French verb of the day : Exagérer

Pronunciation : [eg za zhay ray]

Definition 1 : to exaggerate, to amplify, to magnify, to overstate, to blow up, to make a fuss over nothing

Ex :

French verb of the day : Foncer

Pronunciation :  [fo(n) say]

Definition 1 : to darken/ to make deeper in colour, to grow/become darker

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French verb of the day : Jalouser

Definition : to envy, to be jealous of

Pronunciation : [zha loo zay]

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French verb of the day : Excursionner

Definition : to go on a trip/an excursion, to go for a walk/an outing.

Pronunciation : [ehk skur syuh nay]

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French verb of the day : Pousser

Pronunciation : [poo say]

Definition 1 : to grow

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French verb of the day : Fabuler

Definition : to fantasize, to imagine, to make things up, to invent stories, to tell tales, to lie

Pronunciation : [fah bu lay]

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French verb of the day : Bicher

Definition : (an informal verb) to be pleased/happy with oneself

Pronunciation : [bee shay]

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French verb of the day : Raffiner

Definition : to refine, to polish

Pronunciation : [rah fee nay]

Ex :

French map for kisses !

Photo credit : Combien de bises ?

In France, greetings come with kisses as you already know by now. To know when to kiss, you can read my article The Frenchies don't hug, they kiss.

Asa performed with Yannick Noah on FRANCE 2

Photo credit : Asa Official Facebook

Asa was on FRANCE 2 yesterday night for the programme "Un soir à la Tour Eiffel" ( in English : An Evening On The Eiffel Tower ) were she perfomed with French artist, Yannick Noah.

Le Skizz Family

Would like you to meet a group of up-and-coming French comedians who started individually on Vine by posting funny 6-second videos.

French verb of the day : Décrocher

Pronunciation : [day kruh shay]

Ex :

French verb of the day : Raccrocher

Definition 1 : (phone) to end a telephone conversation, to hang up; to hang back up;

Definiton 2 : to link, connect

Pronunciation : [rah kruh shay]

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French verb of the day : Ronfler

Definition 1 : to snore, to snort, to hum, to snooze

Definition 2 : to purr, to whine, to roar

Pronunciation : [ro(n) flay]

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French verb of the day : Gérer

Definition : to manage, to handle, to run something, to deal with

Pronunciation : [zhay ray]

Ex :

Carrément !!!

Carrément is a very word common in France.

I use it often myself but still, I find it difficult to get the perfect word in English that captures its meaning. I have been trying to do this article for a while now and have been lazy about it. Finally, I decided to give it a try tonight by giving several examples as it has several possible English translations.

French verb of the day : Flâner

Definition : to stroll, to hang around, to dawdle, to loiter around, to lounge around, to wander around

Pronunciation : [flah nay]

Ex :

Butt Plug art installed in Paris has been vandalised !

Photo credit : huffingtonpost.fr

So American artist Paul McCarthy erected his sculpture, called “Tree” in Place Vendôme in Paris on Thursday. But the Frenchies do not appreciate this art being exposed in public because of it's resemblance to a sex toy. They feel humiliated that a giant inflatable butt plug disguised as a Christmas tree could be placed next to a great art work like the statue of Napoleon in the famous Paris square.

French verb of the day : Pallier

Definition : to overcome, to get round, to compensate for

Pronunciation : [pah lyay]

Ex :

French verb of the day : Frôler

Definition : to to brush past, to brush against, to skim past, verge on

Pronunciation : [fro lay]

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French verb of the day : Affaler

Definition : to lower, pull down

Pronunciation : [ah fah lay]

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French verb of the day : Apprêter

Definition : to get/be prepared; to finish; to get ready to do something

Pronunciation : [ah pray tay]

Ex :

Napoléon Bonaparte

Photo credit : wikipedia

Napoléon Buonaparte is a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the latter stages of the French Revolution and its associated wars in Europe.

Le Sacre de Napoléon !

This a picture of Beyoncé, Jay-Z and Blue Ivy at the Louvre in front of the famous painting "The Coronation of Napoleon" in Paris on October 7.

The Carter family at le Louvre !

Jay-z and Beyoncé wrapped the On The Run Tour in mid-September in Paris. Not in a rush to leave the Capital of France, they have stayed back to enjoy a family time together.

Line Renaud & Stromae discover their wax statues at the Grévin Museum, Paris

Crédits photo : Chartsinfrance.net

Belgian singer Stromae and French singer and actress Line Renaud attended their waxwork unveiling at Musée Grevin this October 12, 2014 in Paris.

5 Most Popular Albums of 2014 in France

French's National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing (SNEP : Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique) has announced the most sold album of this year in France.

