A cup of coffee in a French café.

10 French phrases that will make your vacation in France so much more enjoyable

Or, “dix phrases françaises qui rendront vos vacances en France encore plus agréables”. 🙂 Summer is almost here and France is beckoning with it all its charm. Whether you are planning a weekend in Bordeaux, Paris or Nice, or elsewhere, you probably already thought about what French you do know. Maybe you are even contemplating…

Old gate and building in Bordeaux, France.

A visit around Bordeaux with accent and regional expressions in mind

One of the fun hurdles when learning nuances of a language is slang and regional expressions. This became very clear to me as I visited Bordeaux and heard expressions I would rarely or ever hear in the east and north. “Adieu” turned out to be the go-to expression for bye, and as I went back…

Office with sun and shadows.

J’ai un rendez-vous, mais ce n’est pas romantique

This word, rendez-vous, has an exciting history and it was borrowed into the English language centuries ago. In fact, as early as 1556, we can find this word in the History & Antiquities of Hengrave, Suffolk (1). Even then, the English (le anglais) enjoyed throwing French words around. Go figure that many who want to…

Institut Lumière - CINEMATOGRAPHE Camera

Ça alors, the number of French words in English

As I continue my adventure to learn French, I wonder just how many French words have made it into English. As a near-native English speaker, I realized that this could serve as a handy shortcut to make a mental connection between some English and French words. Or, to simply focus more on English words that…