| tu |
| 1. pron. you (singular); thou | |
| 2. Participle. past participle of taire | |
| 3. part. (Quebec, informal) (question marker) | |
| C'est-tu possible ? - Is it possible? | |
| taire |
| 1. v. to quieten, to shut up, to silence | |
| Faites taire vos enfants ! - Shut your children up! | |
| 2. v. to shut up (one's self), to be quiet, to fall silent, to stop talking | |
| Tais-toi! - Be quiet!/Shut up! | |
| 3. v. To keep (a matter) quiet, to keep secret, not to say | |
| Je l'ai entendu de quelqu'un dont je préfère taire le nom. - I heard it from someone whose name I'd rather keep to myself. | |
| es |
| 1. v. second-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 | |
| prévenant |
| 1. Participle. present participle of prévenir | |
| 2. adj. considerate | |
| prévenir |
| 1. v. to prevent, to avert, to guard against | |
| C'est la meilleure méthode pour prévenir la fraude et la corruption. - That is the best method of preventing fraud and corruption. | |
| 2. v. to notify, to warn, to forewarn | |
| Il vous enverra des avertissements afin de vous prévenir de l'arrivée à échéance de votre abonnement. - It will send you warnings to notify you when your subscription is about to expire. | |
| mais |
| 1. conj. but, although | |
| 2. interj. an expression of surprise, disbelief, or frustration roughly equivalent to the English well, or sometimes yeah | |
| Mais qu'est-ce que tu fais ? - What the heck are you doing? | |
| 3. n. plural of mai | |
| 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. | |
| penses |
| 1. v. second-person singular present of penser | |
| penser |
| 1. v. to think, reflect, concentrate one's mind on something | |
| Penser tout haut. - Think aloud, speak one's mind freely. | |
| 2. v. to estimate, imagine, believe | |
| Vous n'en êtes pas où vous pensez. - You are not where you think you are. | |
| Il y a, je pense, dix kilomètres de chez vous chez moi. - It is ten kilometres, I estimate, from your place to my place. | |
| J'irai vous voir demain, je pense. - I will see you tomorrow, I suppose. | |
| La chose n'est pas si facile qu'on le pense. - The thing is not as simple as one might believe. | |
| Je ne pensais pas que vous vous méprendriez sur le sens de mes paroles. - I didn't imagine you would be mistaken on the sense of my words. | |
| 3. v. (originally with a que sentence) to be of the opinion that, believe | |
| Je pensais qu'il était de vos amis. - I thought he was a friend. | |
| Je veux être d'accord avec toi, mais je ne pense pas que nous ayons besoin de son aide. - I want to agree with you, but I don't think we need his help. | |
| Je pense comme vous. - I agree with your view. | |
| Il ne dit rien qu'il ne pense. - He doesn't say anything he doesn't believe. | |
| Dites librement ce que vous pensez. - Cavalierly state your opinion. | |
| J'espère qu'il ne pense pas ce qu'il dit. - I hope he doesn't believe what he is saying. | |
| Faites-moi connaître votre façon de penser. - Tell me how you think about it. | |
| Pensez-vous ? - Do you really believe that? (1935, punning at the dialogue partner's missing belief in his own statement) | |
| 4. v. to be absorbed by a worry or depressing thoughts | |
| 5. v. to conceive a project | |
| 6. v. (with de + object) to evoke the image or remembrance of someone in one's mind | |
| Penser d'aucun. | |
| 7. v. (with à + object) to attach one's thinking to someone, especially lovingly | |
| Pensez à moi. - Think of me. | |
| Il ne pense qu'à celle qu'il aime. - He only thinks but of his beloved. | |
| 8. v. (with infinitive) to believe being or doing something | |
| Il pense être plus habile que les autres. - He believes being smarter than others. | |
| Il ne pensait pas être observé. - He didn't think he was being observed. | |
| J'ai pensé mourir. - I thought I was going to die. | |
| 9. v. (with mal or bien + de + object) to think well or badly, to have a high or low opinion of someone | |
| C'est un homme qui pense toujours mal des autres. - It's a man who always thinks badly of others. | |
| Je ne pense de cette affaire ni bien ni mal. - I don't think neither well nor badly of this affair. | |
| Que pensez-vous de cet homme ? - What do you think about this man? | |
| 10. v. (with de + infinitive) to try or prepare to do something | |
| Penser de faire qqc. | |
| 11. v. to reflect on something | |
| Soi penser qqc. | |
| 12. v. (with à + object) to bear, keep something in mind, to consider something | |
| Le mal vient sans qu'on y pense. - Evil comes without one thinking of it. | |
| Faire ou dire une chose sans penser à mal. - Do or say something without meaning to harm. | |
| À quoi pensez-vous ? - What are you thinking? | |
| 13. v. (with infinitive) to intend to do, aim at doing something | |
| Je pensais aller vous voir. - I fancied paying you a visit. | |
| Que pensez-vous faire ? - What do you intend to do? | |
| 14. v. to have something in one's mind (c. 1220 in Barlaam et Josaphat, ed. C. Appel, 5623) | |
| C'est un homme qui ne dit jamais ce qu'il pense. - That's a man who never says what he thinks. | |
