Vocab Corner

I am a very lucky duck in that I have the opportunity to learn so much about the French language in such a relatively short time. In this section, I will share some of my favorite words with you, and explain how I learned them!

Cueillir (v) - to gather

This was one of the first words that I truly learned in France. I was in the middle of explaining to my host family that my grandparents are mushroom aficionados, and that they love to ¨hunt¨ mushrooms to eat. My host mother kindly informed me that the word for gathering a non-living food is ¨cueillir,¨ not ¨chasser.¨ ¨Chasser, c'est pour les animaux, jamais pour les champignons,¨ my host mother explained.

Now I know: ¨cueillir¨ is to gather, and ¨chasser¨ is to hunt. The two are never interchangeable!

Le suif (n) - tallow

I actually learned this word grâce à Boule de Suif, Maupassant's famous short story. The heroine, a maltreated prostitute, is known for son embonpoint (stoutness), and is therefore nicknamed "Boule de suif." Boule de Suif is full of rich vocabulary, in particular surrounding cuisine and military terms.

Le serrurier (n) - locksmith

This is just one of those fun words to master and whip out to stump your non-bilingual friends (we are working up to anticonstitutionnellement, the longest word in the French language.) With a ridiculous number of Rs, serrurier can very easily trip up an American tongue. Start with the word serrure (lock) and, once you feel confident that you don't sound too ridiculous, now add your ier. Easy peasy!