whycantifrench-blog

[whycantifrench-blog]

“No, That Baby Dinosaur Didn’t Crawl. But It Did Walk on 4 Legs As an Infant.” http://bit.ly/2HEzKs1

[whycantifrench-blog]

Italians are French in a good mood. • Jean Cocteau, French poet and filmmaker (1889-1963)

[whycantifrench-blog]

French verbs list

Here you can find 681 French verbs. I’m considering using this as a base to make similar lists of Russian and Ukrainian verbs (maybe Polish too if someone’s interested) but it will take some time to finish so stay tuned.

A

abaisser to lower abasourdir to daze, bewilder abattre to knock down abolir to abolish absoudre to absolve abstenir (s’) to abstain accepter to accept acclamer to cheer, acclaim accompagner to accompany accorder to admit accourir to hurry accrocher to hang (up) accueillir to welcome accuser to accuse, acknowledge acheter to buy achever to achieve acquérir to acquire adjoindre to appoint admettre to admit admirer to admire adorer to adore adresser to address advenir to happen affaiblir to weaken agacer to annoy agir to act aider to help aimer to like, to love ajouter to add aller to go aménager to fit amener to take amuser to amuse animer to bring to life (a party) annoncer to announce apercevoir to see apprendre par coeur to memorize apparaître to appear appartenir to belong appeler to call apporter to bring apprendre to learn approcher to approach approuver to approve (of) armer to arm arracher to pull up/out arraisonner to hail arranger to arrange arrêter to stop, arrest arriver to arrive assaillir to assail asseoir to sit down assister to attend assurer to assure astreindre to compel attaquer to attack atteindre to attain attendre to wait for attirer to attract attraper to catch augmenter to increase avancer to advance aventurer to venture avoir to have avoir besoin to need avoir raison to be right

B

baisser to lower alancer to sway balayer to sweep bâtir to build battre to beat bavarder to chat bêler to whine (like a sheep) bénir to bless blaguer to joke blâmer to blame blanchir to bleach blesser to hurt, offend boire to drink bouger to move bouillir to boil briser to break brosser to brush broyer to grind brûler to burn

C

cacher to hide casser to break causer to chat, cause céder to give up ceindre to put on célébrer to celebrate cesser to cease changer to change chanter to sing charger to load chasser to hunt, chase cheminer to walk on chercher to look for chérir to cherish choisir to choose chuchoter to whisper circoncire to circumcise circonscrire to contain circonvenir to circumvent clore to close coller to stick combattre to combat commander to order commencer to begin, to start commettre to commit comparaître to appear comparer to compare compléter to complete comprendre to understand compter to count, intend concevoir to conceive conclure to conclude concourir to compete conduire to drive confire to preserve confondre to confuse conjoindre to unite connaître to know conquérir to conquer conseiller to recommend consentir to consent considérer to consider consommer to consume construire to construct contenir to contain, to fit conter to recount continuer to continue contraindre to compel contredire to contradict contrevenir to contravene contrôler to control convaincre to convince convenir to convene correspondre to correspond corriger to correct corrompre to corrupt coucher to put to bed coudre to sew couper to cut courir to run coûter to cost couvrir to cover craindre to fear créer to create crier to shout croire to believe cueillir to gather cuire to cook culpabiliser to make one feel guilty

D

danser to dance débattre to debate décevoir to disappoint déchirer to rip décider to decide déclore to reopen déconfire to be beaten découdre to unpick décourager to discourage découvrir to discover décrire to describe dédire (se) to retract déduire to deduce défaillir to faint défaire to undo défendre to defend défricher to lay groundwork dégager to free déjeuner to have lunch demander to ask for déménager to move demeurer to live, stay démolir to demolish dénoncer to denounce départir to accord dépasser to exceed dépêcher to hurry dépeindre to depict dépendre to depend dépenser to spend déplaire to displease déranger to disturb descendre to descend désirer to desire, to wish désobéir to disobey dessiner to draw déteindre to bleach détenir to hold détester to hate détourner to divert détruire to destroy développer to develop devenir to become dévêtir to undress deviner to guess devoir to have to différer to differ diminuer to diminish dîner to have dinner dire to say diriger to direct discourir to discourse discuter to discuss disjoindre to disconnect disparaître to disappear dissoudre to dissolve divorcer to divorce donner to give dormir to sleep doubler to pass douter to doubt

