si |
1. conj. if, whether | |
Je me demande si elle sera seule. - I wonder if she'll be alone. | |
Je veux savoir si tu viendras ou non. - I want to know if you're coming or not. | |
2. conj. if (assuming that) | |
Si j'avais ses pouvoirs, je créerais un monde où le mal n'existe pas. - If I had his power, I'd create a world where evil didn't exist. | |
Si tu n'avais pas appelé, je serais morte. - If you hadn't called, I'd be dead. | |
3. conj. even if | |
4. conj. although, while | |
5. interj. yes (used to contradict a negative statement) | |
Tu ne m’aimes pas, n’est-ce pas ? — Si ! - You don’t like me, do you? — Yes, I do! | |
Moi, je n'ai rien fait ! — Si ! - I didn't do anything! — Yes, you did! | |
6. adv. so, such (intensifier) | |
J’étais si fatigué ces jours-ci que je n’avais pas le courage de vous écrire. - I was so tired those days that I didn't have the energy to write to you. | |
Cela n'aurait pas été une si bonne idée. - That wouldn't have been such a good idea. | |
7. adv. (si + adjective/adverb + que ...) however (to whatever extent or degree) | |
Si bavard qu'il soit, il ne dit rien de stupide. - However talkative he may be, he doesn't say anything stupid. | |
8. n-m. (music) si, the note 'B' | |
vous |
1. pron. the plural personal pronoun in the second person: | |
2. pron. (subject pronoun) you (all). | |
Vous allez - You (all) go. | |
3. pron. (direct object pronoun) you (all). | |
Je vous adore. - I love you (all). | |
4. pron. you, to you (indirect object pronoun): | |
Je vous donnerai mon adresse. - I will give you my address / I will give my address to you. | |
5. pron. (formal, polite) plural or singular personal pronoun in the second person: | |
Monsieur, je ne peux pas vous le dire - Sir, I cannot tell you. | |
Le |
1. Proper noun. surname, from=Vietnamese | |
2. art. the (definite article) | |
Le lait du matin. - The milk of the morning. | |
3. art. Used before abstract nouns; not translated in English. | |
L'amour est aveugle. - Love is blind. | |
4. art. (before parts of the body) the; my, your, etc. | |
Il s’est cassé la jambe. - He has broken his leg. | |
5. art. (before units) a, an | |
Cinquante kilomètres à l’heure. - fifty kilometres an hour | |
6. 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. | |
7. 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 | |
prenez |
1. v. second-person plural present indicative of prendre | |
2. v. second-person plural imperative of prendre | |
prendre |
1. v. to take | |
prends ma main - take my hand | |
2. v. to eat; to drink | |
elle prend un café - she is drinking a coffee | |
3. v. to get; to buy | |
Je vais prendre le plat du jour. - I'll get the dish of the day. | |
4. v. to rob; to deprive | |
prendre quelque chose à quelqu'un | |
5. v. to make | |
prendre une décision - to make a decision | |
prendre des mesures draconiennes - to take draconian measures | |
6. v. to catch, to work, to start | |
le feu ne prend pas - the fire won't start | |
la sauce ne prend pas - the sauce isn't thickening | |
ma mayonnaise ne prend pas - my mayonnaise isn't setting | |
ça ne prend pas avec moi - that won't wash with me | |
7. v. to get (something) caught (in), to jam | |
je me suis pris la main dans la porte - I caught my hand in the door | |
je me suis pris la porte dans la figure | |
8. v. indtr, à | |
Qu'est-ce qui t'a pris ? Qu'est-ce qui t'est passé par la tête ? - What were you thinking? What got into you? What came over you? | |
Qu'est-ce qui lui a pris ? Quelle mouche l'a piqué ? - What was he thinking? What got into him? | |
bien lui en prit | |
mal lui en prit | |
9. v. to start having a negative feeling towards someone | |
prendre en aversion | |
prendre en grippe | |
prendre en dégoût | |
10. v. (followed by a partitive, in various idiomatic expressions) to gain | |
prendre de la vitesse - to gain speed | |
prendre du galon - to gain a promotion | |
prendre de l'avance - to gain ground | |
prendre du retard - to fall behind schedule, to run late, to drop behind | |
prendre de la hauteur - to gain some perspective | |
prendre du recul - to take a step back | |
prendre de la bouteille - to gain experience | |
en prendre de la graine - to take away a lesson | |
prendre du poids - to gain weight | |
prendre de la masse - to build muscle | |
prendre de la brioche, prendre du bide, prendre du ventre - to get a paunch | |
prendre du bouchon | |
prendre de l'élan - to gain momentum | |
prendre de l'âge | |
prendre de la valeur - to gain value | |
prendre de l'importance | |
11. v. (colloquial ; impersonal) to take (a certain amount of time) | |
Ça va me prendre au moins deux heures pour le mettre à jour. | |
12. v. (colloquial ; impersonal ; by extension) to take (a certain number or amount of) | |
Pour finir dans deux heures, ça prend trois personnes. - To finish in two hours, it'll take three people. | |
13. v. (impersonal) to come over (to arise in and gain some control over one's thoughts and/or actions) | |
il prend quelque chose à quelqu'un - something comes over someone | |
Il lui prend une fantaisie de mettre le feu à la maison. | |
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 | |
cela |
1. pron. that | |
2. v. third-person singular past historic of celer | |
répliqua |
1. v. third-person singular past historic of répliquer | |
répliquer |
1. v. (indtr, à) to reply, to retort | |
2. v. (computing, transitive) to duplicate, to recreate (a situation or occurrence) | |
Le |
1. Proper noun. surname, from=Vietnamese | |
2. art. the (definite article) | |
Le lait du matin. - The milk of the morning. | |
3. art. Used before abstract nouns; not translated in English. | |
L'amour est aveugle. - Love is blind. | |
4. art. (before parts of the body) the; my, your, etc. | |
Il s’est cassé la jambe. - He has broken his leg. | |
5. art. (before units) a, an | |
Cinquante kilomètres à l’heure. - fifty kilometres an hour | |
6. 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. | |
7. 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 | |
pilote |
1. n-m. pilot (controller of aircraft) | |
Le pilote a réussi à quitter son avion juste avant le crash. | |
2. n-m. pilot (controller of vessel) | |
3. n-m. driver (computing) | |
4. n-m. pilot (miniature prototype) | |
5. n-m. pilot (sample episode of a television series) | |
6. v. first-person singular present of piloter | |
7. v. third-person singular present of piloter | |
8. v. second-person singular imperative of piloter | |
piloter |
1. v. to pilot (control an aircraft) | |
2. v. to pilot (control a vessel) | |
3. v. to drive (control a vehicle) | |
je |
1. pron. I | |
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. | |
ai |
1. v. first-person singular present indicative of avoir | |
J'ai un chien. - I have a dog. | |
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. | |
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 | |
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 | |
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 | |