Parlez-vous franglais?: Christmas climate confusion

8:30pm. Un short, une bière fraîche et un arbre de Noel.

Vocabulary learned

I'm going to attempt to keep a record of useful words I've learned...hopefully having this will make me write them down!

L'os (m) - bone

Les betises (f.pl) - monkey business

sale (adj.) - dirty

La lave - lava

Une Couche - a nappy

Une arête - a fish bone

Une bique - little goat

Une Etoile de mer - Star fish

Un evier - a sink

Lisier - pig poo

Un coquelicot - a poppy

Une fete foraine - a fun fare

Un bouton manchette - Popper (on clothes)

Les Joyaux - jewels

Renifler - to smell (in an animal fashion!)

Un Singe - a monkey

Un Aigle Royal - golden eagle

Le rang social - social rank

caca - poo

Une formi - an ant

Une phrase de drague - a chat up line

Draguer - to chat up

Un requin - a shark

Une baleine - a whale

La canne à sucre - sugar cane

Le bazar - the mess

La profondeur - the depth

La longueur - the length

La largeur - the width

Une greffe - transplant/graft

Un portail - a gate

Tondre - to mow (the lawn)

Bouger - to move

Meublée - a furnished property

Pisser - to piss (rude in French, not in Creole!)

Un moustique - mosquito

Couler - to leak

Un frelon - a hornet

emprunter à - to borrow from

Prêter - to lend

Garer - to park (a car)

La fesse - bum

allonger - to lie down

un virage - a bend

violer - to rape

une montgolfière - a hot air balloon

un frein - a brake

la fraîcheur - the coolness (temperature)

une marmite - a bit cooking pot

Un/Une coquin(e) - little monkey!

le piment - chilli

un point - a stitch

un muguet - lily of the valley

amener qqcn - give smby a lift

les cacahuètes - peanuts

Un poireau - a leek (veg)

Couler - to leak

un nid - a nest

une abeille - a bee

un ventilateur - a fan

Le sol - the floor

Des carreaux - tiles (floor)

Un sac de couchage - sleeping bag

Un crapaud - a toad

télécharger - to download

accoucher - to give birth

un cafard - a cockroach

marrant(e) - funny/odd

s'enivrer (de) - to get drunk (on)

deposer - to put down

un avocat - an avocado/a lawyer

Une kiné - a physiotherapist

décorer - to decorate

remplir - to fill up

faire du bien à - to benefit/feels good

Une séance - a session

Gratter - to scratch

Une chauve-souris - a bat

Un matelas - a mattress

Clairement - clearly

Une limace - a slug

La connerie - stupidity (vulger)

Bouffer - to eat (fam)

Gaspiller - to waste

Entretenir - to look after/maintain

Coucher avec - shag/sleep with

Accoucher (de) - to give birth (to)

Frotter - to rub

Se frotter qqch - to rub one's (sthg)

Balader - to take sthg for a walk

Se balader - to go for a walk

Péter - to fart/to bust/to burst

terrible - terrible/tremendous

"pas terrible" - not that great

fainéant - lazy/layabout

kiffer - to like (fam)

craquer pour - to have a thing for.../to want

oh la vache -wow!

vache (adj) - mean nasty

la vache - bastard/bitch

la gueule - the mouth/the face

gueuler - to yell

se plaindre - to complain/moan/whinge

confit(e) - pickled/preserved/confit/crystalised (fruit)

un videur - a bouncer (club)

cul sec - a swig/bottom's up

râler - to moan (vulger)

râler(euse) - a grump/a moaner

pollison - mischevious

un oreiller - a pillow

Une taie d'oreiller - a pillow case

Caisse - toi - piss off!

Se Casser - to be off (casse toi - piss off!)

Pronunciation Problems:

Un Pou - louce

Un pouce - a thumb

Une puce - a flea

Un cou - neck

Un cul - arse

Une queue - a tail

Faux pas

I will attempt to update this with those languages learning moments that are purely embarrassing and/or hilarious, when you just want the ground to open up beneath your feet because you've told someone you've

'arsed on their door' instead of 'knocked on their door' - note to self cul = arse, coup = knock.

Man: "Comment est Cambridge? C’est pauvre, non?"
Moi: "Non, non c’est une ville très riche, j’y suis allée pour l’école pour cinq ans…"
Man: "Pourquoi?" (He sounded very confused at this point...)
Moi: "C’est près de chez moi, c’était une bonne école" etc etc.

I had no idea why this was all so weird for Monsieur Flip-Flop et Chausettes, until I realised he was talking about Cambodge (Cambodia) and not Cambridge. Oooops.

Thierry: "Peut-tu acheter des baleines avant d'aller a la banque?" (des baleines = whales!)

Moi: "baleines AVANT aller a la banque?! As-tu réservés les baleines? Ils sont sous un nom de 'Nathalie'?"

Theirry: "Noonn, juste les acheter a la magasin avant d'aller a la banque!"

He said 'bananes', not 'baleines'.

Good one Elizabeth.

Ilyan (2) hits Elizabeth.

Nathalie (Ilyan's mum) : "regarde comment Elizabeth est en colere"

*Elizabeth make dramatic angry gestures and expressions*

Nathlie: "Ilyan, est-ce que tu as deja vu Elizabeth fait le Hakka?"

(Ilyan, have you already seen Elizabeth do the Hakka...as in All Blacks dance)

Elizabeth hears: "Ilyan, est-ce que tu as deja vu Elizabeth fait caca?"

(Ilyan, have you already seen Elizabeth go for a poo?)

Everyone falls about laughing around the dinner table as I explain!

Potential house mate: 'Ma chambre est prise par une copain, mais on peut t'offre la chambre d'ami'

(My bedroom has been taken by a friend, but we can offer you......I understand 'our friend's bedroom')

Elizabeth: off I go into 'is the friend's bedroom in the same house and available for the same dates etc etc etc.'

Potential house mate: doesn't understand my message.

Elizabeth: google translates 'la chambre d'ami' - it's the guest room.

Numerous confused texts later...

Good first impression for housemates - TICK!

At a house party...sitting on the sofa opposite two guys. They tell me they live together and work together. I point out the obvious with a smile and said "et vous sortez ensemble" - which I thought meant "and you party together".

They frantically moved away from each other on the sofa and said 'baahh Noonnn!' - I'd just told them they "go out together", as in they were a couple.

Oops.

At Saint Denis Airport:

Lots of Air hostesses and a couple of Pilots walk past.

Niko: "Eh bahh voila les pilots de Corsairfly"

I heard: "Eh bahh voila sans culottes de Corsairfly"

(eng: ahh look, the Corsairfly staff without knickers)

Parlez-vous franglais?

Sunday, 20 November 2011

Christmas climate confusion

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