to me? | |
4. v. to have (a condition) | |
J'ai faim. - I have hunger. | |
J'ai soif. - I have thirst. | |
J'ai froid. - I have cold. | |
J'ai chaud. - I have hot. | |
J'ai la chiasse. - I have the shits. | |
J'ai le rhume. - I have a cold. | |
J'ai le SIDA. - I have AIDS. | |
J'ai de la fièvre. - I've got a fever. | |
5. v. to have (a measure or age) | |
Elle a 19 ans. - She has 19 years. | |
6. v. to have (to trick) | |
Tu t'es fait avoir. - You've been had. | |
7. v. to have (to participate in an experience) | |
avoir des relations sexuelles - to have sexual relations | |
8. v. (indtr, à) to have (to), must +preo, à, infinitive | |
J'ai à vous parler. - I have to talk to you. | |
transféré |
1. Participle. past participle of transférer | |
transférer |
1. v. to transfer, remove | |
au |
1. contraction. contraction of à le | |
Il étudie la musique au conservatoire. - He studies music at the conservatory. | |
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 | |
le |
1. art. the (definite article) | |
Le lait du matin. - The milk of the morning. | |
2. art. Used before abstract nouns; not translated in English. | |
L'amour est aveugle. - Love is blind. | |
3. art. (before parts of the body) the; my, your, etc. | |
Il s’est cassé la jambe. - He has broken his leg. | |
4. art. (before units) a, an | |
Cinquante kilomètres à l’heure. - fifty kilometres an hour | |
5. 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. | |
6. 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 | |
département |
1. n-m. department | |
2. n-m. département | |
une |
1. num. feminine singular of un | |
2. art. a / an (feminine indefinite article) | |
3. n-f. front page (of a publication) | |
compétence |
1. n-f. competence, ability, skill | |
exiger des compétences | |
2. n-f. talent, capability | |
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). | |
la |
1. art. the (definite article) | |
2. pron. her, it (direct object) | |
Où est Judith ? Je ne la vois pas. - Where is Judith? I don't see her. | |
Prends cette boîte et mets-la dans le coin. - Take that box and put it in the corner. | |
3. n-m. (music) la, the note 'A' | |
matière |
1. n-f. material (substance of which something is made) | |
2. n-f. matter (material things, things in general) | |
matière organique - organic matter | |
3. n-f. (physics) matter | |
4. n-f. matter (that which is thought) | |
5. n-f. content, matter (the thing in question) | |
6. n-f. subject (at school) | |
son |
1. n-m. sound | |
Le son de ce piano est agréable. (The sound of this piano is nice.) | |
2. det. (possessive) his, her, their, its (used to qualify masculine nouns and before a vowel) | |
Elle a perdu son chapeau. - She lost her hat. | |
Il a perdu son chapeau. - He lost his hat. | |
J'aime son amie. - I like his/her girlfriend. | |
La décision a été prise pendant son absence. - The decision was taken in her/his absence. | |
3. n-m. bran | |
Ceci est du pain de son. - This bread is done with bran. | |
action |
1. n-f. action, act, deed | |
une bonne action - a good deed | |
2. n-f. campaign | |
une action promotionnelle - a promotional campaign | |
3. n-f. stock, share | |
une action de capitalisation - a capitalisation share | |
4. n-f. (Switzerland) a special offer | |
reste |
1. n-m. rest, remainder | |
le reste du monde - the rest of the world | |
J'ai fait ce matin une grande partie de ma tâche, ce soir je ferai le reste. - I've done a large part of my assignment this morning; I'll do the rest this evening. | |
2. n-m. a trace or vestige which remains | |
Il a perdu le petit reste d'espoir. - He lost the last little bit of hope. | |
3. n-m. (mathematics) remainder | |
4. v. first-person singular present of rester | |
5. v. third-person singular present of rester | |
6. v. second-person singular imperative of rester | |
rester |
1. v. to stay | |
On est restés à l'hôtel pendant une bonne part du séjour, on était tous malades. | |
2. v. to remain, be left over | |
Il reste un peu de riz dans le frigo, si tu veux. | |
3. v. to stay, to remain (to continue to have a particular quality) | |
Elle est restée comme elle était quand je l'ai rencontrée. | |
4. v. (rare) to rest | |
5. v. (Louisiana French, Canada) to live | |
Moi, je reste au Québec. | |
peu |
1. adv. little; not very much/many | |
Il est peu intelligent. - He is little intelligent. | |
Pour obtenir de bons prix certains négociateurs emploieraient parfois des méthodes peu conventionnelles - To get good prices, certain negotiators sometimes employ unconventional methods | |
2. n-m. few | |
peu de gens sont d'accord - few people agree | |
Beaucoup sont appelés mais peu sont élus. - Many are called but few are elected. | |
Le peu de services qu’il a rendus ont paru mériter une récompense. - The few services he gave seemed deserving of a reward. | |
Le peu de qualités dont il a fait preuve l’a fait éconduire. | |
3. n-m. little | |
un peu - a little | |
Je te donne le peu d'argent que j'ai - I'll give you the little money I have | |
Je n'aime pas beaucoup ce café mais j'en ai bu un peu - I don't like this coffee very much but I drank some of it | |
Les galaxies lenticulaires ont perdu ou transformé la majorité de leur matière interstellaire, si bien qu'on n'y observe que très peu de formation d'étoiles, alors même qu'elles peuvent conteni | |
lisible |
1. adj. legible; readable | |
et |
1. conj. and | |
son |
1. n-m. sound | |
Le son de ce piano est agréable. (The sound of this piano is nice.) | |
2. det. (possessive) his, her, their, its (used to qualify masculine nouns and before a vowel) | |
Elle a perdu son chapeau. - She lost her hat. | |
Il a perdu son chapeau. - He lost his hat. | |
J'aime son amie. - I like his/her girlfriend. | |
La décision a été prise pendant son absence. - The decision was taken in her/his absence. | |
3. n-m. bran | |
Ceci est du pain de son. - This bread is done with bran. | |
implication |
1. n-f. involvement | |
2. n-f. implication | |
souvent |
1. adv. often | |
le plus souvent - most often; more often than not | |
le plus souvent possible, aussi souvent que possible - as often as possible | |
le moins souvent possible, aussi peu souvent que possible - as infrequently as possible | |
Je visite la France trop souvent. - I visit France too often. | |
Je n'y pense pas très souvent. - I don't think of it very often. | |
faible |
1. adj. weak | |
2. adj. lacking endurance | |
3. adj. low, small (amount, degree, percentage) | |
4. n-m. weakness, soft spot (for someone/something) | |
J'ai un faible pour Schubert. - I have a weakness for Schubert. | |