Wednesday, October 30, 2019

French words to use and recognize when shopping





French flag.

FRENCH - ENGLISH
boucherie - butcher's shop (just like butchery, with a silent o and t)
boulangerie - bakery
bonjour - good day
fromage - cheese
fromagerie - cheese shop
galerie - gallery
merci - Thank you
printemps - spring 
au revoir - goodbye

Adieu - old fashioned and implies you will never see them again, perhaps when emigrating.


UK flag.



Flag of England.

What to say in the shop
The people serving you in France are probably French and the people serving you in England are probably English. You may be able to tell by their accents.

French is not only used in French speaking countries. You are likely to find shops with French names all over the world. To give two examples:
Galeries Lafayette - department store in France, Singapore and other countries. 
A Boulangerie in Singapore. 
Printemps department store in France and other countries.

Boulangerie in Singapore. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

ENGLISH - FRENCH
good day - bonjour (literally bon jour, good day)
bakery - boulangerie
cheese - fromage
cheese shop - fromagerie
please - s'il vous plait (literally if it you pleases)
may I have the bill - l'addition s'il vous plait
thank you - merci
goodbye - au revoir (literally to re-see or see you again)



Photo from J S Ivry in Wikipedia under French flag.

More Words You May See


FRENCH - ENGLISH
conseil - council
de - of
francaise - French
le (l' short for le before a vowel) - the
postes - plural post/mail
republique - republic


ENG
council - conseil
Europe - Europe
French - francais (notice the cedilla under the c)
of - de
the - le (abbreviated to l' before a vowel)

French Foods and Food Shops
biere - beer
boucherie - butcher
charcuterie - cold cooked meats
boulangerie - bread shop
croissant - crescent shaped savoury pastry
eau - water (Bordeaux border or coastal city of/on the water or sea)
lait - milk
patisserie - pastries and cakes and biscuits shop
pommes de terre - potatoes (literally apples of earth)
prix fixe - fixed price, set menu, all inclusive
traiteur - take away food, deli
viande - meat
vin - wine

Kitchenware
bain-marie - double saucepan for protecting sauces from heat
couteau - knife, item which cuts
fourchete - fork

Note that the French accent in Paris is different from the French accent in Canada. To hear the french click on the sound symbol in Wikipedia, Google translate and several other websites.

You can use your French in Belgium, Canada, France, Switzerland and French islands in the Caribbean such as St Martin, and in many more countries as well as when reading menus in French restaurants, in kitchenware shops.
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To learn more French and many other languages such as Spanish, you can use the free websites for beginners, such as Duolingo and Memrise:






Useful Websites
Free Language Learning
duolingo.com
memrise.com
Cheese Shops in London, England
visitbritain.com
https://translate.google.com/
French Tourist Board Website
http://ee.france.fr/
Canadian Cities Tourist Board Website
http://www.visit-canada.com/
Swiss tourist official website
https://www.swiss.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printemps

About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

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