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Some French slang and familiar expressions:

Nouns

la bouffe = food une clope = a cigarette un pote = a close pal, a friend un gamin = a kid un mec = a dude, a guy mon mec = my man, my boyfriend une meuf = a chick, a girl; verlan for femme ma meuf = my girl, my girlfriend une go = a chick, a girl; from arabic un daron = a father; from old term for landlord une daronne = a mother un mytho = a (compulsive) liar —

Degrees and interjections

archi + adj = super/real + adj, so much “mais c'est archi nul” = “that sucks so much” genre = like “il est, genre, archi grand” = “he’s, like, super tall” grave = 1. legit, seriously, ‘dead’; 2. insane “t'es grave mec” = “you’re insane dude” “je suis grave fatiguée” = “I’m seriously/dead tired” —-

Abbreviations

mdr (mort de rire) = lol; lit., dead laughing hrsmt (heureusement) = luckily bg (beau gosse) = good-looking dude azi (vas-y) = let’s go —-

Verbs

se saouler = to get drunk souler = to annoy “elle me soule grave” = “she annoys me so much” kiffer = to like, to dig “je kiffe ce morceau” = “I’m digging this song” engueuler = to yell, to tell off, to chew out capter = to get, to understand “tu captes?” = “you got it? / you understand?” —

Expressions

avoir le seum = to be pissed partir en couille = to go to shit (vulgar) “c'est parti en couille” = “shit hit the fan” casser les couilles = to piss off (vulgar) faire chier = to annoy (vulgar) être chiant = to be annoying (vulgar) péter les plombs = to flip out, to blow a fuse se mêler de ses affaires = to mind one’s own business

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hey mom can you educate me about money pls

Hey kid,

Very broad topic but here are a few ideas:

(Disclaimer: this is written by a European with free healthcare who never had to worry about credit score or student loans)

#1. Have a second bank account and transfer money there monthly:

It doesn’t have to be a huge amount, but make it one you won’t miss. No need to aim for 400€ if you have to transfer some of it back to your regular account to pay bills.

Aim for twelve months worth of rent + bills + any monthly expense (pet food, therapist, gym, etc.): that is going to be your emergency money; medical, if you get sick, material, if something breaks, professional, if you lose your job. No “Oh I don’t have enough on Account #1 to pay for my Uber Eats delivery”.

Make sure you don’t pay more than you should: there are ways to lower your monthly charges; I recently halved my phone bill by sacrificing unlimited calls and 50 GB of data I didn’t need.

#2. Unless you’re in a place temporarily or a traveller at heart, invest in what you buy. Don’t purchase the same 10€ pair of H&M trainers over and over again: get a good sturdy pair of shoes that will be in your closet in fifteen years instead (and avoid trends, of course); then, take good care of them and go to the cobbler/tailor/etc. when needed. That logic works for:

anything that separates you from the ground (bed, car, etc.)

anything that you need regularly (fan, pans, hairdryer, etc.).

You don’t want that super useful thing to die after three weeks and 1/ having to buy it again, ergo spend more money and 2/ wait until it comes, i.e. be in a complicated situation in the meantime. Instead of buying Shitty Object A for 15€ and then Shitty Object B for 20 and hope for the best, make it a 50 now (after you researched its durability through customers reviews, of course).

Planned obsolescence is a real thing. My dad has a radio he bought in the seventies - it looks awful, but still works perfectly. If it were to fall on my foot, I would be the one getting damaged.

#3. Think about your long-term goals. Let’s say you want to buy a house or have four children: is it preferable to have dinner at a fancy restaurant with the girls tonight or invite them over and cook? You’ll enjoy food for twenty minutes and a house for a lifetime.

A bit of an extreme example but a friend of mine is currently dating a loaded guy and complained that, when grocery shopping together, he nitpicks and only wants to buy food that's on sale, whereas she doesn’t mind paying three extra pounds for fresh strawberries. But then, she concluded, that’s how he owns three apartments. Priorities!

Other little things:

Don’t fall into the trap of consumerism. No, you don’t need those shoes (you want them!); no, don’t buy gems for a game when you could wait three hours; no, secondhand things don’t look or smell bad. Death to retail therapy, see a doctor!