E

échapper to escape échouer to fail éclore to hatch éconduire to dismiss écouter to listen écraser to crush écrire to write effacer to erase effrayer to frighten égayer to entertain élever to raise élire to elect éloigner to move away embrasser to kiss, embrace emmener to take émoudre to sharpen emparer to impare empêcher to prevent employer to employ, use empreindre to imprint emprunter to borrow enclore to enclose encourager to encourage encourir to incur endormir to fall asleep enduire to coat enfreindre to infringe enfuir (s’) to run away engager to bind enjoindre to enjoin enlever to remove ennuyer to bore, annoy énoncer to state enquérir (s’) to inquire enregistrer to record enseigner to teach ensuivre (s’) to ensue entendre to hear enterrer to bury entraîner to involve, to pull entreprendre to undertake entrer to enter entretenir to look after entrouvrir to half-open envoler to take flight envoyer to send épeler to spell épouser to marry épreindre to juice éprouver to test; to feel équivaloir to equal espérer to hope essayer to try essuyer to wipe estimer to estimate établir to establish éteindre to extinguish, turn off étendre to stretch étonner to astonish étourdir to stun, daze être to be étreindre to embrace étudier to study évaluer to evaluate éviter to avoid exagérer to exaggerate exclure to exclude excuser to excuse exiger to demand exister to exist expliquer to explain explorer to explore exprimer to express

F

fâcher to get angry faiblir to weaken faillir to lack faire to make, do falloir to be necessary feindre to feign féliciter to congratulate fendre to split, crack fermer to close feuilleter to leaf through fier to depend on finir to finish fixer to fix fonder to found fondre to melt forcer to force forclore to debar fouiller to dig deeply fournir to furnish, provide frapper to knock frémir to shudder frire to fry fuir to flee fumer to smoke

G

gagner to win, earn, gain garder to keep gaspiller to waste gâter to spoil geindre to groan geler to freeze gêner to bother gérer to manage goûter to taste grandir to grow gratter to scratch, grate grêler to hail grimper to climb gronder to scold guérir to cure

H

habiller to dress habiter to live haïr to hate hésiter to hesitate hoqueter to hiccup

I

ignorer to be unaware of, ignore imposer to impose inclure to include indiquer to indicate induire to mislead informer to inform inquiéter to worry inscrire to write down insister to insist instruire to instruct interdire to forbid intéresser to interest interroger to interrogate interroger to question interrompre to interrupt intervenir to intervene introduire to introduce inventer to invent inviter to invite

J

jaillir to spurt out jaser to chatter jaunir to turn yellow jeter to throw joindre to join jouer to play jouir to enjoy juger to judge jurer to swear, vow

K

kidnapper to kidnap klaxonner to honk

L

lâcher to loosen laisser to leave lancer to throw laver to wash lever to lift, stand lire to read loger to lodge louer to rent luire to shine

M

maigrir to lose weight maintenir to maintain manger to eat manquer to miss marcher to walk, to function maudire to curse méconnaître to be unaware of médire to malign méfier to mistrust mélanger to mix menacer to threaten mener to lead mentir to lie méprendre to mistake mépriser to scorn mériter to merit mesurer to measure mettre to put modérer to moderate monter to climb montrer to show moquer to mock mordre to bite moudre to mill, grind mouiller to wet mourir to die

N

nager to swim naître to be born naviguer to navigate négliger to neglect négocier to negotiate neiger to snow nettoyer to clean neutraliser to neutralize nier to deny noircir to blacken nommer to name noter to write down nouer to tie, knot nourrir to feed noyer to drown nuire to harm

O

obéir to obey obliger to oblige obtenir to obtain, to get occlure to occlude occuper to occupy offrir to offer oindre to anoint omettre to omit oser to dare oublier to forget ouvrir to open

P

paraître to seem parcourir to cover, travel pardonner to forgive parler to talk partager to share participer to participate partir to leave parvenir to reach passer to pass, spend time patiner to skate payer to pay pécher to sin pêcher to fish peigner to comb peindre to paint peler to peel pendre to hang pénétrer to enter penser to think percevoir to perceive perdre to lose périr to perish permettre to permit, to allow persuader to persuade peser to weigh pianoter to tap (like a piano) placer to put plaindre to pity plaire to please plaisanter to joke planter to plant, to crash pleurer to cry pleuvoir to rain plier to fold, bend plonger to dive poindre to dawn pondre to lay (an egg) porter to wear, carry poser to put posséder to possess poursuivre to pursue pousser to push pouvoir to be able prédire to predict préférer to prefer prendre to take préparer (parer) to prepare prescrire to subscribe présenter to introduce pressentir to have a premonition presser to squeeze prétendre to claim prêter to loan prévaloir (se) to pride oneself on prévenir to prevent prévoir to foresee prier to pray produire to produce projeter to project promener to walk promettre to promise prononcer to pronounce proposer to propose, suggest proscrire to prohibit protéger to protect prouver to prove provenir to come from, be due to puer to stink punir to punish

