“Avec ceux-ci?” [a-v?k' sø-si’]
“With these?”
This is a favorite phrase uttered by pâtisserie [pastry shop] employees all over France. Even if you order just one croissant, the pâtissier [pastry maker] will undoubtedly ask you, “With these?” rather than, “With this?”
So what’s the big idea? The French, you see, are a proud people, and [...]
“Une chambre, deux lits”
“One room, two beds”
When my boyfriend and his brother were traveling by bike through the south of France, this was the phrase they lived by. It was simple, to the point, and got them what they needed as far as accommodation was concerned.
At the end of a long [...]
“Faire la bise”[fer la biz]
“To kiss on the cheek”
To faire la bise is to greet someone in the traditional French fashion: with a kiss on each cheek.
In some regions of France (and in other Francophone countries), three or more kisses is on par, but generally speaking, two is the [...]
“Ça va?” [sa va]
“How’s it going?”
Ça va is easily the most commonly uttered phrase in the French language; and just what is its secret appeal? Why, it’s both a question and its reciprocal answer.
If you want to know how someone’s doing: Ça va?
If you want to tell them right back [...]
The train is one of the easiest ways to get around France if you are planning a multi-destination journey through the country. Paris is usually the least expensive city to fly into, but there is so much more of the country to see outside of the capital!
The rail network–SNCF (Société Nationale de Chemins de [...]
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
It’s July 14th! France’s Independence Day falls just 10 days (and 13 years) after our own in the U.S., and the holiday incites as much national pride and festivity as does the 4th of July in the States.
Celebration • Vocabulary
La Fête Nationale
La Fête Nationale, better known to us as [...]
Charles de Gaulle is one of three international airports in Paris and its environs (the others two being Orly and Beauvais), but most flights arriving from the United States land at CDG.
The airport is a ways outside of the city, and there are numerous ways to get into Paris, which I will lay out for [...]
Anne has studied and spoken French for over a decade and has lived in both France and Francophone Cameroon. She strives to write lessons that reflect her real experiences and represent the way people really speak.