IF YOU CAN’T AFFORD IT TWICE, YOU CAN’T AFFORD IT.

Avoid as much as possible borrowing money from the bank, especially for something non-essential, as with debt come interests; it can also put you in a bad position if you pass your deadline or need an urgent second loan for an actual emergency. Banks aren’t the Salvation Army.

Also, very specific but: hide 50€ somewhere in your house and a 20 somewhere at work or at school. If something ever happens to your bank card, that will keep you out of trouble and hunger.

Don’t tell people how much you earn/saved. It’s a trap.

Between your wellbeing and money, choose yourself. If you are in an abusing relationship, leave; if you need medical help, go; you’ll always find a way to make things right later.

Love,

Mum

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Avoir- expressions

Avoir quelqu’un à l’oeil - keep an eye on someone

Avoir bon coeur - being good-hearted

Avoir bon dos - being a good excuse

Avoir quelqu’un dans le nez - being mad at someone

Avoir d’autres chats à fouetter - having better things to do

Avoir de la merde dans les yeux - not seeing the obvious (rude)

Avoir de la veine - being lucky

Avoir des cornes - being cheated on

Avoir des couilles - being brave (rude)

Avoir des étoiles dans les yeux - being amazed

avoir des fourmis - having pins and needles

Avoir des yeux derrière la tête - being able to see abs everything

Avoir du bol/du pot - being lucky

Avoir du chien - looking good (old)

Avoir du cran - being brave

Avoir du nez - having a good intuition

Avoir du temps à perdre - having time to waste

Avoir été bercé trop près du mur - being another level of dumb

Avoir faim - being hungry

Avoir la chair de poule - having goosebumps

Avoir la conscience tranquille - having a clear conscience

Avoir la gueule de bois - being hangover

Avoir la langue bien pendue - being chatty

Avoir la main - being the one who plays/leads (in games, usually)

Avoir la main verte - being a good gardener

Avoir la patate/la pêche - being smiley, happy 

Avoir la peau dure - being hard to break

Avoir la peur au ventre - being super scared

Avoir la puce à l’oreille - having suspicions

Avoir le bras long - having a lot of influence

Avoir le cafard - feeling blue

Avoir le cœur gros - feeling sad

Avoir le compas dans l’œil - having an accurate eye (measurements)

Avoir le feu au cul - being horny

Avoir le sang chaud - being hot-blooded

Avoir le vent en poupe - being successful

Avoir les dents du fond qui baignent - being drunk

Avoir les dents longues - being overly ambitious

Avoir les foies - being scared (old)

Avoir les jetons - being scared

Avoir les mains liées - having one’s hands tied

Avoir les oreilles bouchées - having blocked ears

Avoir les oreilles qui saignent - having bleeding ears after hearing something awful

Avoir les oreilles qui sifflent - having ringing ears

Avoir les yeux plus gros que le ventre - taking too much food

Avoir les yeux qui saignent - having bleeding eyes after (…)

Avoir l’estomac dans les talons - being super hungry

Avoir l’œil - having a good eye (for outfits, flowers, etc)

Avoir mal aux cheveux - being in pain after a night of drinking

Avoir mangé du lion - being super energetic 

Avoir soif - being thirsty

Avoir toute sa tête - being mentally heathly

Avoir un balai dans le cul - being uptight

Avoir un chat dans la gorge - having a frog in the throat

Avoir un cœur d’artichaut - falling in love easily

Avoir un coup de foudre - falling in love at first sight

Avoir un mal de chien - having a hard time doing something

Avoir un œil qui dit merde à l’autre - squinting (rude)

Avoir un oursin dans sa poche - being miser

Avoir un poil dans la main - being lazy

Avoir un polichinelle dans le tiroir - being pregnant

Avoir une araignée dans le plafond - being nutty

Avoir une brioche au four - being pregnant

Avoir une case en moins - having a screw loose

Avoir une cervelle de moineau - forgetting things easily 

Avoir une dent contre quelqu’un - being mad at someone

Avoir une faim de loup - being super hungry

Avoir une mémoire d’éléphant - having a great memory

Avoir une peur bleue - being super scared

En avoir plein le cul - being super annoyed (rude)

