Vocabulary Lists

French Vocabulary

Vocabulaire

Themed vocabulary lists and other wordy lessons (synonyms, prefixes, suffixes, abbreviations …) to help you become more verbose in French.

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Fun with French

Terms of Endearment

French terms of endearment
You probably know the expressions mon cher et ma chérie, but French has many more interesting ways to refer to their dears and darlings - mostly terms related to food and animals.

Fun with French

Texting

French texting abbreviations
There are many varieties of French, but perhaps one of the most elusive is French texting: the bewildering assortment of abbreviations, acronyms, and even symbols used in email, text messaging (SMS), social media, chatrooms, and forums.

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Holidays and Celebrations

Thanksgiving

French Thanksgiving vocabulary
Thanksgiving is an American holiday, but there's no reason you can't talk about it in French - once you learn the relevant vocabulary with this lesson.

   

Vocabulary Lists

Titles

French titles
While not as diverse as they used to be, a few titles are commonly used in French and are as important as any other polite vocabulary. Here are the French titles you need, along with their abbreviations.

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Grammar Lessons

To Make

Faire - to make + nounFaire is one of the first French verbs students learn, along with its most common English counterparts: "to do" and "to make." While "make" seems straightforward enough, in reality it has a number of different meanings and uses, many of which have completely different French translations.

   

Grammar Lessons

To Take, To Bring

Amener, emmener, apporter, emporter
The English verbs "bring" and "take" have four French equivalents: amener, emmener, apporter, and emporter. This causes all kinds of confusion, but it really is very simple once you understand the differences.

   

Mistakes and Difficulties

To Teach

French verbs to teach
French has five different verbs that can mean "to teach," depending on the who, the what, and the how of the teaching in question.

   

Vocabulary Lists

Toiletries and Cosmetics

French toiletries and cosmetics
Time to get ready! Do you know the French terms for toiletries, cosmetics, and the reflexive verbs that go with them? Check out this vocabulary list with sound files.

   

Vocabulary Lists

Train

French train vocabulary
Taking the train can be an excellent way to explore the country, so here's the French vocabulary you need to navigate the station, buy tickets, and arrive safely at your destination. Bon voyage !

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Vocabulary Lists

Transportation

Transportation - French vocabulary
Trains, planes, and automobiles ... and buses and shuttles and, well, just take a look at and listen to this list of French vocabulary related to transportation.

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Grammar Lessons

Unisex Nouns

French unisex nouns
One of the first - and possibly worst - things French students learn is that all nouns have a gender, either masculine or feminine. The good news is more than 100 can be either - though they may tend toward one gender or the other.

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Vocabulary Lists

United States (of America)

US states in French
Though les États-Unis (d'Amérique) is the proper translation, the French often just say les USA. Likewise, most states keep their names in French, while a few undergo slight Frenchification. And of course, being nouns, they have gender in French.

   

Fun with French

Verlan

Verlan
Verlan is a particular type of French slang with reversed syllables. It's easy to make verlan words, but not always so easy to understand them. Take a look at this article about verlan and check out the video for some favorite terms.