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SpringBreeze

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Everything posted by SpringBreeze

  1. I love this French idiom. Translated, it makes no sense. To call a cat, a cat. But then the English version "to call a spade, a spade" doesn't make any sense either. Which one do you prefer?
  2. Here are some French words to describe the weather. If I am wrong with any of these, please let me know. If you want to add more words, please do. LE TEMPS (THE WEATHER) 1. Quel temps fait-il / Quel est le climat = How’s the weather? 2. Quel temps est prévu pour aujourd’hui = What’s the weather forecast for today? 3. Il fait = It is... 4. Il fait chaud = It is hot. 5. Il fait froid = It is cold. 6. Il fait beau = It is nice. 7. Il pleut = It's raining. 8. Il neige = It's snowing.
  3. There's nothing worse than entering a restaurant and not knowing how to order your food. So, I am going to start a list here for French words that are helpful when visiting a French restaurant. Please add words that you find useful too. 1. Manger = To eat 2. Je mange = I eat 3. Je veux manger = I want to eat... 4. Je ne peux pas manger = I cannot eat... 5. Je suis = I am... 6. Je voudrais = I would like... 7. Combien coûte... ? = How much does ... cost? 8. Le petit-déjeuner = Breakfast 9. Le déjeuner = Lunch 10. Le dîner = Dinner 11. L'addition? = The check/bill? 12. Le restaurant = The restaurant
  4. It's important to know by heart words used often in speech. So, I thought I'd start a thread on just that -- words and definitions. Here are some of mine... 1. Combien = How much 2. L'heure = Hour 3. Bien = Well 4. Bon/Bonne = Good 5. Mal = Bad 6. Aussi = Also 7. Le Magasin = Store
  5. What French word(s) do you misspell often? For me, I mess up a lot on the accents aigu and grave. Because we don't have accents in English, I'm not even sure if that's considered a misspelling. So, anyway, alot of the words that have an accent on the "a", I get wrong.
  6. Do you find flash cards useful when learning vocabulary? For a test I use both flash cards and the vocabulary list written in books. But I think flash cards work the best when it comes to vocabulary. But they don't work as well for grammar and sentence formation. What do you think?
  7. This is a great thread! I find it really helpful to know these types of phrases by heart so that when I am in such a situation, I can pull them out quickly. I make sure to learn both complete phrases and half phrases. Here are some complete phrases I can add to the list above: 1. Comment t'appelles-tu = What is your name? 2. Je parle un peu français = I speak a little French. 3. Je ne comprends pas = I do not understand. 4. Quelle heure est-il = What time is it? Here are some half phrases (sentence starters) that I think are important if you ever need to get pass the very basic: 1. Il est... = It is... 2. Tu es... = You are... 3. C'est... = This is.../It is... 4. J'ai... = I have... 5. Je voudrais... = I would like... 6. Il y a... = There is...
  8. Hahaha... This is going to be a cool one.... Mine comes from a song called Lady Marmalade. The phrase is: voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir? It's actually a well-known phrase. And it's French for will you sleep with me tonight. It's probably more blunt than sexy. But then again, when Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya, and Pink sang it, it was really sexy.
  9. French is a really beautiful language. Some of the words just glide off the tongue. It's so seductive and romantic. Some French phrases that I find romantic are 1. Je ne peux pas vivre sans toi / I cannot live without you. 2. Tu es la femme de mes rêves / You are the woman of my dreams. 3. Je vis d'amour et d'eau douce / I live on love and fresh water. 4. Je pense toujours à toi / I always think of you. What about you? What French phrases or sayings do you find romantic?
  10. I think French is one of the most romantic languages ever. I love the way a lot of the words sound, so fluid and endearing. Stephen King said “French is the language that turns dirt into romance.” Some words that I think are super romantic in sound are bouche, couture, coeur, noir, silhouette and of course, amour. What French words do you find romantic and seductive?