Ne pas avoir gardé les cochons ensemble - way to tell someone who’s being overfriendly or touchy to back off

Ne pas avoir les yeux en face des trous - being too tired to think straight

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compiling some resources for all those students who have to keep up on their own <3 this was originally meant for GCSE / A2 language level but is helpful for all i think

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Être- expressions

Être à cheval sur les principes - being very serious about one’s principles

Être à la masse - having no idea what’s going on (informal)

Être bête à manger du foin - being extra stupid

Être charrette - being late or overloaded with work (informal)

Être cloué au lit - being sick in bed

Être dans de beaux/sales draps - being in trouble

Être dans la mouise - being in trouble

Être dans le rouge - going into overdraft (bank)

Être dans les bras de Morphée - being asleep

Être dans les pommes - having fainted

Être dans ses petits souliers - being in an embarrassing situation

Être de mèche - being the accomplice of someone

Être dur d’oreille - being hard of hearing

Être en cloque - being pregnant (rude)

Être en couches - being in bed after giving birth

Être en porte-à-faux - being in an embarrassing situation 

Être fait comme un rat - being done for

Être fini à la pisse - being extra stupid (rude)

Être habillé à l’as de pique - being badly dressed

Être le dos au mur - being cornered, having to face consequences

Être pédé comme un phoque - being super gay (rude)

Être pendu aux lèvres de - listening to someone with attention

Être sous les projecteurs - getting a lot of attention

Être sur la bonne route - going the right way 

Être sur la corde raide - being in a complicated situation

Être sur le bord de l’abîme - being in a complicated situation

Être sur les dents - being mad

Être sur une mauvaise pente - making bad action after bad action

Être verni - being super lucky

Être vert de rage - being extra mad

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French vocab for when you cba to study french lol

I’ve not really had any motivation the last few days in regard to studying french, and anytime I’ve attempted to study it I’ve not been able to focus at all. So I guess this is me turning lemons into lemonade. Hopefully there aren’t any mistakes!

Avoir la flemme - To not be bothered / To not have the energy

“Je devrais étudier le subjonctif aujourd’hui, mais j’ai la flemme”

Avoir la tête dans les nuages - To have your head in the clouds

“J’essayais de regarder un film français hier, mais j’avais la tête dans les nuages.”

Avoir le cafard - To feel blue / To feel down in the dumps

“J’ai le cafard un peu car je ne peux pas me focaliser sur mes études”

Déchanter - To be disillusioned / To become disillusioned

“Quand je peine à comprendre un article, je déchante”

Foutre [qqc] en l’air - To screw [smth] up / To f*** [smth] up

“Je me sens comme j’ai foutu mes progrès en l’air quand je manque un cours sur ligne”

Refroidir - To cool down (But also means to dishearten / to discourage)

“Ça me refroidit un peu, oublier des mots”

Here are a few nouns too, just to shake it up a bit 

La fainéantise - Laziness / Idleness

“La fainéantise m’a vaincu bel et bien aujourd’hui”

Un flemmard/Une flemmarde - A lazybones / An idler

“Je suis un tel flemmard aujourd’hui - Je ne fais rien!”

Une rêverie - A daydream

“Au lieu d’étudier, je passe le temps aujourd’hui plongé dans des rêveries”

Here’s hoping I and any other flemmards/flemmardes get some motivation back soon! 

Also, language learning is a process yo, it’s okay to have a rough patch! 

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Categorising Romance Languages

One way to classify Romance languages is by looking at what Latin verb is used to express ownership or possession. Some Romance languages express it by using either tenere “to hold” (such as Spanish, Portuguese or Neapolitan) or habere “to have” (such as Italian, Romanian or French).

Medieval Spanish uses both tenere and habere. Tenere expresses physical ownership whereas habere expresses a more abstract possession (such as hunger, thirst, fear, etc.). In later stages of the language, forms of tenere prevailed so that tener is used to express both concepts in modern Spanish. Haber however is used as the auxiliary (helping) verb to build perfect tenses.

