FRENCH WORDS AND PHRASES

French is the most beautiful language in the world. My love for this beautiful language actually began at the Grotto of Massabielle. It was at this holy place that I developed an intense love for this language. Learning a foreign language is no easy task and there must be a very special reason behind it. This is what gives meaning to learning. Without a specific purpose, learning a foreign language becomes almost impossible. Why do I want to master French when I can't even master my own language (Chinese)? The answer is simple. Because of my love for Our Lady and hence for Lourdes.

Come to think of it, the teaching and learning of maths and science in English in Malaysia is a failure despite the millions of ringgit spent on this project by the Malaysian Government because our Malaysian teachers and students do not have a special purpose for learning English. Learning English therefore becomes meaningless to them. One day, when they have found their purpose they will learn. The acquisition of a foreign language cannot be attained by force. The willingness to learn must come from the heart and soul.

Below is a list of some basic French expressions that may come in handy for the Lourdes pilgrims. In the brackets are the pronunciations of these words.

1. yes ------------oui(wee)
2. no ------------non(nawng)
3. okay ------------d'accord (dakor)
4. good morning/ afternoon ------------bonjour (bawngzhoor)
5. good evening ------------bonsoir (bawngswar)
6. good night ------------bonne nuit (bon nwee)
7. goodbye ------------au revoir (oa rervwar)
8. excuse me ------------excusez-moi (exkewzay mwa)
9. very good ------------tres bien (treh byang)
10. please ------------ s'il vous plait (seel voo pleh)
11. thank you (very much) ------------merci (beaucoup) mehrsee (boakoo)
12. you're welcome ------------de rien (de reang)
13. sometimes ------------quelquefois (kelkefwa)
14. someone ------------quelqu'un (kelkang)
15. something ------------quelque chose (kelker shoaz)
16. fortunately ------------heureusement (urrurzmahng)
17. of course ------------bien sur (byang sewr)
18. none ------------aucun (oakang)
19. never ------------jamais (zhameh)
20. now------------maintenant (mangtnahng)
21. immediately ------------tout de suite (too der sweet)
22. often ------------souvent (soovahng)
23. always ------------toujours (toozhoor)
24. probably ------------probablement (probablurmahng)
25. perhaps ------------peut-etre (pur tetr)
26. on the left/right ------------a gauche/a droite (a goash/a drwat)
27. Turn left ... ------------Tournez a gauche
28. a little ------------un peu (ang pur)
29. too much ------------trop (tro)
30. Why not? ------------Pourquoi pas? (poorkwa pa)
31. totally ------------totalement (totalmahng)
32. on foot ------------a pied (a pyay)
33. extremely ------------extremement (extremmahng)
34. equally ------------egalement (aygalmahng)
35. slowly ------------lentement (lahngtmahng)
36. a few days ------------quelques jours (kelker zhoor)
37. a week ------------une semaine (ewn sermayn)
38. every week ------------chaque semaine (shak sermayn)
39. today ------------ aujourd'hui (oh zhoor dwee)
40. tonight ----------- ce soir (suh swar)
41. tomorrow ------------ demain (dermang)
42. yesterday ------------ hier (ee yehr)
43. per day ------------par jour (par zhoor)
44. every day ------------ tous les jours (too lay zhoor)
45. breakfast ------------le petit dejeuner (ler pertee dayzhurnay)
46. lunch ----------- le dejeuner (ler dayzhurnay)
47. dinner ---------- le diner (ler deenay)
48. Help! ------------ Au secours! (oh skoor!)
49. black ------------noir (nwar)
50. blue ------------bleu (blur)
51. brown ------------marron (marawng)
52. green ------------vert (vehr)
53. gray ------------gris (gree)
54. orange ------------orange (orahngzh)
55. pink ------------rose (roz)
56. purple ------------violet (veeoleh)
57. red ------------rouge (roozh)
58. white ------------blanc (blahng)
59. yellow ------------jaune (zhoan)
60. air conditioning ------------la climatisation (la kleemateezassyawng)
61. light ------------la lumiere (la lewmyehr)
62. elevator ------------l'ascenseur (lassahngsurr)
63. swimming pool ------------la piscine (la peesseen)
64. bathroom ------------la salle de bains (la sal der bang)
65. kitchen ------------la cuisine (la kweezeen)
66. bedroom ------------la chambre (la shahngbr)
67. dining room ------------la salle a manger (la sa la mahngzhay)
68. botanical garden ------------le jardin botanique (ler zhardang botahneek)
69. castle ------------le chateau (ler shatoa)
70. church ------------l'eglise
71. fountain ------------la fontaine (la fawngtayn)
72. market ------------le marche (ler marshay)
73. museum ------------le musee (ler mewzay)
74. library ------------la bibliotheque (la beebleeotek)
75. bookshop ------------ la librairie (la lee breh ree)
76. car park ------------ le parking (ler par keeng)
