📱📱📱SMS En Français📱📱📱

Learning French? Need some cute children's books? The Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) has an app for children called Gallicadabra. The interface is all in French and so are the texts, which are 19th/early 20th century children's literature.

Chrome extensions I actually use as a mentally ill university student

Making websites easier to digest:

Dark Reader - Changes any webpage to dark mode.

Mercury Reader - Simplifies the layout of any webpage to eliminate distractions and irritating formatting.

Podcastle AI - Turns any article into a podcast. This is a lifesaver for being able to process what I’m reading, to be honest.

Spelling/grammar:

LanguageTool - Spelling and grammar check for those of us who regularly type in more than one language.

Grammarly - Spelling and grammar check for those of us who only type in English. Can be used with LanguageTool installed, which is what I do.

Google Dictionary - Define any word on the webpage with a double-click.

Google Translate - Translate an entire webpage or even just a short segment.

Misc:

AdGuard Adblocker - After trying quite a few adblocker options, this is the one I find the best.

The Great Suspender - Automatically suspend inactive tabs to help with performance. <- as an edit, I don’t believe this is available anymore

Honey - Try coupon codes automatically to save money on online purchases.

Built-in Chrome tab grouping - Group your tabs to keep organized and minimize distracting clutter.

Cozy Vocab in French

Some cozy vocabulary in French… so you can have a cozy evening!

une couverture - a blanket

une bougie - a candle

une tasse de café -  a cup of coffee

un thé - a tea

un chocolat chaud - a hot cocoa

les biscuits - cookies

une guimauve - a marshmallow

une pâtisserie - a pastry une cheminée - a chimney

les chaussettes - socks

un oreiller - a pillow

un livre - a book

un pull-over - a sweater

un nounours - a teddy bear

prendre une douche chaude - to take a hot shower

French Vocabulary - Basics

les jours de la semaine - the days of the week

lundi - Monday mardi - Tuesday mercredi - Wednesday jeudi - Thursday vendredi - Friday samedi - Saturday dimanche - Sunday

les mois - the months

janvier - January février - February mars - March avril  - April mai - May juin - June juillet - July août - August septembre - September octobre - October novembre - November décembre - December

les saisons - the seasons

le printemps - Spring l'été - Summer l'automne - Autumn l'hiver - Winter

les nombres - the numbers (1-10)

un - one deux - two trois - three quatre - four cinq - five six - six sept - seven huit - eight neuf - nine dix - ten

les couleurs - the colours 

rouge - red jaune - yellow bleu (m), bleue (f) - blue noir (m), noire (f) - black blanc (m), blanche (f) - white vert (m), verte (f) - green gris (m), grise (f) - grey marron - brown rose - pink

The colour (adjective) comes after the noun! English: the red car French: la voiture rouge

Le soleil est jaune. - The sun is yellow. La nuit est noire. - The night is black. La mer est bleue. - The sea is blue.

les interrogatifs - the question words

qui - who quoi - what pourquoi - why quand - when où - where comment - how combien - how much/many quel(le) - which/what

les expressions de base - basic phrases

Oui. - Yes. Non. - No. Bonjour. - Hello/Good day/Good morning. Bonsoir. - Good evening. Bonne nuit. - Good night. Salut! - Hi/Bye! Au revoir. - Goodbye. S'il vous plaît (formal) - Please S'il te plaît (informal) - Please De rien. - You’re welcome. Merci. - Thank you. Merci beaucoup. - Thank you very much. Bienvenu(e). - Welcome. A plus tard. - See you later.  A bientôt. - See you soon. A demain. - See you tomorrow. Je suis désolé(e). - I am sorry. Pardon! - Excuse me! Ça va? (informal) - How are you? Comment allez-vous? (formal) - How are you? Ça va. - I am fine. (Answer to “Ça va?”) Très bien. - Very good. Je vais bien. - I am fine. Pas mal. - Not bad. Mal. - Bad. Comment vous appelez-vous? (formal) - What is your name? Tu t'appelles comment? or: Comment tu t'appelles? (informal) - What is your name? Je m'appelle … - My name is … Enchanté(e)! - Nice to meet you! Vous êtes d'où? (formal) - Where are you from? Tu es d'où? (informal) - Where are you from? Je suis de … - I am from … Où habitez-vous? (formal) - Where do you live? Tu habites où? (informal) - Where do you live? J'habite à … -  I live in … Quel âge avez-vous? (formal) - How old are you? Tu as quel âge? (informal) - How old are you? J'ai ____ ans. - I am____years old. Parlez-vous français? (informal) - Do you speak French? Tu parles français? (informal) - Do you speak French? Je parle français. - I speak French. Je ne sais pas. - I don’t know. Bien sûr. - Of course.

♥French vocabulary : mystery ♥

Le mystère = mystery

mystérieux = mysterious

un secret, une arcane = a secret

cacher, dissimuler = to hide

murmurer, chuchoter = to whisper

un masque = a mask

une mascarade = a masquerade

les ténèbres, l'obscurité = darkness (both nouns are feminine)

un voile = a veil

la poussière = dust

l'éternité = eternity (feminine)

éternel = eternal

un mensonge = a lie

mentir = to lie

le temps = time

une épine = a thorn

un fil = a thread

la magie = magic

un spectre, un fantôme = a ghost

expliquer = to explain

découvrir = to discover

un trésor = a treasure

un conte = a tale

la fumée = smoke

croire = to believe

douter = to doubt

un miroir = a mirror

la vérité = truth

Gucci Campaign (with Ignasi Monreal)

Possessive Adjectives

16/3/2019

In English, possessive adjectives function differently than they do in French. In French, the adjective has to agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies. For example, the word “maison” is feminine so the possessive adjective is going to use the feminine version of the adjective. First, we take the version of “my” and translate it: “mon” (m.), “ma” (f.), or “mes” (m.&f.pl.). Now you have to choose which one to modify the noun with since the noun is feminine. The correct choice is “ma maison.” Here is a list of the possessive adjectives.

