| français | English | Cymraeg | Brezhoneg |
|---|---|---|---|
| baver; tomber goutte à goutte | to dribble | diferu; dafnio | babouzat |
| dribbler | to dribble (football) | treiglo; driblo; driblan | dribiliañ |
| le plombage | filling (in tooth) | llenwad | plomadenn |
| le porche; la véranda | porch | porth; cyntedd; portsh | porched; chambarleg; heolienn |
| la porte d’entrée (maison); la portière avant (voiture) | front door | drws ffrynt | dor-dal |
| la porte de derrière | back door | drws cefn | dor a-dreñv |
| le château; le manoir | mansion | plas; plasty | castell; maner |
| le commerce équitable | fair trade | masnach deg | kenwerzh reizh |
| la pleine lune | harvest moon | lleuad fedi; lleuad y nawnos olau; lleuad gynhaeaf | loargann |
| la bouilloire | kettle | tecell; tegell | kitell, pod-berver |
| c’est une autre paire de manches | that’s another kettle of fish | peth arall yw hynny | ur c’hoari all eo an dra-se |
| la colonne vertébrale | spine (of person/animal) | asgwrn cefn | livenn-gein |
Category: French (français)
Les mots de la semaine
| français | English | Cymraeg | Brezhoneg |
|---|---|---|---|
| l’allée (f) | aisle (in a church or theatre) | ystlys; eil | ale |
| le couloir | aisle (on plane, train or bus); corridor | eil; coridor | trepas |
| le moteur à réaction | jet engine | peiriant/motor jet | |
| la fatigue due au décalage horaire | jet lag | jetludded | skuizh dale-eur (?) |
| souffrir du décalage horaire | to be jet-lagged | bod yn jetludded | gouzañv skuizh dale-eur (?) |
| la vérité finit toujours par se savoir | the truth will out | fe ddaw’r gwir i’r golau; taer yw’r gwir am y golau | |
| s’en sortir très bien | to come up smelling of roses | ||
| à fourrure | furry (covered with fur) | blewog | blevenneg |
| poilu(e) | furry (tail, body) | blewog | blevenneg |
| en peluche | furry (toy) | ffyrraidd | grognonet |
| se retirer son permis de conduire | to be disqualified from driving | gwahardd rhywun rhag gyrru | |
| être casse-pieds / emmerdant | to be a pain in the neck | bod yn bigyn yn dy glust di | bezañ torr-penn |
| vitalité | vitality | bywiogrwydd; sioncrwydd | buhezegezh |
| la veuve | widow | gweddw | intañvez |
| le veuf | widower | gwr gweddw | intañv |
| le boudin noir | black pudding | pwdin gwaed | gwadegenn |
La gueule enfarinée
I discovered an interesting French expression yesterday while ferreting around in the dictionary – la gueule enfarinée, which literally means ‘the floured mouth’, but actually refers to someone who is ‘wet behind the ears’, i.e. new, untrained, inexperienced, immature, innocent, callow or naive (synonyms from The Chambers Thesaurus).
The word gueule usually refers to the mouth of an animal, and is also a slang word for the human mouth, which is normally bouche. Equivalent words in English include gob, mug, snout, cakehole, kisser, trap, etc – do you have any others? It comes from the Old French gole, from the Latin gula (gullet, throat, gluttony, palate), which is also the root of the English word gullet.
Why having a floury mouth is a sign of being inexperienced is a mystery to me. Does anyone know the origins of this expression?
Les mots de la semaine
| français | English | Cymraeg | Brezhoneg |
|---|---|---|---|
| le campus; le cité universitaire | campus | campws | kampus |
| les vents | wind (flatulence) | gwynt | avel |
| le casse-croûte | snack | byrbryd; tamaid | torr-naon; adlein |
| casser la croûte / la graine | to have a bite/something to eat | cael tamaid | debriñ ur begad |
| grignoter | to snack | cael tamaid; cael pryd ysgafn | krignat |
| l’amuse-gueule (m) | appetizer; nibble | mymryn; briwsionyn | lipaj |
| le moucheron | midge | gwybedyn mân | c’hwibu |
| gardien(ne); concierge | caretaker | gofalwr | gourner; porzhier |
| la dialyse | dialysis | dialysis | dializ |
| la gravité; le pesanteur | gravity | disgyrchiant | graviter |
| en propriété libre | freehold | rhydd-ddaliadol; rhyddfreiniol | |
| loué/donné à bail | leasehold | prydles | |
| la douve | moat | ffos | douvez; tuv |
| le cambriolage | burglary | lladrad | laerezh en tiez |
| pratique | handy (object) | hwylus; hylaw | boazmant; pleustr |
Back in Bangor
I’m now back in Bangor after a very enjoyable and interesting week at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. We learnt 15 songs during the week, so the course wasn’t as intensive as the one I did last year when we learnt twice as many songs, and we learnt about the background of the songs, and even saw some of the places about which they were written, or which are mentioned in them.
There wasn’t much Gaelic spoken in the class, which was mainly in English, but I spoke Gaelic with various other people and feel more confident about speaking it now. As well as Gaelic, I also got to speak some Japanese, French, German, Irish and Manx, which was fun. When I’m speaking Scottish Gaelic and I can’t think of words I often use Irish ones, which are usually very similar as the two languages are very close. I even had one conversation in a mixture of Irish and Scottish Gaelic with an Irish man who speaks both, which was a little confusing.