French verb of the day : Nouer

 

Definition : to tie, knot, fasten; to form, hatch, build up

French verb of the day : Se débrouiller

Pronominal verb

Les Pieds-Noirs de la France !

Source : wikipedia

My mother-in-law is often refered to as Pied-Noir when talking about my husband's family history. Curious about the meaning of this expression I asked my husband what it means and also did a bit of research on my own.

Aymeric Caron humilie Eric Zemmour

Aymeric Caron & Eric Zemmour

Eric Zemmour, notorius French writer and political journalist was humiliated on national tv on Friday 4th of octber.*

French verb of the day : Constater

 Definition 1 : to take note, to notice, to observe,

• Constater les dégâts - assess the damage
• Constater une infraction - discover an infringement, detect an infringement

Story of a French chocolate cake called « meringue au chocolat »

Source : 750g.com

There is a chocolate cake sold in French boulangeries called « meringue au chocolat » or « tête choco ». This cake was called « tête-de-nègre » until the seventies before it was renamed.

French verb of the day : Détraquer

Definition 1 : to damage, put out of order, to break down

Definition 2 : to perturb, to upset

Americans with French lovers

Photo source : plaire.amisintimes.com

I decided to do a little piece today on American stars dating or married to Frenchies.

Prince Albert II & Princess Charlene of Monaco are expecting twins

Photo : source : grazia.fr

Prince Albert II, 56, and his wife, Princess Charlene of Monaco, 36, are expecting twins. 

Chez le médecin ou à l’hôpital ?

Source : pilieratcat.qc.ca

One winter morning, I woke up with a very bad cold and a severe headache. Luckily, when I called my doctor's secretary, she was able to give me an appointment by fixing me inbetween two people that afternoon. 

French verb of the day : Décoiffer

Defination 1 : to tousle/mess up/ruffle/to undo one's hair, to take one's hat off

Defination 2 : to surprise, shock

Pronunciation : [day kwa fay]

J'aime ce truc !

The word Truc is one of my favorite French word. I first heard it in 2008 while I was working at the French School of Lagos. Some group of students asked me if they could leave the permanence class that I was supervising to go to the library to study. I told them no because I had earlier got a call from the library attendant asking me not to send anymore student to them as the whole place was filled up.

My government is pro-business !

The French are talking about how impeccable their prime minister's English was during his visit to London. Funny thing is the guy only spoke a sentence in English.

French verb of the day : Raffoler

Raffoler : to love, to adore, to delight in, to be keen on, wild about, be crazy about

Pronunciation : [rah fuh lay]

Que dalle !

Que dalle in French means nothing, nothing at all, absolutely nothing, etc,. It is an informal expression that can be used with family and friends. It's a slang used mostly by young people in France and the tone of the voice determines if the speaker is being vulgar or not... It shouldn't be used in formal settings, like when talking to your boss, except you use buddy when you talking to him/her. LOL! 

French Minister of Justice makes a face on Live TV

I just watched this funny video of French Minister of Justice, Madame Christiane Taubira, who made a funny face (faire la grimace à quelqu'un - to make a face at som) on Live Television.

L' Histoire d'un amour infiniment pur

This video made me cry the very first time I watched and it still makes me cry everytime I watch it. Love can be a beautiful thing if we let it...

Jacques Chirac & his wife choose different candidates for the French 2017 presidential election

Former French president came out on Thursday in support of his former prime minister and political protégé Alain Juppé, while his wife Bernadette, is a big fan of Nicolas Sarkozy's who was Chirac’s interior minister before becoming president in 2007.

French couple, step-mum & step-son are married !

A French couple, who were once step-mother and step-son, tied the knot on Saturday 4th of October in a small village called Dabo in Alsace-Lorraine, in France.

Eiffel Tower now has transparent glass floors !!!

Eiffel Tower's first floor was unveiled to visitors this Monday with new see-through floor. Visitors can now look down through a solid glass floor to the 57 meters (187 feet) below.

I don't care !

It's unbelieveable how many different ways one has to say « I don't care »  in French. From polite, to rude, to vulgar, there are different expressions to say one isn't interested in someone or in something...

Thousands march to defend "traditional family values" in Paris

Tens of thousands took to the streets in Paris and Bordeaux yesterday to demonstrate against what they call the government’s “anti-family” policies. The protesters, including a mix of hardline Catholics and traditional conservatives, declared their opposition to assisted pregnancies such as IVF and surrogacy for same-sex families.

French verb of the day : Découdre

Découdre : to take stitches out, unpick, (literary, in jest) to fight, do battle

Pronominal: se découdre - to come unstitched, to come apart

Pronunciation : [day koodr]