French
Vocab Builder for commonly used words in French.
ligne
The word 'ligne' in French is used similar to how 'line' is used in English. It can refer to a physical line or to a line of text in a book. It also can refer to a line of thought, or a line on a graph. Depending on the context, it can have a variety of meanings, just like in English. Over time, it is important to learn how 'ligne' is used in different situations to fully understand its meaning.
Example sentences with ligne →lire
The French verb 'lire' means 'to read'. Just like in English, it can be used in several contexts such as reading a book, a sign, a map etc. It is an irregular verb and so, has different conjugations for different tenses and moods. For example, 'Il lit un livre' translates to 'He is reading a book'.
Example sentences with lire →liste
The French word 'liste' is used similarly to 'list' in English. It refers to a series of items written or printed systematically in a row. You can use it to refer to a grocery list ('Liste des courses'), a list of names ('Liste des noms'), or in any other context where you would use 'list' in English.
Example sentences with liste →livre
The French word for 'book' is 'livre'. It is used in the same context as in English, referring to a bound collection of sheets of paper, parchment, or similar materials. It can be related to a variety of genres - from novels and non-fiction works to textbooks and manuals.
Example sentences with livre →local
The French word 'local' is very similar to its English equivalent 'local'. It is used to describe something that is situated or taking place in an area near you, or in the particular area that you are talking about. The usage can depend on the context; it could refer to a local establishment (like a restaurant or a shop), local produce, or local news, among others.
Example sentences with local →loin
The French word for 'away' is 'loin'. It is most often used in the context of distance, both in a literal sense (like being a certain amount of miles away) and in a more figurative sense (like being emotionally distant). It can also be used to mean 'gone', as in 'he is away', which would be 'il est loin'.
Example sentences with loin →long
In French, 'long' is used in a similar way to English to describe an object, distance, or time period that has great duration or length. For example, 'un long voyage' means 'a long trip.' It's important to note that 'long' also agrees with the gender and number of the noun it modifies, becoming 'longs' for masculine plural objects, 'longue' for singular feminine objects, and 'longues' for plural feminine objects.
Example sentences with long →lui-même
In French, 'lui-même' is used to refer to 'himself'. It is a reflexive pronoun used when the subject and the object of the sentence are the same person. We use 'lui-même' when the subject is masculine. It can be used in different contexts, such as emphasizing importance or indicating that an action is done without any help.
Example sentences with lui-même →lumière
The French word for light is 'lumière'. It is used similarly to English, referring both to visible light and the concept of 'lightness'. However, do note that for colors, 'light' translates to 'clair', as in 'bleu clair' for light blue. When referring to weight, 'light' translates to 'léger'. 'Lumière' is mainly used when describing illumination or brightness.
Example sentences with lumière →lumière de bougie
The French phrase for 'candlelight' is 'lumière de bougie'. It directly translates to 'light of candle'. It can be used in a similar context as in English, refering to the light produced by a candle. For example, 'un dîner à la lumière de bougie' means 'a candlelit dinner'.
Example sentences with lumière de bougie →lumières
The French word 'lumières' is used in the same context as the English word 'lights'. However, in French, the word 'lumières' is most often used in the plural form. It is used to talk about multiple sources of light or the concept of lighting in general.
Example sentences with lumières →lune
The word 'lune' corresponds to the English word 'moon'. It is predominantly used in any context concerning the Earth's moon. For example, in sentences concerning moon phases, 'phase de la lune' or when talking about something under the moonlight, 'au clair de la lune'. Remember, unlike in English, 'lune' is feminine in French, so remember to use 'la' instead of 'le' before it.
Example sentences with lune →lutte
The term 'lutte' translates to 'fight' in English and is used broadly equivalent to 'fight' in English. It can be used to describe a physical confrontation between two people, a struggle or a battle. For instance, in a sentence, 'Il a rejoint la lutte contre le cancer', translates to 'He joined the fight against cancer'. It illustrates how 'lutte' can be used to represent a fight or struggle.
Example sentences with lutte →magasin
The French word for 'store' is 'magasin'. This word primarily refers to physical locations where goods are sold - from small boutiques to large superstores. The context of the sentence usually indicates the type and size of the store being referenced. For example, 'Je vais au magasin' means 'I am going to the store'.
Example sentences with magasin →main
The French word 'main' is used similarly to how we use 'hand' in English. It represents the part of the body at the end of the arm. It is mainly used in the context of holding things, touching, moving, etc., but there also exist expressions and phrases in French using 'main' like in English, for instance 'donner un coup de main' which literally translated to 'give a hand hit', but means 'to give a helping hand'.
