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... | |
bateleur |
1. n-m. tumbler, juggler; acrobat | |
2. n-m. buffoon | |
3. n-m. (ornithology) bateleur eagle | |
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. | |
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 | |
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. | |
même |
1. adv. (used before the article) even | |
Même les rois doivent mourir. - Even kings must die | |
On ne peut même pas en faire une. - We cannot even make one | |
J'veux même pas savoir. - I don't even want to know. | |
2. adj. (used before the noun) same | |
Je l'ai acheté le même jour - I bought it the same day | |
3. adj. (used after the noun) very | |
Ah, la personne même que je voulais voir! - Ah, the very person I wanted to see! | |
un |
1. art. an, a | |
2. num. number box, fr | |
3. num. one | |
4. pron. one, someone | |
5. n-m. one (the number or figure) | |
bateleur |
1. n-m. tumbler, juggler; acrobat | |
2. n-m. buffoon | |
3. n-m. (ornithology) bateleur eagle | |
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. | |
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. | |
y |
1. pron. there (at a place) | |
Il est dans la maison. Il y est. - He is in the house. He is there. | |
2. pron. there, thither (to there) | |
Nous allons au Mexique. Nous y allons. - We are going to Mexico. We are going there. | |
3. pron. Used as a pronoun to replace an adverbial phrase starting with à. | |
Je pense à mon pays. J'y pense. - I think about my country. I think about it. | |
4. pron. With verbs: see for verbs which use this structure. | |
5. pron. With adjectives. Only used with a handful of adjectives (the most common combination being y compris, which is a special case), mainly in legal terminology. | |
personnes y nommées - Persons named there(in) | |
procédures y afférentes - Related procedures | |
documents y relatifs - Related documents | |
eaux y affluentes - Tributary waters | |
6. pron. (Quebec, France, colloquial) he: Alternative form of il | |
7. pron. (Quebec, France, colloquial) they: Alternative form of ils | |
8. pron. (Quebec, colloquial) they: Alternative form of elles | |
a |
1. n. a, the name of the Latin-script letter A | |
2. pron. (Quebec, colloquial) alt form-lite, elle, , she | |
C'te fille-là, a'a l'air cute. - This girl, she looks cute. | |
3. v. third-person singular present indicative of avoir | |
Elle a un chat. - She has a cat. | |
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. | |
il y a |
1. v. singular present indicative of y avoir: there is, there are | |
Il y a un problème. - There is a problem. | |
Il y a deux personnes ici. - There are two people here. | |
2. prep. ago | |
Je l'ai vu il y a longtemps. - I saw it a long time ago. | |
Elle est allée en France il y a deux ans. - She went to France two years ago. | |
C'est il y a dix ans que je suis allé aux États-Unis. - It was ten years ago that I went to the United States. | |
y a |
1. v. (colloquial)contraction of il y a | |
Heureusement, y a l'amour. - Fortunately, there's love. Lyric by Michelle Daniel (1968) | |
y avoir |
1. v. (impersonal, transitive) there be | |
Il y a deux raisons. - There are two reasons. | |
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. | |
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). | |
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 | |
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' | |
virtualité |
1. n-f. virtuality | |
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 | |
un |
1. art. an, a | |
2. num. number box, fr | |
3. num. one | |
4. pron. one, someone | |
5. n-m. one (the number or figure) | |
vrai |
1. adj. true | |
C'est vrai? - Really? | |
Est-il vrai que vous ayez dit qu'il a besoin de notre aide ? - Is it true that you said he needs our help? | |
Il est vrai que l'on a dit cela. - It is true that we said that. | |
Il n'est pas vrai que l'on ait dit cela. - It is not true that we said that. | |
2. adj. real, proper | |
3. adj. honest, sincere, truthful | |
4. n-m. truth | |
5. adv. true; truly | |
Raconter vrai (to retell truly, without errors) | |
sauteur |
1. n-m. jumper (person who jumps) | |
2. n-m. (sports) long jumper, triple jumper | |
sincèrement |
1. adv. sincerely, truly | |
2. adv. honestly, sincerely | |
épris |
1. adj. enamoured, infatuated, besotted | |
Es-tu épris d'elle ? - Do you have a crush on her? | |
Les gens sont épris de liberté. - People love freedom. | |
2. Participle. past participle of éprendre | |
3. v. first-person singular past historic of éprendre | |
4. v. second-person singular past historic of éprendre | |
éprendre |
1. v. to burn | |
2. v. to become enamoured with, fall in love with | |
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 | |
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. | |
balancier |
1. n-m. pendulum | |
2. n-m. balance wheel | |
3. n-m. beam | |
4. n-m. balancing pole | |
5. n-m. outrigger | |
6. n-m. (entomology) haltere | |