Kristin Espinasse's Blog, page 49

Commentary on French presidential election. Emmanuel Macron. Laisser le champ libre à quelqu'un

I am turning over today's post to my husband, Jean-Marc, who has written a commentary in French (with an English translation) on Sunday's French presidential election. (Photos from yesterday's walk in Calanque de Port-Miou, Cassis. For more photos, follow here on Instagram.)

TODAY'S WORD: Laisser le champ libre à quelqu'un

        : to leave the field free for someone (to step in...)

Try Mastering French Vocabulary with Audio MP3
Improve your spoken French with Pronounce it Perfectly in...

Pétou - a little Provencale word (guaranteed to make a man smile!)

I am the last person to say...you know...today's word (in English or in French). Blame it on this little boat! If you are new here, don't worry, it is rare that a word deemed "vulgar" is featured. But the past year has had a loosening effect (we are unmooring and moving on, or trying to ) and not much bothers me anymore--least of which a little fart!

TODAY'S WORD: le pet (le pétou*)

        : fart

*In Provençal it means "little fart."

Click here to listen to Jean-Marc read the following...

Draguer? At what age are you "lucky" to be noticed? (Or, by chance, hit on?)

A "liste des courses" spotted at our local supermarché...where pick-up artists and good Samaritans operate. Read on.

TODAY'S WORD: se faire draguer or se faire brancher

        : to get hit on

brancher une nana = to hit on a girl

CLICK HERE to listen to the following example sentence

Ah bon? Tu t'es fait draguer au supermarché?
Oh really? You got hit on at the supermarket?

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A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE

    by Kristi Espinasse...

Say "premier mai" and two thoughts will pop into the mind of a Frenchman...

TODAY'S WORD: le porte-bonheur

        : lucky charm

Try Mastering French Vocabulary with Audio MP3

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:

Click here to listen to the following sentence in French

Muguet de mai : le 1er mai 1561, le roi Charles IX de France initie cette tradition : ayant reçu à cette date un brin de muguet en guise de porte-bonheur, il décida d'en offrir chaque année aux dames de la cour ; c'est au début du XXe siècle que cette tradition se confond avec celle de la Fête du Travail, supplanta...

94 Useful French Words (listen to them here)

This month's vocabulary roundup is a walk through a candy shop--pick and choose your favorite French words along the way! Relax and enjoy the sound file for a rainbow of French terms we learned this month. And if you enjoy this journal and find it helpful in any way, please take a moment to support it . Merci beaucoup!

 

CLICK HERE to listen to Jean-Marc pronounce the words as you scroll down the following list :

1. Facing Bankruptcy - Face à la faillite

un commerçant = store keeper
toile...

Faire la tête + A French grandmother's advice for a happy marriage

If you have followed this blog a while, you've seen this photo a million times. Jean-Marc and I were both scared to death about an imminent "for life" decision! Soon after this picture was taken, we got some very good marriage advice from Jean-Marc's grandmother. Twenty-three years later, it is still one of the best tips for a healthy relationship I've come across -- even if we occasionally break the rule! (Mais bien sûr!)

TODAY'S WORD: faire la tête

        : sulk, pout, be in a huff, l...

Stationner + we surprise our daughter at her new job

Stationner was word of the day on November 11th, 2005. You can listen to a then 8-year-old Jackie in the soundfile for that post . Jackie is now 19 and finishing up her academic year in Aix-en-Provence, where we found her a studette in le centre ville . She returned for Easter break, to have her dents de sagesse removed and to begin her summer job in Bandol.

TODAY'S WORD: Stationner

        : to park
        : to stay, to remain

le stationnement = parking
trouver une place de stationnement...

Boulot: Guess who found a job in Bandol?

The port of Bandol where our story takes place, among the old wooden fishing boats, or "les pointus"....

TODAY'S WORD: boulot

        1.  job, work
        2.  chubby, plump

metro, boulot, dodo = the daily grind, all work and no play


EXAMPLE SENTENCE:

Hear Jean-Marc read the following sentence in French

Notre fille, Jackie, a trouvé un boulot en tant que "runner." Le runneur est un serveur qui est en phase d'apprentissage il se tient en retrait du service, observe, apprend et exécute...

Frappadingue - and our French-infused story

If today's story is frappadingue, be reassured that all returns to normal in the next post. And if this photo has nothing to do with the story--and the example sentence is a bit strange--I have no excuses, frappadingue or otherwise!

 
TODAY'S WORD: frappadingue

    : crazy, wackadoo, wackadoodle, barking mad
    : moody

(Frappadingue comes from "frappé" and "dingue"--each meaning "crazy")

Didier est un vrai frappadingue de danse. Une passion dévorante, à tel point que l’agriculteur a dema...

TOISER + Our Fictional Story using (so far three-quarters of) your French words!

By the artist Cham (Count Amédée-Charles-Henry de Noé) (France, Paris, 1819-1879) — Image credit Lacma; artwork in the public domain

Good news: Our Mas des Brun rosé has made it to Los Angeles just before Easter! You can find it at Larchmont Village Wine, 223 N. Larchmont Blvd. Phone: 323 856 8699 -- Call to make sure they have some in stock before going, and please say "Hi" to Simon from me (Jean-Marc). He has always supported my wines. Thanks for your support as well.


TODAY'S WORD : TO...