Neapolitan uses a similar system but not with every abstract noun. Nouns such as raggiona “reason” and pa(v)ura “fear” select avé, whereas physical possession select tené/ténere. Avé is also used to construct perfect tenses and express obligation, e.g. aggio visto “I have seen”, aggio ‘a ascì “I have to go out”.

Another way to categorise Romance languages is by looking at which verb is used to express ownership, build perfect tenses, and express existential statements (“there is a woman”). For example, Italian and Romanian use forms of habere for both possession and perfect tenses, but esse to express existential statements. Sardinian, Occitan and French on the other hand would use habere for all three.

Neapolitan is a special outlier: possession is expressed mainly by tenere (and only exceptionally by habere); perfect tenses are mostly built with habere (intransitive verbs however might select esse, like Italian, but not reflexive verbs); and existential statements are made with stare.

tengo n’aniello “I have a ring”

aggio vevuto “I have drunk” (cf. reflexive m’aggio assettato “I’ve sat down”)

aggio juto “I have gone” (but songo juto, literally “I am gone”)

ce sta n’ommo “there is a man”

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A handful of French words/phrases that I've learnt recently that I like which don't really have any relation at all 😌✨

sorry if this is dumb I just like these words hehe

Abracadabrant.e - bizarre, bemusing

Vraisemblablement - In all likelihood

Semer la pagaille - to sew discord / to wreak havoc

Vertigineux.euse - dizzying

Une passerelle - A footbridge

Le qu'en-dira-t-on - The "what others will think" / gossip

Le trac - stage fright / nerves

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Some little language-learning milestones:

The first time you feel brave enough to leave a comment on a social media post in the language

Realising that extra tricky grammar rule is finally starting to click

No longer cringing at your accent when you speak

Talking to yourself and realising you managed to construct a coherent sentence without notes to prompt you

Starting to string together sentences without stopping to think about how to say the next one

When you can start figuring out unknown words from context

Coming across a word you always forget the meaning of, only to find that this time you actually remember it

Starting to recognise distinct dialects, even if you don’t understand them at all yet

Falling in love with a particular dialect

Seeing someone new to the language asking a question and thinking, “oh, I know the answer to that!”

Knowing the perfect idiom for the situation

Singing and meaning the words, rather than just approximating the sounds

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Verbs + the preposistion à in front of an infinitive

apprendre à - to learn to

arriver à - to manage to

avoir du mal à - to have difficulties in

chercher à - to try to

commencer à - to start to

continuer à - to continue to

hésiter à - to hesitate to

passer son temps à - to spend one's time to

réussir à - to succeed in

s'exercer à - to practice

s'habituer à - to get used to

se mettre à - to start/begin to

se résigner à - to give in to

servir à - to be used for

tenir à - to insist on

Verbs + the preposition de in front of an infinitive

accepter de - to agree to

arrêter de - to stop

choisir de - to choose to

craindre de - to fear to

décider de - to decide to

essayer de - to try to

mériter de - to deserve to

oublier de - to forget to

parler de - to talk about

proposer de - to offer to

refuser de - to refuse to

s'abstenir de - to refrain from

se dépêcher de - to hurry to

se souvenir de - to remember to

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Linguistics and Language Podcasts

Looking for podcasts about language and linguistics? Here’s a comprehensive list with descriptions! I’ve also mentioned if shows have transcripts. If there are any I missed, let me know!

Linguistics

Lingthusiasm A podcast that’s enthusiastic about linguistics by Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne (that’s me!). Main episodes every third Thursday of every month, with a second bonus episode on Patreon. (Transcripts for all episodes)

Talk the Talk Every week Daniel, Ben, and Kylie cover the news in linguistics and tackle a particular topic.

The Vocal Fries Every episode Carrie Gillon & Megan Figueroa tackle linguistic discrimination in relation to a particular group. (Transcripts for some episodes)

En Clair A podcast about forensic linguistics from Dr Claire Hardaker at Lancaster University. Episodes released monthly, with a range of topics from criminal cases to literary fraud. (Transcripts for all episodes)

Accentricity From Sadie Durkacz Ryan, a lecturer in sociolinguistics at Glasgow University. Season one has six episodes.

