French Words You Already Know In English

French menus need not be a mystery. You already know many French words.

French flag

B

ballet

banquette

bête noire 

bon - good, used in bonjour, good day, bonsoir, good evening, and bon-bon the sweet

boulevard

bouquet

brasserie - eatery

brassiere - bra, item of women's clothing also called soutien gorge which means lift neck which is a euphemism or polite word

C

cafe

cafetiere

centre - centre

chauffeur

coiffeur

corps - body, corps de ballet

croissant

E

entrepreneur - person who starts businesses and enterprises, entre-enter - prener to take

et - and , as in son et lumiere

fumer - to smoke, as in pas de fumer, no smoking, no fumes. De means of. ne - pas is no.

L

lait - milk, cafe au lait is coffee with milk, au is at 

lumiere, as in son et lumiere, light

M

madame - madam

matinee - afternoon performance, matin is morning

menu - le menu is the menu

mortgage - literally dead hand

moulin - mill or windmill as in Moulin Rouge, red windmill, a London landmark

N

naive

ne - no, don't 

noir - black, as in film noir which is a gloomy or sad film

Nom de plume - pen name, literally name of pen

P

President

R

r.s.v.p respondeez s'il vous plait - reply /respond please, literally if (it) you please

regrette - regret, as in the Edith Piaf song, je ne regrette rien, I don't regret nothing (anything) 

renaissance - rebirth, art era, newspaper name

republique - republic (newspaper name and street name)

Restaurant

Reunion - meeting

rouge - red, as in the cosmetic, also as in moulin rouge, red windmill, adjective second after the noun

S

servis - service, as in servis compris means service included

son et lumiere - sound and light

suave

T

train - train (written the same way, pronounced tran, just the same without the letter i)

V

Ville - town, centre ville means centre of the town

W

W le weekend - the weekend - le is the, weekend is an English word which pops up in conversational French

Useful Websites For Spelling & Meaning & Inserting Accents

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/bete-noire

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French words of the day for fun: provocateur, secateur

Provocateurs are people who provoke and secateurs are devices which cut (garden plants).

French words ending with e u r are pronounced err, rhyming with amateur. You might think this is obvious, but I've heard speakers in Singapore pronounce the words which end in e u r like manure, or demure. the first letter, the e, is the one which drives the pronunciation. Amateur.

agent provocateur - agent working to provoke reaction by a political enemy
amateur - novice, somebody who does something as a hobby, not as paid work. (Important in competitions where you must maintain amateur status by not taking paid work.)
chauffeur - professional driver (also used humorously, eg "I chauffeur the children to school and ballet lessons.")
provocateur - person who provokes, or sets out to provoke, to get a reaction
raconteur -a  speaker telling or recounting long, amusing stories
secateur - heavy scissors for cutting garden plants, usually with a safety catch and heavy curved blades

c o i f f e u r - smart hairdresser
c o n n o i s s e u r - expert, usually one who seeks out the luxurious or best foods, antiques or goods.

Let's make up a sentence using several to practise the pronunciation.
The agent provocateur set out with the secateurs and instructed the chauffeur to driver to the coiffeur. Fortunately he was an amateur.

Angela Lansbury B A Hons, CL, ATG, English and French teacher, tutor, speech coach.

The future of travel? Travel utopia?

What would I like to see? More aps for consumers. Automatic forum response - so looking for a car park near an airport or hotel you will be sent details as you drive in; low on petrol in hire car you will be told nearest garage, passing garage on way back to airport car will tell you that you need to fill up. Instant nanny, chauffeur supplied, instant sandwich or pizza delivery if no 24 hour room service.

More safety. Fire exits and fire regulations. An internationally recognized safety certificate. Covering exits, cladding, rules about not having indoor fireworks.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

French words of the day for connoisseurs: amateur, bain-marie to repertoire - and making mayonnaise

amateur
bain-marie - Mary's basin or bath, bowl or pan suspended in hot water, for steaming, lie poached eggs but usually bigger for delicate sauces like melting chocolate, or hollandaise - an egg rich sauce
chauffeur
cjef
connoisseur
croissant
cuisine
debut
entrepreneur
mayonnaise - egg yolks(s) (usually two egg yolks) whipped up with oil, traditionally olive oil
separate the yolk from the egg, dribble in oil with drops slowly or it doesn't emulsify but ends up runny - you must get air in as fast as the oil. When it starts to mix well you can add slightly faster. Add lemon juice to add flavour - maybe this helps the emulsion?
milieu
repertoire

In the right milieu your chauffeur will drive you to a restaurant patronised by millionaires where as an amateur you can enjoy your debut as a from a chef in his milieu you learn from a connoisseur how to make croissants and use a bain-marie to make mayonnaise.