| c'est |
| 1. contraction. it is (used to define the preceding word) | |
| Le temps, c'est de l'argent. - Time is money. | |
| 2. contraction. it is (used to introduce a focus) | |
| 3. contraction. this is | |
| ce |
| 1. det. this, that | |
| 2. pron. (subject of être, with predicative adjectives or relative clauses, singular only) it, this, that (see § Usage notes, below) | |
| C'est beau ! - It is beautiful! | |
| est-ce que...? - is it that...? | |
| ce dont je parlais - that which I was speaking of | |
| C'eût été avec plaisir, mais... - It would have been with pleasure, but... | |
| C'eût été dommage... - It would have been a pity... | |
| 3. pron. (subject of être, with predicate nouns) he, she, it, this, that | |
| C'est un/une célébrité. - He/she is a celebrity. | |
| Ce sont des célébrités. - These are celebrities. | |
| Ce sont des gens bien. - These are good people. | |
| ce semble - it seems | |
| ce peuvent être... - these may be... | |
| est |
| 1. adj. east | |
| 2. n-m. east | |
| 3. v. third-person singular present indicative of être | |
| être |
| 1. v. to be | |
| Vous devez être plus clairs. - You must be clearer. | |
| 2. v. (auxiliary) Used to form the perfect and pluperfect tense of (including all reflexive verbs) | |
| Après être allé au yoga, je suis rentré chez moi. - After having gone to yoga, I came back home. | |
| 3. v. (semi-auxiliary) to be (Used to form the passive voice) | |
| Il peut être battu ce soir. - He can be beaten this evening. | |
| 4. n-m. being, creature | |
| 5. n-m. being, the state or fact of existence | |
| cet |
| 1. det. this | |
| insolent |
| 1. adj. insolent | |
| insoler |
|
| petit |
| 1. adj. small | |
| un petit verre de vin - a small glass of wine | |
| 2. adj. little | |
| un petit garçon - a little boy | |
| 3. adj. petty | |
| Certaines personnes sont vraiment petites à propos des plus petites choses. - Some people are really petty about the smallest things. | |
| 4. n-m. small one (anything that is small) | |
| 5. n-m. little one (anything that is little) | |
| 6. n-m. little one; child (of humans or other animals) | |
| 7. n-m. the young (of a species) | |
| Le petit du lapin s'appelle le "lapereau". | |
| garçon |
| 1. n-m. boy | |
| Il a deux garçons et une fille. - He has two boys and a girl. | |
| 2. n-m. (by extension) young man; man | |
| 3. n-m. Generic name of a male employee in some industries | |
| 4. n-m. short for, garçon de café | |
| Garçon, l'addition s'il vous plaît. - Waiter, the bill please. | |
| 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. | |
| châtie |
| 1. v. first-person singular present of châtier | |
| 2. v. third-person singular present of châtier | |
| 3. v. second-person singular imperative of châtier | |
| châtier |
| 1. v. to chastise, punish, castigate, smite | |
| 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 | |
| autres |
| 1. adj. plural of autre | |
| autre |
| 1. adj. other | |
| Donnez-moi un autre exemple. - Give me another example. | |
| 2. adj. another | |
| se |
| 1. pron. The third-person reflexive and reciprocal direct and indirect object pronoun. | |
| 2. pron. (to) himself | |
| 3. pron. (to) herself | |
| 4. pron. (to) oneself | |
| 5. pron. (to) itself | |
| 6. pron. (to) themselves | |
| 7. pron. (to) each other | |
| 8. pron. (Louisiana) (The second-person plural reflexive and reciprocal direct and indirect object pronoun.) | |
| Je suis partie à la chasse et faut vous autres se comportes bien. - I'm going hunting and y'all need to behave yourselves. | |
| écria |
| 1. v. third-person singular past historic of écrier | |
| t |
| 1. contraction. text messaging, internet slang Informal spelling of t'es | |
| t ou? - wya? | |
| t pas chez toi? - ur not home? | |
| t vrmt nul! - u rly suck! | |
| il |
| 1. pron. he (third-person singular masculine subject pronoun for human subject) | |
| Il est parti. - He left. | |
| 2. pron. it (third-person singular subject pronoun for grammatically masculine objects) | |
| Je cherche mon livre. Où est-il ? - I'm looking for my book. Where is it? | |
| 3. pron. (impersonal pronoun) Impersonal subject; it | |
| Il pleut. - It’s raining. | |
| et |
| 1. conj. and | |
| je |
| 1. pron. I | |
| espère |
| 1. v. first-person singular present of espérer | |
| 2. v. third-person singular present of espérer | |
| 3. v. second-person singular imperative of espérer | |
| 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 | |
| cette |
| 1. det. feminine singular of ce | |
| fois |
| 1. n-f. time (an instance or repetition of something happening) | |
| J'y vais deux fois par mois. - I go there twice a month. | |
| Je lui ai parlé pour la première fois il y a des années. - I talked to him for the first time a few years ago. | |