77. police station ------------le commissariat de police (ler komeessarya der poleess)
78. post office ------------la poste (la posst)
79. hospital -----------l'hopital (lo pee tal)
80. travel agency ------------l'agence de voyages (lazhahngss der vwahyazh)
81. supermarket ------------ le supermarche (ler sewpehrmarshay)
82. pharmacy ------------ la pharmacie (la farmassee)
83. bridge ------------le pont (ler pawng)
84. pond ------------l'etang (laytahng)
85. river ------------la riviere (la reevyehr)
86. sea ------------la mer (la mehr)
87. waterfall ------------la cascade (la kaskad)
88. lake ------------le lac (ler lak)
89. mountain ------------la montagne (la mawngtan)
90. hill ------------la colline (la koleen)
91. beautiful ------------beau (boa)
92. boring ------------ennuyeux (ahngnweeyur)
93. ugly ------------laid (lay)
94. doctor ------------le medecin (ler maydsang)
95. hairdresser ------------le coiffeur (ler kwafurr)
96. without a passport ------------sans passeport (sahng passpor)
97. That's true ------------C'est vrai (seh vreh)
98. Not bad ------------Pas mal (pa mal)
99. I'd like a/an.... ------------Je voudrais... (zher voodray)
100. belt ------------une ceinture (ewn sangtewr)
101. blouse ------------un chemisier (ang shermeezyay)
102. hat ------------un chapeau (ang shapoa)
103. pants ------------un pantalons (ang pahngtalawng)
104. shirt ------------une chemise (ewn shermeez)
105. skirt ------------une jupe (ewn zhewp)
106. book ------------un livre (ang leevr)
107. dictionary ------------un dictionnaire (ang deeksyonehr)
108. pack of cigarettes ------------un paquet de cigarettes (ang pakeh der seegarett)
109. chocolate ice-cream ------------une glace au chocolat (ewn glass oa shokola)
110. hot chocolate ------------un chocolat chaud (ang shokolah shoa)
111. coke/ lemonade ------------un coca / une limonade (ang koka/ewn leemonad)
112. bottle of wine ------------ une bouteille de vin (ewn bootayy der vang)
113. calendar ------------ un calendrier (ang kalahngdreeay)
114. postcard ------------ une carte postale (ewn kart postal)
115. piece of cake ---------- un morceau de gateau (ang morsoa der gatoa)
116. liter of milk ------------ un litre de lait (ang leetr der leh)
117. jar of jam ------------ un pot de confiture (ang po dekawngfeetewr)
118. I'd like some... ------------ Je voudrais ... (zher voodreh)
119. bread ------------ du pain (dew pang)
120. butter ------------ du beurre (dew burr)
121. eggs ------------ des oeufs (day zur)
122. beef ------------ du boeuf (dew burf)
123. chicken ------------ du poulet (dew pooleh)
124. ham ------------ du jambon (dew zhahngbawng)
125. pork ------------ du porc (dew por)
126. sausages ------------ des saucisses (day soasseess)
127. pepper ------------ du poivre (dew pwavr)
128. salt ------------ du sel (dew sel)
129. sugar ------------- du sucre (dew sewkr)
130. honey ------------- du miel (dew myel)
131. milk ------------ du lait (dew lay)
132. It's raining ------------Il pleut (eel plur)
133. It's snowing ------------Il neige (eel nayzh)
134. It's sunny ------------Il fait du soleil (eel feh dew solayy)
135. a single room for one person ------------une chambre pour une personne
136. a double room for two persons ------------une chambre pour deux personnes
137. Where do I pay? ------------Ou dois-je payer? (oo dwazh payay)
138. How much is that? ------------C'est combien? (seh kawnbyang)
139. How are you? ------------Comment allez-vous? (kommahng ta lay voo?)
140. What's your name? ------------ Comment tu t'appelles? (kommahng tew ta-pel?)
141. How old are you? ------------ Quel age as-tu? (kel azh a tew?)
142. Where do you live? ------------ Ou est-ce que tu habites? (oo es kuh tew a beet?)
143. Can you help me? ------------ Pouvez-vous m'aider? (poo vay voo meh day?)
144. What time is it? ------------Quelle heure est-il? (kel ur ay teel?)
145. It's... ----------Il est... (eel ay...)
146. six o'clock ------------ six heures (see zur)
147. midday ------------ midi (mee dee)
148. midnight ------------ minuit (mee nwee)
149. What a lovely day! ------------Quelle belle journee! (kel bel zhoor nay!)
150. Merry Christmas! ------------Joyeux Noel! (zhwa yuh noh el!)
151. Happy New Year! ------------ Bonne Annee (bon a nay!)
152. Happy Easter! ------------ Joyeuses Paques! (zhwa yuz pak!)
153. I'll pay ... ------------Je paie ... (zher payy)
154. by cash ------------en liquide (ahng leekeed)
155. by credit card ------------avec une carte de credit (avek ewn kart der kraydee)
156. See you soon. ------------ A bientot (a byangtoa)
157. Do you speak English? ------------ Parlez-vous anglais? (parlay voo ahnggleh?)
158. Where is the hotel? ------------ Ou est l'hotel? (oo ay loh tel?)
159. I'd like to buy ... ------------ Je voudrais acheter ... (zher voodray ashtay)
160. That's all, thanks ------------ C'est tout, merci (seh too mehrsee)