Language

The Allusionist Stories about language and the people who use it, from Helen Zaltzman (Transcripts for all episodes) (my review)

Grammar Girl Episodes are rarely longer than 15 minutes, but they’re full of tips about English grammar and style for professional writing, and more! (Transcripts for all episodes).

The World in Words From PRI, The World in Words has been delivering wonderful interview-drive stories about language and life since 2008.

Conlangery Particularly for those with an interest in constructed languages, they also have episodes that focus on specific natural languages, or linguistic phenomena. 

Subtext a podcast about the linguistics of online dating.

Canguro English a podcast about language for people learning languages.

English

History of English Meticulously researched, professionally produced and engaging content on the history of English. I have already reviewed it three times (episodes 1-4, episodes 5-79, bonus episodes).

Lexicon Valley Hosted by John McWhorter, with a focus on English.

That’s What They Say Every week linguist Anne Curzan joins Rebecca Kruth on Michigan public radio for a five minute piece on a quirk of English language.

A Way With Words A talk-back format show on the history of English words, cryptic crosswords and slang.

Dictionaries

Word For Word From Macquarie dictionary, with a focus on Australian English.

Fiat Lex A podcast about making dictionaries from Kory Stamper & Steve Kleinedler.

Words/etymology

Word Bomb Hosts Pippa Johnstone and Karina Palmitesta explore one explosive word per week, using particular words for a deep dive into linguistic and social issues.

Words for Granted In each episode Ray Belli explores the history of a common English word in around fifteen minutes.

Very Bad Words A podcast about swearing and our cultural relationship to it.

Lexitecture Ryan, a Canadian, and Amy, a Scot share their chosen word each episode.

Wordy Wordpecker Short weekly episodes from Rachel Lopez, charting the stories of English words.

Animology Vegan blogger Colleen Patrick Goudreau uses her love of animals as a starting point for exploring animal-related etymologies.

Translation

Speaking of Translation A monthly podcast from Eve Bodeux & Corinne McKay.

LangFM Stories of people from the world of language, including interpreters, translators, dialect coaches and many more.

Troublesome Terps The podcast about the things that keep interpreters up at night.

Back catalogues and Odds & Ends

There are also a number of podcasts that have only a few episodes, are no longer being made, or are very academic in their focus:

Language Creation Society Podcast (8 episodes, 2009-2011)

Given Names (four part radio series from 2015, all about names. My review)

Speculative Grammarian Podcast (from the magazine of the same name, about 50 episodes from Dec 2009-Jan 2017)

Linguistics Podcast (on YouTube, around 20 episodes in 2013 introducing basic linguistic concepts)

Evolving English: Linguistics at the Library (8 episodes 2018), from the British Library.

How Brands are Build (season 1 of this show focuses on brand naming)

The Endless Knot is not strictly a language podcast, but they often include word histories, fans of the Lingthusiasm colour episode may find their colour series particularly interesting

Word of Mouth (BBC 4, also available as a podcast)

LingLab (very occasionally updated podcast from graduate students in the Sociolinguistics program at NC State University)

Silly Linguistics (ad hoc episode posting, but episode 7 is an interview with Kevin Stroud for History of English fans)

WACC Podcast (guest lectures at Warwick Applied Linguistics)

Sage Language and Linguistics

Let’s Talk Talk

Queer Linguistics has a couple of episodes, with a bit of classroom vibe

GradLings An occasionally-updated podcast for linguistics students at any stage of study, to share their stories and experiences. 

This is a completely revised listing from March 2019, with some sporadic updates. I’m always excited to be able to add more podcasts to the list, so if you know of any linguistics/language podcasts not here, please let me know! (I usually wait until a show has at least 3 episodes before I add it to the list)

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So making vocab lists is great but then apparently you have to actually learn said vocab and idk to me it seems a little bit extreme

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Looking for french exchange pal!

Might be screaming into the void a bit here, but I’m (19, M) really wanting to find a native french speaker who can help me improve my french and who i can help with english in return! If you’re interested send me a DM telling me about you :) bonus points if you send a meme xox