Les mots de la semaine
| français | English | Cymraeg | Brezhoneg |
|---|---|---|---|
| le bassin | pond (small) | pwll | poull |
| l’étang (m) | pond (larger) | llyn | stank; lenn; loc’h |
| la mare aux canards; la canardière | duck pond | pwll hwyaden | poull houad |
| le nymphéa le nénuphar |
water lily | lili’r dwr; alaw | loar-zour; skudell-zour |
| la grotte la caverne |
cave | ogof | mougev; megin; kavarn |
| la peinture rupestre | cave painting | paentiad mewn ogof | liverezh-reier |
| l’homme des cavernes le troglodyte |
cave dweller | preswylydd ogof | tud ar mougevioù |
| la periode glaciaire | the Ice Age | Oes yr Iâ; Oes y Rhew | marevezh ar Skorn-bras |
| le guerrier | warrior | gwron; rhyfelwr; milwr | brezeler |
| enchanté; ravi | delighted | balch; llawen; wrth dy fodd | plijet bras |
| en service | on duty | ar ddyletswydd; ar wasanaeth; ar alwad | o vont |
| le grimace le froncement de sourcils |
frown | gwg; cuwch; cilwg | ard; grim |
| froncer les sourcils | to frown | gwgu; cuchio; crychu talcen; cilygu | ardaouiñ |
| le sous-traitant | sub-contractor | isgontractwr; isgytundebwr | eilkevratour |
| sous-traiter | to subcontract | isgontractio; isgytundebu | eilkevratiñ; eil tretañ; eil feuriañ |
Water lilies, nymphs and blue lotuses
There was talk of ponds and water lilies last night at the French conversation group and I discovered that one French word for water lily is nymphéa [nɛ̃.fe.a], which comes from nymphaea the Latin name for this genus of plants. The Latin word comes from the Ancient Greek word νύμφη (nymphe), which means girl, and also refers to a low ranking female deity who haunts rivers, springs, forests and other places [source].
Nymphéa refers specifially to the white water lily, or nymphaea alba, which also known as the European White Waterlily, White Lotus, or Nenuphar, a name that is also found in French: nénuphar [ne.ny.faʁ], and which comes via the Persian نيلوفر (ninufar) or the Arabic نلوفر (nilufar), from the Sanskrit नीलोतपल (nīlotpala – blue lotus), from नील (nīla – blue-black) and उतपल (utpala – lotus) [source].
Many names for plants in French come directly from Latin, whereas in English many plants have common names and Latin names. In other languages do plants have both common and Latin-derived names, or just one or the other?
Petit chenapan!
Last night at the French conversation group we were discussing how to say rascal in French, because one of the beers being served last night is called rascal. I found quite a few possible translations, each of which has slightly different meanings:
- vaurien = good-for-nothing, scoundrel; (to child) petit vaurien ! = you little devil!
- fripon = [n] rogue; [adj] mischievous, roguish; (to child) petit fripon ! = you little scamp/rogue!
- polisson = [adj] mischievous, cheeky; saucy, naughty – une chanson polissonne = a racy saucy song; [n] little devil / rogue / scamp
- gredin = rascal, rogue
- maraud = rascal, rapscallion
- chenapan = rascal, rogue, scoundrel (humourous)
- bélître = rascal; dandy
- canaille = [adj] roguish; coarse, vulgar; [n] scoundrel, crook – petite canaille ! = you little devil / rascal!
The English word rascal, which I particularly like the sound of, comes from the Anglo-Norman word rascaile, from the Middle French rascaille (rabble, common people), possibly from the unattested verb *rasquer (to scrape).
Children are often the ones called rascals or little rascals in English. Is it the same in other languages, if they have similar words?
Les mots de la semaine
| français | English | Cymraeg | Brezhoneg |
|---|---|---|---|
| coquin; fripon; polisson; vaurien | rascal; scamp | dyn drwg; cnaf; cenau; dihiryn | lañfre; lachefre |
| petit chenapan! | little rascal! | y gwalch bach! y mawrddrwg! yr ellyll bach! | |
| déchiffrer; décrypter | decipher | datrys; dehongli | disifrañ |
| toutes les deux semaines | every other week | bob yn ail wythnos | |
| un(e) … sur deux | every other … | bob yn ail … | |
| la date/heure limite; le délai | deadline | dyddiad cau; adeg cau; pen set | deiziad/eurioù diwezhañ; termen |
| le numéro d’immatriculation | registration number | rhif cofrestru | niverenn-varilh |
| la plaque d’immatriculation | number plate | plât rhif | plakenn-varilh |
| piloter (un avion) | to fly (a plane) | hedfan (awyren) | pilotañ |
| voler | to fly (planes, birds) | hedfan | nijal |
| aller en avion | to fly (by plane) | hedfan | mont da karr-nij (?) |
| le tableau de bord | dashboard | borden flaen; panel deialau | |
| la cachette | hideout | cuddfan; cuddfa | kuzhiadell; kuzh; toull-kuzh |
Les mots de la semaine
| français | English | Cymraeg | Brezhoneg |
|---|---|---|---|
| le tonnerre et la foudre | thunder and lightning | mellt a tharanau | kurun e luc’hed |
| l’éclair (m) | a flash of lightning | mellten; llucheden | luc’hed, foeltr |
| l’éclair en zigzag | forked lightening | mellt fforchog | |
| l’éclair en nappe(s) | sheet lightening | dreugiau | |
| être foudroyé | to be struck by lightning | wedi ei daro gan mellt | |
| le paratonnerre | lightning conductor | rhoden fellt/luched | diskuruner; par(a)gurun |
| la cannaberge | cranberry | llugaeronen; cryglusen | |
| le projet | plan (intention) | bwriad | raktres |
| la maison jumelée | semi-detached house | ty pâr | |
| le fer à cheval | horseshoe | pedol (y march) | houarn-marc’h |
| le serment | oath (formal promise) | llw | le |
| la brouette | wheelbarrow | berfa; whilber | chirigot |
| entraînant | catchy | cofiadwy; bachog | joudoul |