Bonus(fr)

Christmas

le regalé un juguete

• I gave her a toy

Le Père Noël vit au pôle Nord.

• Santa lives at the North Pole.

J'aime la bûche de Noël.

C'est une bûche de Noël au chocolat.

1. The Yule Log is a European pagan tradition.

2. The Yule Log is a very well-known French dessert.

Flirting

C'est le prince charmant ! (He is Prince Charming!)

C'est mon prince charmant! (He is my Prince Charming!)

• Prince Charming : The figurative ideal man that women are supposedly waiting for.

• This is not really flirting per se, but it has a romantic meaning.

Tu t'appelles comment ? (What's your name ?)

Je peux vous offrir un verre ? (Can I offer you a drink?)

Voulez-vous aller prendre un verre ? (Do you want to go for a drink?)

J'aimerais vivre dans tes chaussures pour être avec toi à chacun de tes pas. (I would like to live in your shoes to be with you at your every step.)

Idioms

Many words or phrases cannot be translated literally between English and French because their usages are idiomatic. For instance, consider « Ça va ? », which means "How are you?" The literal translation of the French is "That goes?", but this is nonsensical in English. It is very important to identify idioms in both languages and learn how to translate them properly.

Ça va, ça vient. (It comes and goes.)

Même pas mal ! (Did not even hurt me! !)

C'est n'importe quoi. (This is nonsense.)

Je n'en crois pas mes yeux ! (I do not believe my eyes !)

Qui va à la chasse, perd sa place. ( He who goes to the hunt loses his place.)

Loin des yeux, loin du cœur. (Out of sight, out of mind.)

Les absents ont toujours tort. (The absent are always in the wrong.)

• Those who are absent will be the ones who will be accused of being wrong rather than those who attended the meeting!

• Those who win the victory are the ones who get to say what happened and they will write it their way.

L'herbe est toujours plus verte chez le voisin. (The grass is always greener on the other side.)

Elle va gagner les doigts dans le nez ! (She will win with her fingers in her nose. / She is going to win hands down. )

Cet enfant ne sait pas tenir sa langue. (This child does not know how to hold his tongue.)