Q

quérir to summon quitterto leave

R

raconter to tell, recount ralentir to slow down ranger to arrange rappeler to recall rassurer to reassure rater to miss ravir to delight recevoir to receive reconduire to renew reconnaître to recognize reconstruire to rebuild recoudre to sew back on recourir to run again recouvrir to recover récrire to rewrite recueillir to collect, gather rédiger to write redire to repeat réduire to reduce réélire to re-elect refaire to redo réfléchir to think refléter to reflect refuser to refuse regarder to look at regretter to regret rejeter to reject rejoindre to rejoin relire to reread remarquer to notice remercier to thank remettre to put back (on) remoudre to regrind remplacer to replace remplir to fill rencontrer to meet rendre to give back renoncer to renounce renouveler to renew rentrer to return home renvoyer to dismiss répandre to spread, spill reparaître to reappear réparer to repair repasser to iron, to pass again repeindre to repaint repentir (se) to repent repérer to locate répéter to repeat répondre to answer reposer to rest reprendre to take again, to recover réprimander to reprimand reproduire to reproduce résoudre to resolve ressembler to resemble ressentir to feel rester to remain restreindre to restrict reteindre to dye again retenir to retain retourner to return réussir to succeed réveiller to wake up révéler to reveal revendiquer to take responsibility revenir to come back rêver to dream revêtir to put on revoir to see again riposter to counteract rire to laugh rompre to break rougir to redden, blush rouler to roll, to drive (a car) rouvrir to reopen

S

saillir to protrude saisir to seize salir to soil satisfaire to satisfy sauter to jump sauver to save, rescue savoir to know secouer to shake secourir to help séduire to seduce séjourner to sojourn sembler to seem sentir to feel, smell séparer to separate serrer to grasp, squeeze servir to serve siffler to whistle signaler to signal signer to sign signifier to mean skier to ski songer to dream sonner to ring sortir to go out souffler to blow, pant souffrir to suffer souhaiter to wish souiller to soil soumettre to submit sourire to smile souscrire to subscribe soutenir to support souvenir (se) to remember subir to undergo subvenir to provide for succomber to succumb sucer to suck suffire to suffice suggérer to suggest suivre to follow supplier to beg supporter to support, endure supposer to suppose surprendre to surprise survenir to occur survivre to survive survoler to fly over susciter to cause

T

tapoter to tap teindre to dye téléphoner to call tendre to strain, strive tenir to hold tenter to try, to tempt terminer to end tirer to pull tomber to fall tondre to shear, mow tonner to thunder toquer to knock tordre to twist toucher to affect tourner to turn tousser to cough tracer to draw traduire to translate trahir to betray traiter to treat, to negotiate transcrire to transcribe transmettre to transmit transparaître to show through travailler to work traverser to cross tressaillir to shudder tricher to trick, cheat tromper to deceive, mislead trouver to find tuer to kill tutoyer to use “tu”

U

unifier to unify unir to unite user to wear out utiliser to use

V

vaincre to defeat valoir to be worth vanter to praise varier to vary veiller to stay up vendre to sell venger to avenge venir to come verdir to turn green vérifier to verify verser to pour vêtir to clothe vieillir to age viser to aim visiter to visit vivre to live voiler to veil voir to see voler to steal, fly voter to vote vouloir to want vouvoyer to use “vous” voyager to travel

W

warranter to guarantee with a warrant

Z

zébrer to stripe zézayer to lisp zoner to zone

[whycantifrench-blog]