  11. What part of learning to speak French do you find easy? The part I find easy is the fact that many French words are already in our vocabulary. And if they are not in our vocabulary, they are similar. This makes French easier for me to study in comparison to other languages without the Latin background. What about you?
  12. What part of speaking French is hard for you? For me, it's pronouncing the "r" properly. I have the hardest time rolling my r's backwards. (I call it rolling backwards because in Spanish I say rolling forward.) So what about you?
  13. Have you visited France? If yes, what city or cities did you visit? Did this trip inspire you to learn French?
  14. When it comes to French music, I love old-school singers like Edith Piaf and Enrico Macias. But there is one singer that I liked to listen to before going to French class. It's PAtricia Kaas. Her music is slow and blues-y. I liked that because I could understand her words which made translating them in mind easier.
  15. A lot of songs today are poetry put to music. I love that about modern music. There's just so much beauty in the music world now. For this reason, I love translating bachata and boleros songs. And every so often, I come across a line or two that floors me. Does that ever happen to you? What was the name of the song and the line(s)? Here are some lines that I love... "Que cuando te tengo enfrente el sol sale asi de repente Y cuando me miras ya sabes que yo doy mi vida" --from Por Tu Amor by Charlie Zaa
  16. There are so many beautiful and wise Spanish sayings. I love to find and then translate them in my own words. Here are two that I like... A buen entendedor, pocas palabras bastan. For some who understands well, less words are needed. En boca cerrada no entran moscas. Flies don't enter closed mouths.
  17. Hahaha, come to think of it, there are quite a few that have made me laugh recently. Un buen vecino es el que no le pone clave al Wi-Fi. A good neigbor is one that doesn't lock Wi-Fi. Pocas mujeres admiten su edad. Pocos hombres actuan acorde a su edad. Few women admit their age. Few men act their age. Para todo mal, mezcal, para toda bien, tambien. For everything bad, (drink) mezcal, for everything good, too.
  18. Yah, I've heard a few weird ones over the years. Although I have to say I've heard less weird ones in Spanish than in French. Anyway, here's one: "Te metiste en camisa de once baras." It basically means you've taken on too many things and bitten off more than you can chew.
  19. Hmmh... I always thought it meant: "that's life". Is there a difference between "this is life" and "that's life"? I've actually never said "such is life" before.
  20. Interesting... that's like learning Spanish in reverse. Funny enough, even though this sounds new to me, it isn't really. I've met many people here in the States who didn't speak English well. And so something like this usually happens. I just never thought of it in the way you explained since it's just my part of an attempt to have a conversation. Cool!
  21. The telenovelas that got me hooked and inspired to learn more are Pasion de Gavilanes, Dame Chocolate, and Gitanas. I loved those soap operas. They kept me coming back for more each time. I was surprised to that Ugly Betty was Yo Soy Betty, La Fea, first. I didn't realize it until I saw a commercial of a re-run of it in Spanish.
  22. I'm on a budget too. And I travel a lot. So, I no longer have time or money to cook elaborate meals. I keep it simple now. And one simple Latin-inspired dish that I like to make is guacomole. Yo hago guacamole con aguacate, cebolla, tomate, limon, cilantro, sal, y perejil. Si yo quiero algo muy saludable, incluyo espinacas.
  23. I like a plain and simple "hola". I like hola even more when it's in front of a noun or term of endearment. For example, I use to say Hola chica a lot to my girl friends. And i love when my Latin boyfriends say stuff like "hola mi amor" or "hola mi corazon".
  24. When learning Spanish, is there a wrong way to do it? Someone asked me this once, and I didn't have a good answer from him. I couldn't think of any wrong way. So, it got me wondering is there one...
  25. No, I didn't but I wish I had. I almost got a chance to study in such a program in the south of France. I was a tie between two study abroad programs. One in Montpellier and one in Cannes. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the enough money for it and I didn't get the scholarship I had applied for. Anyway, that would have definitely changed my life. I can just imagine how fluent I'd be if I had done it.
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