| Il pense beaucoup de choses qu'il ne dit pas. - He thinks a lot of things he doesn't say. | |
| 15. v. (with à + infinitive) to intend to do, aim at doing something | |
| À quoi pensez-vous de vous conduire ainsi ? - What are you aiming at by behaving like this? | |
| Je suis trop de vos amis pour avoir pensé à vous nuire. - I am too much your friend to think of harming you. | |
| Je pensais à aller vous voir hier. - I considered to visit you yesterday. | |
| 16. v. (with mal, obsolete) to intend to do something bad | |
| Penser mal. | |
| 17. v. (with à + object) to take care of | |
| Il nous a reçus admirablement, il a pensé à tout. - He has welcomed us admirably, he has thought of everything. | |
| 18. v. (with bien, in politics, religion, moral) to have opinions in accordance with the agreed principles | |
| Bien penser. | |
| 19. v. (with adverb or adverbial expression) to have a certain intellectual tendency, preference or property | |
| Penser finement, noblement, singulièrement, hardiment. - To think finely, nobly, in a singular way, boldly. | |
| Penser avec justesse. - To think with accuracy. | |
| Penser juste. - To think in the right way. | |
| tu |
| 1. pron. you (singular); thou | |
| 2. Participle. past participle of taire | |
| 3. part. (Quebec, informal) (question marker) | |
| C'est-tu possible ? - Is it possible? | |
| taire |
| 1. v. to quieten, to shut up, to silence | |
| Faites taire vos enfants ! - Shut your children up! | |
| 2. v. to shut up (one's self), to be quiet, to fall silent, to stop talking | |
| Tais-toi! - Be quiet!/Shut up! | |
| 3. v. To keep (a matter) quiet, to keep secret, not to say | |
| Je l'ai entendu de quelqu'un dont je préfère taire le nom. - I heard it from someone whose name I'd rather keep to myself. | |
| 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. | |
| 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. | |
| tu |
| 1. pron. you (singular); thou | |
| 2. Participle. past participle of taire | |
| 3. part. (Quebec, informal) (question marker) | |
| C'est-tu possible ? - Is it possible? | |
| taire |
| 1. v. to quieten, to shut up, to silence | |
| Faites taire vos enfants ! - Shut your children up! | |
| 2. v. to shut up (one's self), to be quiet, to fall silent, to stop talking | |
| Tais-toi! - Be quiet!/Shut up! | |
| 3. v. To keep (a matter) quiet, to keep secret, not to say | |
| Je l'ai entendu de quelqu'un dont je préfère taire le nom. - I heard it from someone whose name I'd rather keep to myself. | |
| pourrais |
| 1. v. first-person singular conditional of pouvoir | |
| 2. v. second-person singular conditional of pouvoir | |
| pouvoir |
| 1. v. can, to be able to | |
| Je peux venir ce soir. - I can come this evening. | |
| 2. v. may | |
| désastre qui peut nous frapper - disaster which may strike us | |
| 3. v. (impersonal, reflexive) to be possible; may, could be | |
| Il se peut que je sois malade. - (literally) It could be that I'm ill / (more naturally) I may be ill. / I could be ill. | |
| 4. n-m. (or un) power | |
| prendre le pouvoir - to take power, to seize power | |
| 5. n-m. authority | |
| 6. n-m. (legal) power of attorney | |
| travailler |
| 1. v. to work | |
| Il ne fait que travailler. - All he does is work. | |
| 2. v. to study | |
| 3. v. to struggle | |
| 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) | |
| 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 | |
| un peu |
| 1. adv. a little, a bit | |
| Il est un peu bizarre. - He's a bit weird. | |
| 2. adv. Used to soften an order. | |
| Viens un peu ici ! - Could you come here?! | |
| Regarde un peu dans la voiture s'il-te-plaît. - Take a bit of a look in the car, please. | |
| 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 | |
| comprendre |
| 1. v. to understand, comprehend | |
| J'ai compris maintenant. - I understand now. (lit. I have understood now.) | |
| Il est trop intelligent pour ne pas comprendre ce que vous lui avez dit. | |
| Est-ce que vous avez bien compris ? - Did you understand? | |
| „Est-ce que tu comprends ce qu'il dit ?” „Je ne comprends même pas ce que je dis moi.” - "Do you understand what he's saying?" "I don't even understand what I'm saying.". | |
| 2. v. to comprise, include | |
| 3. v. (takes a reflexive pronoun, reciprocal) to know each other well or intimately | |
| Quoique leurs goûts fussent différents, ces deux amis se comprenaient à merveille. | |
| 4. v. (takes a reflexive pronoun) to be comprehensible or conceivable | |
| 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 | |
| subtilités |
| 1. n. plural of subtilité | |
| subtilité |
| 1. n-f. subtlety | |
| Faire preuve de subtilité. | |
| 2. n-f. subtlety | |
| Les subtilités de la langue française. | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| de le |
| 1. art. (Louisiana French) Alternative form of du, "of the", some | |
| âme |
| 1. n-f. (religion, philosophy) soul | |
| 2. n-f. (moral, intellectual centre) soul, heart, mind | |
| 3. n-f. soul, person | |
| C'est un village de 800 âmes. - It's a village of 800 souls. | |
| 4. n-f. bore (of a cannon) | |
| 5. n-f. (lutherie) soundpost (of a violin etc.) | |
| humaine |
|