Hey, I was wondering how do you know wether or not pronounce the r in the ending of a word?? Like what’s the rules there? Or like how you know which pronunciation to use

hello,

you pronounce the -r :

from masculine adjectives : fier (proud), amer (bitter), noir (black), pair (even number), clair (clear/light)

from verbs of the second and third groups ending with -(o)ir : dormir (to sleep), finir (to finish), grandir (to grow up), fuir (to run away from)

from names in -a/o/ir : César, Médor (stereotypical dog name), Bachir

from nouns after -i/er : pair (m, peer), désir (m, desire), mer (f, sea)

from nouns after -our/eur : labeur (m, hard work + labor), cour (f, yard + royal court), amour (m, love), jour (m, day), peur (f, fear)

from prepositions : pour (for), par (by), sur (on)

from nouns borrowed from other languages : boxer (dog/job), catcher, footballer, monster (energy drink)… 

you don’t pronounce the -r :

from verbs of the first group ending with -er : manger (to eat) bouger (to move), calmer (to calm down), lier (to tie up/link up)

from monsieur/messieurs (sir-s)

from masculine names in -er : Roger, Béranger, Didier, Gautier

from job nouns in -(i)er : infirmier (nurse), boulanger (baker)

from masculine adjectives in -ier except if followed by a noun starting with a vowel : premier (first), dernier (last)…

hope this helps! x 

[whycantifrench-blog]

salut!!! what are some ways to use putain and bordel?

hello,

putain

+ de : as an adjective to translate fucking : il faut partir, où est ce putain de chat? (we need to go, where’s that fucking cat?)

as an interjection : putain! j’ai cassé un verre (fuck! i broke a glass) for any kind of context/emotion, at that point it’s punctuation

as a noun to translate hooker (f, rare/old), nowadays we say pute

bordel

+ de merde : as a satisfying swear (mais putain de bordel de merde, qu’est-ce que vous foutez? what on fucking earth are you doing?)

as a noun to translate a brothel (m, slang/rude, formal : une maison close)

as a noun to translate a mess (m, slang/rude : c’est quoi ce bordel? rangez vos merdes tout de suite. what’s that mess? clean this shit up rn) note : that mess can be either literal or figurative

hope this helps! x 

[whycantifrench-blog]

vouloir : to want, will

[whycantifrench-blog]

WE NEED YOUR HELP

One of Germany’s oldest forests is about to be destroyed for charcoal!

The Hambacher Forst is 12,000 years old and the oldest trees about 350 years old and is home to many animals and plants.

But now the energy company RWE wants to clear it to get charcoal for coal-fired Power stations.

There are 150 activists that try to save it but get brutally dispelled by 3500 policemen. 17 got arrested, many got hurt.

Please, sign the petition to stop the clearing!

https://aktion.campact.de/kohleaus/hambach-appell/teilnehmen?

https://www.change.org/p/hambacher-wald-retten-und-dich-das-klima-sch%C3%BCtzen

I’m sorry that it’s German, I hope it also works for those who don’t understand German or live in Germany.

[whycantifrench-blog]

Reading Practice

Le mur d'Hadrien: ici s'arrêtait l'Empire romain

All words are in order in which they appear in the article 

incontournable | unmissable

pierre(s) (f) | stone(s)

s’étire [inf. s’étirer] | stretch out

tendance (f) | tendency

se confond [inf. se confondre] | blend into [sth]

tort (m) | wrong

acquis (m) | benefit

étendu | vast

s’élevant [inf. s’élever] | rising

patrimoine (m) | heritage

ère (f) | era

réagi [inf. réagir] | reacted

imposant(e) | impressive

longévité (f) | life expectancy

dépasse [inf. dépasser] | taller than

pan(s) du mur (m) | wall face(s)

brume(s) (f) | mist

tronçons (m) | section(s)

jalonnée [inf. jalonner] | defined

témoignent [inf. témoigner] | bear witness

comté(s) (m) | county(-ies)

résolument | firmly

bucolique | bucolic

parsemé [inf. parsemer] | scattered

verdoyants | green

vertigineux | dizzying

itinéraire(s) (m) | route(s)

garanti | guaranteed

Please let me know if there are any mistakes or better translations!

[whycantifrench-blog]

Household Vocab

German - English - Spanish

s, Haus - house - la casa

s, Apartment - apartment - el piso/el apartamento

s, Schloss - lock - la cerradura

r, Briefkasten - mailbox - el buzón

e, Wand - wall - la pared

r, Boden - floor - el suelo

e, Decke - ceiling; blanket - el techo/la manta

e, Tür - door - la puerta

s, Fenster - window - la ventana

e, Treppe - stairs - las escaleras

s, Zimmer - room - la habitación

s, Wohnzimmer - living room - el salón de estar/el cuarto de estar

e, Lampe - lamp - la lámpara

s, Sofa - sofa - el sofá

r, Sessel - armchair - la butaca/el sillón

s, Telefon - telephone - el teléfono

s, Fernseher - TV - la tele(visión)