My:

Mon (m.)

Ma (f.)

Mes (m.&f.pl.)

Your (informal):

Ton (m.)

Ta (f.)

Tes (m.&f.pl.)

His/Her:

Son (m.)

Sa (f.)

Ses (m.&f.pl.)

Our:

Notre (m.&f.)

Nos (m.&f.pl.)

Your (formal):

Votre (m.&f.)

Vos (m.&f.pl.)

Their:

Leur (m.&f.)

Leurs (m.&f.pl.)

In my opinion, the trickiest one to remember is “leur/leurs” because you have to make sure the possessive adjective agrees with the noun it modifies and not the people involved. 

Example: Ils ont leur propre maison. > They have their own house. 

Example: Ils ont leurs propres maisons. > They have their own houses. 

Bien à vous !

Les nationalités

1. American▪︎américain/américaine

2. Argentinian▪︎argentin/argentine

3. Algerian▪︎algérien/algérienne

4. Australian▪︎australien/australienne

5. Austrian▪︎autrichien/autrichienne

6. Belarusian▪︎biélorussien/biélorussienne

7. Belgian▪︎belge/belge

8. Brazilian▪︎brésilien/brésilienne

9. Bulgarian▪︎bulgare/bulgare

10. Canadian▪︎canadien/canadienne

11. Chinese▪︎chinois/chinoise

12. Colombian▪︎colombien/colombienne

13. Canadian▪︎canadien/canadienne

14. Cuban▪︎cubain/cubaine

15. Czech▪︎tchèque/tchèque

16. Dane▪︎danois/danoise

17. Dutch▪︎néerlandais/néerlandaise

18. Egyptian▪︎égyptien/égyptienne

19. English▪︎anglais/anglaise

20. Estonian▪︎estonien/estonienne

21. Finn▪︎finlandais/finlandaise

22. French▪︎français/française

23. German▪︎allemand/allemande

24. Greek▪︎grec/grecque

25. Hungarian▪︎hongrois/hongroise

26. Icelandic▪︎islandais/islandaise

27. Indian▪︎indien/indienne

28. Irish▪︎irlandais/irlandaise

29. Italian▪︎italien/italienne

30. Japanese▪︎japonais/japonaise

31. Korean▪︎coréen/coréenne

32. Latvian▪︎letton/letonne

33. Lithuanian▪︎lituanien/lituanienne

34. Macedonian▪︎macédonien/macédonienne

35. Mexican▪︎mexicain/mexicainne

36. New Zealander▪︎néo-zélandais/néo-zélandaise

37. Norwegian▪︎norvégien/norvégienne

38. Pole▪︎polonais/polonaise

39. Portuguese▪︎portugais/portugaise

40. Romanian▪︎roumain/roumaine

41. Russian▪︎russe/russe

42. Scottish▪︎écossais/écossaise

43. Slovak▪︎slovaque/slovaque

44. Slovene▪︎slovène/slovène

45. Spanish▪︎espagnol/espagnole

46. Swede▪︎suédois/suédoise

47. Swiss▪︎suisse/suisse

48. Turk▪︎turc/turque

49. Ukrainian▪︎ukrainien/ukrainienne

50. Welsh▪︎gallois/galloise

i will do another fifty soon to include the ones i left out. please correct me if i made any mistakes!

A Trip to the Supermarket French Vocabulary

Rayon (nm.) - aisle, department

Tête de gondole (nf.) - aisle-end display

Étagère (nf.) - shelf

Caddie (nm.) - cart

Panier (nm.) - basket

Faire les courses (fixed exp.) - to do the groceries

Frigo vitrine (nm.) -  Refrigerated display case

Épicerie (nf.) - grocery store

Commerce (nm.) - store, trade

Supermarché, hypermarché (nm.) - supermarket

Ticket de caisse (nm.) - receipt

Code-barres (nm.) - bar code

Lecteur optique (nm.) - scanner

Caissier, caissière (nm./f.) - cash register

Rendre la monnaie (fixed exp.) - to give change

Tapis roulant (nm.) - conveyor belt

Caisse (nf.) - cashier

Espèces (nfp.) - cash

Produits alimentaires (nmp.) - food products

Produits d’entretien (fixed exp.) - household/cleaning products

Crémerie (nf.) - dairy section

Électroménager (nm.) - electrical goods

Produits surgelés (fixed exp.) - frozen products

Conserves (nfp.) - canned/tinned food

Plat préparé (nm.) - ready-made dishes

How did you get started? Did you have a teacher, did you self teach? And if so, what were the best resources you used to teach yourself? Is it hard finding books that help you learn?

I got started with French in high school, however I’ve learned the language mainly through teaching myself and tutors. I started teaching myself Chinese last year. Now I see a tutor once a week and continue to teach myself as well. Russian is kind of a hot mess atm so I’ll hold off on giving advice for that language haha!

In general I use a variety of books (textbooks and for fun books x x), YouTube (French | Chinese), tutors via italki or a language exchange partner via Tandem, Tumblr, Discord, etc. Here are also a few useful French and Chinese resources.

The most useful thing for me has always been a tutor or a language exchange partner, as it forces me to use the language and not just passively absorb information. That being said, any form of practising helps. There’s really no such thing as the best textbook or best method. Find a few resources that keep you interested and enjoy the ride :)