Below is a list of the first 100 French expressions from blog
posts #1-9. I'll be updating as I write, so check baack regularly.
Bonjour & Merci
Bonjour – Hello, literally, ‘good day’.
Merci – Thank you.
Je vous en prie – You’re welcome. Learn this !
It’s very useful.
Ce n’est rien – It’s nothing. Informal. Avoid
using with strangers.
Au revoir – Good-bye, literally, ‘until we see
each other again’.
Entre la poire et le fromage
L’apéritif – Pre-dinner drinks.
Les Hors d’oeuvre – Literally ‘outside of the
work’, small nibbles served with drinks.
L’Amuse-bouche, L’Amuse-gueule – ‘Mouth amusement’ or ‘face amusement’.
Ferme ta gueule
- Translates roughly as ‘shut your trap.’
Crème de cassis – Black currant liqueur
Le Kir – White wine, traditionally Burgandy,
with crème
de cassis.
Le Kir Royal – Champagne or sparkling wine with crème de cassis.
Le pastis – An anis-flavored aperitif served
with ice and water, a specialty of the South of France.
Le passage à table – The act of moving from
the living area to the dining table.
On passe à table ? – Shall we go to the
table?
A table ! – Come to the table ! akin
to yelling ‘Diiiiiiiiinnnnner!’
L’entrée – First course of the meal, after the
hors d’œuvre.
Le plat – Main course.
Le fromage – Cheese.
Entre la poire et le fromage – Between the
pear and the cheese. The moment in a meal when the diners are relaxed and at
ease with each other.
Le dessert – Dessert.
On passe au salon ? – Shall we go to the
living room?
Le digestif – Digestive drinks served after
the meal, usually high in alcohol content, whiskey, brandy, cognanc.
Le café – Coffee, usually served black in the
evening. Sugar is served.
Le café au lait – Coffee, usually drip, served
with lots of milk, traditionally in a bol, bowl. This term is usually used at home,
not in cafés.
Le café crème – Espresso coffee with milk as
served in cafés. If you want a bigger coffee, ask for un grand crème, or un double crème.
Le café noisette – Espresso coffee with a
touch of milk, akin to a macchiato. It’s called a noisette because of the
hazelnut-sized dab of milk. In cooking, you can also say, une noisette de beure, roughly a
spoonful.
La tisane, Une infusion – Herbal tea.
L’eau de vie – Clear brandy distilled from
fruits such as pear, plum or raspberry.
Le cognac – Brandy made from grapes.
L’Armagnac – Brandy made from distilled apple
juice.
Terroir: from ‘taste of place’ to Thiercelin’s place for taste
Le Terroir – taste of place
L’Appelation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) –
Indication of geographical origin, and traditionally defined production
practices.
Camembert de Normandie – AOC soft
non-pasteurized Camembert cheese from Normandy
Brie de Meaux – AOC soft non-pasteurized Brie
cheese from the town of Meaux in the Ile de
France region near Paris.
Brie de Melun – AOC soft non-pasteurized Brie
cheese from the town of Melun in the Ile de
France region near Paris.
Poulet de Bresse – A highly prized chicken
from the Rhône-Alps area in eastern France.
Lentilles du Puy – Small green lentils from Le
Puy from the volcanic soil of Auvergne in
south-central France
Foin de Crau – Hay from the Crau Plain in Southeastern France
Poivre Timut du Népal - Nepalese Timur Pepper
Mélange Phénicien - A proprietary blend of
oregano, mint, and toasted sesame seeds
“1001 Nuits” – A proprietary blend of Moroccan
spices and dried rose petals
Piment Doux - Smoked Spanish chili pepper reminiscent
of smoked Hungarian paprika
Le Chocolat
Le chocolat noir/au lait/blanc – Dark/milk/white chocolate
Un ballotin – A box
Un coffret – A presentation case (a bit more
elaborate than a regular box)
Un sachet – A small plastic bag or sachet.
Une ganache – A smooth mixture of chocolate
and butter and/or cream
Le praliné
– Paste made of ground caramelized or toasted nuts, often hazelnuts or almonds,
and mixed with chocolate.
A l’ancienne – The old-fashioned way. Denotes
traditional methods and implies high quality, low use of additives or synthetic
aromas.
Nature – Unflavored.
Le mendiant – Literally, “beggar”. Chocolate
disks topped with caramelized almonds, pistachios and dried fruits.
La truffe – Literally, “truffle” as in the
prized mushroom. Chocolate truffles are made of a ganache, which can be nature,
or flavored, for example, with champagne, whiskey, or cinnamon.
La Bûche – Literally, a “log”. Traditionally,
the yule log rolled and decorated cake served at Christmas time. Can also be a
“log” of chocolate praliné.
La genoise – Sponge cake.
La mousse au chocolat – A light preparation
made of melted chocolate and beaten egg whites or whipped cream.
Le macaron – A type of cookie which consists
of two chewy meringue disks, usually almond flavored sandwiching a
complementary ganache
or cream.
Le macaron au caramel au beurre salé – Caramel-flavored
meringue cookies enclosing a salted butter caramel cream.
Gâteau au Chocolat – Chocolate cake.
Le cru – Denotes the origin of the cocoa
bean.
Fat Duck Vocabulary
Foie gras frais (fresh), mi-cuit (partially
cooked), cuit (cooked) – the liver of a duck, or goose, that has been fattened
in such a way, usually through force-feeding, to ensure a fat liver with a
butter texture.
Poêlé (pan-fried, seared), en terrine
(in a porcelaine terrine), au torchon (pressed, and wrapped in plastic,
or in a dish towel)
Gavage – The technique of force-feeding ducks
or geese in order to fatten their livers.
Magret de canard – Breast from a duck that has
been fattened for foie gras
Magret de canard fumé – Smoked duck breast, usually sold sliced and vacuum-packed, or
whole at country markets and food fairs.
Magret de canard fumé et séché – Smoked and dried duck breast, usually
sold sliced and vacuum-packed, or whole at country markets and food fairs.
Filet de canard - Breast from a duck that has
not been specially fattened
Confit de canard – The leg and thigh of a foie
gras duck that is slowly cooked and preserved in its own fat. Sold in glass jars, cans, or in vacuum-packed
bags.
Cassoulet – A slow-cooked white bean dish from
Toulouse with sausage
and duck or goose confit.
La Graisse de canard – Rendered foie gras
duck fat, sold in jars, cans, or plastic tubs. Prefer a resealable
container.
Faire la grasse
matinée – ‘To do the fat
morning’, sleep in.
Museum Vocabulary
Infos Pratiques – Practical information such
as opening hours, access, entry fee.
Tous les jours (sauf) – Every day (except) –
followed by the day or days the museum is closed.
Tlj sf. – abbreviation of tous les jours sauf.
Lundi - Monday
Mardi - Tuesday
Mercredi – Wednesday
Jeudi - Thursday
Vendredi - Friday
Samedi - Saturday
Dimanche – Sunday
Entrée libre – Free entry.
Gratuit pour les moins de 18 ans,
étudiants, chômeurs – Free
entry for under 18, students, unemployed.
Accessible aux personnes à mobilité
réduite – Handicapped accessible.
On se fait un ciné ? Movie vocabulary
On se fait un ciné ?
- How about a movie?
(familiar)
Une place pour Le Dernier Métro,
s’il vous plaît. - One ticket for The Last Metro, please.
Une place tarif réduit/étudiant,
s’il vous plaît - One
student/discounted ticket, please.
A quelle heure commence le
film ? - At what time does the film start ?
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