s, Steckdose - power outlet - el enchufe

s, Badenzimmer - bathroom - el baño

e, Dusche - shower - la ducha

s, Handtuch - towel - la toalla

r, Seife - soap - el jabón

r, Spiegel - mirror - el espejo

s, Schlafzimmer - bedroom - la habitación

s, Bett - bed - la cama

s, Bettlaken - bed sheet - la sábana

s, Kissen - pillow - la almohada

e, Komode - chest drawer - el tocador

s, Brett - shelf - la estantería

e, Küche - kitchen - la cocina

r, Stuhl - chair - la silla

r, Tisch - table - la mesa

r, Ofen - oven - el horno

r, Schrank - cupboard - el armario

r, Mülleimer - trash can - la basura

r, Kuhlschrank - fridge - la nevera

e, Wäsche - laundry - la colada

e, Waschmachine - washing machine - la lavadora

s, Gehalt - income - el salario

aufräumen - to clean up - limpiar

duschen - to take a shower - ducharse

schlafen - to sleep - dormir

kochen - to cook - cocinar

[whycantifrench-blog]

i’m speechless

This is how the system of white supremacy  operates. The media is used 2 create stereotypes like blk on blk crime.They need black men to fill jail cells for the Prison Indstrial complex

You know what? I’m tired of this. I do not know what exactly they are waiting for. I mean our government comes up with “reasons” to invade other countries, such as Syria, like their government is allegedly violating human rights or something like that. but… I mean for other countries, they do not even have to go deep to bomb the fuck out of this place, they can just look at our media. And this has been happening to people of color since the media has existed.

I’ll never forget this 👇🏾

[whycantifrench-blog]

ruisseler (v) - to flow, run, drip

luire (v) - to shine, gleam, glow 

étinceler (v) - to sparkle, shine, gleam 

rougeoyer (v) - to glow 

éblouir (v) - to dazzle, impress 

scintiller (v) - to sparkle, twinkle, shine 

éclore (v) - to bloom 

tourbillonner (v) - to whirl, swirl 

fredonner (v) - to hum 

éparpiller (v) - to scatter, strew 

éclairer (v) - to illuminate, shine 

onduler (v) - to ripple

[whycantifrench-blog]

Un petit french saying 🇫🇷

« La culture générale c’est comme de la confiture: moins t’en as, plus tu l’étales »

« General knowledge is like jam: the less you have of it, the more you spread it »

An expression used to make fun of narrow-minded people who think they know everything when making big crappy speeches for example

[whycantifrench-blog]

This is the unpopular animal girl- french please?

French Vocab: Les Animaux Moins Populaires

le babouin [m] | baboon

le calmar [m] | squid

la chauve-souris [f] | bat

la cigogne [f] | stork

le crapaud [m] | toad

l’escargot [m] | snail

le hérisson [m] | hedgehog

l’hippocampe [m] | seahorse

la méduse (comme le mythe grecque) [f] | jellyfish

le moineau [m] | sparrow

le morse [m] | walrus

la mouffette [f] | skunk (mais souvent confondue avec le putois)

la paon [m] | peacock

le phoque [m] | seal

le pivert [m] | woodpecker

le porc-épic [m] | porcupine

le sanglier [m] | boar

le tamia [m] | chipmunk

le tatou [m] | armadillo

le têtard [m] | tadpole

[whycantifrench-blog]

I just understood something at 2:00AM. If someone tries to make someone else feel like they are less valuable than them, then they are quantifying a person. Someone who sees quantity in a person must objectify them to do so. And someone who objectifies a person doesn’t understand the basics of what being a person is, a subject, thus isn’t qualified to give a judgment.

[whycantifrench-blog]

spotted on twitter

my sister wrote her ex bf’s name on our toilet paper because i quote ‘he deserves to be what i wipe my ass with’ only 11 years old…

- what’s the point of having a double bed if you’re going to sleep alone?

- where do you think the cat’s going to sleep

why ? you have four hours

in any case those are old buddies/vegetable gardens

i asked my roommates where the drying rack that’s been missing for a week is and here’s what they sent me

[whycantifrench-blog]

C'est une folie de haïr toutes les roses parce qu'une épine vous a piqué. — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry • It is madness to hate all roses because you were stung by one thorn. • 📷 @journeyintolavillelumiere

[whycantifrench-blog]

je souhaite manger des bonbons toute la journee et devenir immortel