| 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. | |
| dites |
| 1. v. second-person plural present indicative of dire | |
| 2. v. second-person plural imperative of dire | |
| 3. Participle. feminine plural of dit | |
| dire |
| 1. v. to say, to tell | |
| 2. v. (informal) to be of interest to, to interest +preo, à, someone | |
| Ça te dit de regarder un film de science-fiction? - Do you want to watch a science fiction movie? What do you say to watching a science fiction movie? | |
| Ça vous dit ? - Are you interested in doing this? Are you up for it? | |
| Il m'a demandé si ça nous dirait de nous joindre à eux plus tard. - He asked me if we'd like to join them later. | |
| Ça ne me dit trop rien d'y aller. - I don't really want to go there. | |
| 3. v. (informal) to sound familiar +preo, à, someone | |
| Ça me dit quelque chose. - It rings a bell. | |
| Ça ne me dit rien. - It doesn't ring a bell. | |
| 4. n-m. saying (that which is said) | |
| 5. n-m. belief, opinion | |
| rien |
| 1. pron. nothing | |
| Je n'ai besoin de rien d'autre. - I need nothing else. | |
| 2. n-m. a nothing | |
| petits riens – little things, little nothings | |
| 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 | |
| mon |
| 1. det. (possessive) my (used to qualify masculine nouns and vowel-initial words regardless of gender) | |
| J'ai perdu mon chapeau. - I lost my hat. | |
| La décision a été prise pendant mon absence. - The decision was taken in my absence. | |
| 2. det. Followed by rank, obligatory way of addressing a (male) superior officer within the military. (Folk etymology: military-specific short for "monsieur".) | |
| 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". | |
| copain |
| 1. n-m. (male) friend, chum, mate (UK), pal, buddy | |
| 2. n-m. informal, by ellipsis ellipsis of petit copain: boyfriend (boy/man to whom one has a romantic attachment) | |
| petit copain |
| 1. n-m. (informal) boyfriend | |