Example sentences with main →mais
The French word 'mais' is used similarly to the English word 'but', acting as a conjunction to introduce a phrase or clause contrasting with what has already been mentioned. An example usage in a sentence: 'Je veux aller, mais je suis trop fatigué', which translates to 'I want to go, but I'm too tired'.
Example sentences with mais →maison
The French word for 'house' is 'maison'. It is used in the same context as in English, referring to a building for habitation by people. In most cases, a 'maison' is a free-standing structure, as opposed to an apartment or flat ('appartement' in French).
Example sentences with maison →majeur
The word 'majeur' in French translates directly as 'major' in English. It can be used in many contexts same as in English such as referring to someone of a legal age (major en droit), importance of something (rôle majeur) or for denoting a large scale (en majeur). As with many words, the specific usage is context-dependent.
Example sentences with majeur →maladie
The French word 'maladie' represents disease in English. It is a noun used in the same context as in English, to denote any disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant, especially one that produces specific symptoms or that affects a specific location. It is a commonly used term in medical and health contexts.
Example sentences with maladie →malgré
The French word 'malgré' is the equivalent of 'despite' in English. Just like 'despite', 'malgré' is used as a preposition expressing the contradiction between two situations. It means that something is happening or is true, even though something else might make you not expect it to happen or be true. For example, 'Malgré la pluie, nous avons joué au football' would translate to 'Despite the rain, we played football'.
Example sentences with malgré →manger
The word 'manger' is an infinitive verb in French that translates to 'eat' in English. It can be used in different tenses to show the action of eating, similarly to how 'eat' is used in English sentences. For example, 'Je mange' means 'I eat'.
Example sentences with manger →manquer
The French verb for 'miss' is 'manquer.' In French, you would use this word in a slightly different way than in English. For example, 'you are missed by me' would translate in French to 'tu me manques.' Similarly, 'I miss my mom' translates to 'ma maman me manque.' Besides missing a person, 'manquer' can also be used to express missing out on an event or thing.
Example sentences with manquer →marché
The French word for market is 'marché', pronounced (mar-shay). It is used in the same context as in English, referring to a physical area where buyers and sellers meet to exchange goods and services, or describing the theoretical economic concept of the demand and supply relations between producers and consumers.
Example sentences with marché →marcher
The French term for 'walk' is 'marcher'. It is a common verb mainly used to refer to the act of walking. It can be used in a variety of contexts similar to English - from literal walking to expressing the functionality of something. For example, 'Je marche dans le parc' means 'I walk in the park' and 'Ça marche?' is a casual way of asking if something works or if everything is okay.
Example sentences with marcher →mari
In French, husband is translated as 'mari'. For example, if you want to say 'My husband is kind.' you would say 'Mon mari est gentil.'. Remember that the masculine possessive, 'mon', is used for 'mari'. This term is used widely in everyday speech and writing.
Example sentences with mari →matériel
The French word 'matériel' is used in a similar way to the English word 'material'. It can refer to anything that is made up of matter or used in various contexts to denote the substance or materials used or needed for a particular activity. In some contexts, it could also refer to equipment or supplies in occupations such as teaching. It is usually used as an adjective in French.
Example sentences with matériel →matière
The French word for 'matter' is 'matière'. It is often used in the same contexts as in English - to refer to a substance or material, or to the subject or topic of something. However, unlike in English, 'matière' does not have an additional meaning related to importance or significance.
Example sentences with matière →matin
The French word 'matin' corresponds to the English word 'morning'. In French, 'matin' is used to describe the period of time from sunrise to noon. It is used in similar contexts as it is in English, such as in greeting 'bonjour' (good morning), or expressing time of day.
Example sentences with matin →médecin
The word 'médecin' is French for 'doctor'. It is a common term used within the healthcare profession. This term is used to refer to a medical professional who provides healthcare services, including diagnostics and prescriptions for treatment. Just like in English, the term is universally understood across all French-speaking regions, although in conversation, the casual term 'doc' is sometimes used.
Example sentences with médecin →médias
In French, 'médias' is the translated term for 'media'. It is used in the same context as in English, referring to the main means of mass communication (broadcasting, publishing, and the internet) regarded collectively. Like in English, it can be used in singular or plural depending on the context, though plural (les médias) is more commonly used when referencing the media as a whole.
Example sentences with médias →