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Post by holger on Mar 30, 2008 12:16:36 GMT -5
;D
Merde is also one of my favorite words! But too many people know what it means so Lort which is the Danish equivalent, correct Gitte (?), is more satisfying since only my husband and children know what it means and I can use it more places.
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Post by annettecinca on Apr 7, 2008 19:39:41 GMT -5
I don't know why this word tickles me so...but I've recently learned "quelque chose" (something). I guess it's just the way it rolls off my tongue (or doesn't roll... ) that makes me giggle. It does not sound French to me!
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Post by MaisonMetz on Apr 14, 2008 20:21:50 GMT -5
My favorite French word is libellule (dragonfly). I like the lilting nature of the sound.
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Post by sunshine817 on Jul 6, 2008 19:56:48 GMT -5
My all-time favorite? Truc! (it means "a thingy" -- think "thingamajig" in English) -- because I can use it when my brain locks up and I can't think of the proper word for something...ummm, le truc por ouvrir les bouteilles du vin, for example. (the thing for opening bottles of wine) -- when I can't think of "tirer-bouchon" -- or anything else that gets jammed up in my head!
I used to use Merde in the office because I was the only soul out of 50 in the building who knew what I said. All was well until one day that was the first day in that company for a wonderful lady who was born and brought up in the Seychelles. When I swore at the copy machine (for the 10th time that day -- but always in some non-English epithet), she developed a case of the giggles that cascaded into peals of laughter -- she told me when she regained her composure that she hadn't heard anyone use Merde in years, but that it sounded like home to her!
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Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on Jul 6, 2008 20:35:46 GMT -5
Sunshine, what a useful word! (Is it pronounced "truck" or something close to that?)
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Post by sunshine817 on Jul 6, 2008 20:47:16 GMT -5
It's more like "trook" with the 'r' swallowed. But yes, I use it regularly!
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Post by kittyhead on Jul 6, 2008 21:31:30 GMT -5
oo truc, a new one! i love saying "tant pis" (too bad). i actually got to use it at a bookstore and a cookbook i was looking at wasn't available in english. and one i learned on my 1st trip was from watching TV: "salope", the word for b*tch. who said watching TV wasn't educational? lol
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Post by Anne on Jul 7, 2008 1:15:52 GMT -5
Becky, it is pronounced exactly as it is written, with the "u" pronounced the French way (or the German "ü" way, which is the same) . Synonyms to "truc" are "bidule" and "machin" . Just beware about "salope" : this is a really really insulting word, so you'd better forget it ...
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Post by kittyhead on Jul 7, 2008 6:45:32 GMT -5
hi anne, don't worry, salope is reserved for friends only ;D
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Post by greyghost1 on Jul 8, 2008 14:50:58 GMT -5
My fav word is: chaussures...because I like the sound when pronounced correctly and it's the first word after droit that a French person patiently worked with me to pronounce correctly. And I love buying them. In fact the clerk wouldn't let me complete the pruchase until I had pronounced it correctly. The second word is closely related: chaussette cause they go together I guess and I always mix them up in the store.
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Post by Darcy on Jul 8, 2008 22:10:25 GMT -5
I know what you mean. I always had to stop and think which is which too, but now I have it in my brain that 'ette', of course, is smaller, so that helps.
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Post by chicchantal on Jul 11, 2008 9:30:16 GMT -5
J'aime bien 'comme les vaches' que je ne peux pas ecrire entierement car je crains etre mis a la porte!
Et si quelqu'un aurait l'obligeance de me corriger les erreurs, je serais bien contente. . .
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