| 2. n-f. (arithmetic) times, multiplied by | |
| 3. n. plural of foi | |
| foi |
| 1. n-f. faith | |
| 2. n-f. (heraldry) a depiction of a handshake | |
| ci |
| 1. adv. here | |
| 2. adv. this | |
| cet homme-ci - this man | |
| Ces choses-ci - these things | |
| Je préfère ce gâteau-ci à celui-là. - I prefer this cake to that one. | |
| celui |
| 1. pron. the one | |
| Le bon choix est celui que je vous ai indiqué. - The right choice is the one I have indicated to you. | |
| Les états paranoïaques, tels que ceux de schizophrénie, peuvent sembler superficiellement similaires mais sont caractéristiquement différents. - Paranoid states, such as those of schizophrenia | |
| Contrairement au modèle français, le Président du Conseil ne dispose pas de pouvoir formel, tel que celui de désigner ou renvoyer les autres, ou encore la capacité de dissoudre le Parlement. - | |
| 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. | |
| il |
| 1. pron. he (third-person singular masculine subject pronoun for human subject) | |
| Il est parti. - He left. | |
| 2. pron. it (third-person singular subject pronoun for grammatically masculine objects) | |
| Je cherche mon livre. Où est-il ? - I'm looking for my book. Where is it? | |
| 3. pron. (impersonal pronoun) Impersonal subject; it | |
| Il pleut. - It’s raining. | |
| doit |
| 1. v. third-person singular present indicative of devoir: must, has to | |
| Il doit aller en France un jour. - He must go to France one day. | |
| Must |
|
| devoir |
| 1. n-m. duty | |
| manquer à son devoir, manquer à tous ses devoirs - to fail in one's duty, duties | |
| Il est de mon devoir de protéger le roi. - It is my duty to protect the king. | |
| 2. n-m. exercise, assignment (set for homework) | |
| 3. v. must, to have to, should (as a requirement) | |
| Les auteurs d'un dictionnaire doivent déterminer au départ les catégories de mots à retenir, en fonction des limites imposées par l'éditeur et du public visé. - The authors of a dictionary have | |
| 4. v. (present) must | |
| 5. v. (conditional) should | |
| 6. v. must, to do or have with certainty | |
| 7. v. to owe (money, obligation and etc) | |
| 8. v. (literary, intransitive, in imperfect subjunctive, with inversion of subject) (even) though it be necessary (+ infinitive) | |
| 9. v. to have a duty to | |
| châtier |
| 1. v. to chastise, punish, castigate, smite | |
| 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. | |
| lui |
| 1. pron. him, he; the third-person masculine singular personal pronoun used after a preposition, or as the predicate of a linking verb, or when disjoined from a sentence, or as a stressed subject | |
| J'habitais avec lui. - I was living with him. | |
| C'est lui qui a dit cela. - It was him who said that. | |
| Lui, il n'en sait rien. - He doesn't know anything about it. | |
| 2. pron. him, her; the third-person singular personal pronoun used as an indirect object | |
| Je lui ai donné le livre. - I gave the book to him/her. | |
| 3. Participle. past participle of luire | |
| échappera |
| 1. v. third-person singular future of échapper | |
| échapper |
| 1. v. to escape (from), evade | |
| échapper à la mort - to escape death | |
| échapper des mains de quelqu'un - to slip out of someone's hands | |
| Rien ne lui échappe. - Nothing escapes him/her. | |
| 2. v. (Quebec, transitive) to drop an object unintentionally | |
| Tu as échappé ta tuque. - You dropped your hat. | |
| 3. v. to escape, break out (e.g., from prison) | |
| 4. v. to go away, run away | |
| 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. | |
| comme |
| 1. conj. as | |
| Je travaille comme artiste. - I work as an artist. | |
| 2. conj. like | |
| J'agis comme il faut. - I act like I must. | |
| 3. conj. how | |
| Comme tu es belle ce soir ! - How beautiful you are tonight! | |
| 4. conj. because, as, since | |
| Comme j'étais malade, il est venu me voir. - As I was ill, he came to see me. | |
| 5. part. (colloquial Canada) like | |
| 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' | |
| première |
| 1. adj. feminine of premier | |
| 2. n-f. (of a film) premiere, première | |
| 3. n-f. first (new event, something never done before) | |
| 4. n-f. (France) the penultimate year of lycée | |
| 5. n-f. first, first gear | |
| 6. n-f. first class (public transport) | |
| premier |
| 1. adj. (ordinal) first | |
| Le premier élément de la liste est un zéro. - The first element of the list is zero. | |
| 2. adj. prime (number etc) | |
| 3. n-m. first | |
| Il est le premier. - He is the first. | |
| 4. n-m. premier | |
| 5. n-m. prime minister | |
| 6. adv. first | |
| Il joue premier - he is playing first | |
