Wonderful French Words and Phrases

Kristin Espinasse and her golden retriever, Smokey

My blogger "friend" Kristin Espinasse has this subject well-covered, so I am posting today, mostly to direct my readers to her blogsite, French Word-A-Day, which is both chouette and interessant. Today, she posted another of her favorite French words, and she included a link to a past post where readers were invited to add their own favorite French words and phrases to a growing list. I've been reading through the list with reader comments and have rediscovered some of my personal old favorites in the process.

If you are a francophile and don't follow Kristin's blog, you should check it out. She is an American woman who fell in love with and married a French man, and writes about raising two kids together (and a sweet dog) in the South of France. Her stories are about everyday life experiences, always with the slant of being seen through the eyes of an American/French woman. Her posts are full of charm and joie de vivre - I truly look forward to reading them.

Here are the two words I added to Kristin's readers' list today:

"I love "vachement", meaning hugely, as in as much as a whole cow! My friends and I used it a lot when I was there in the late 70's for school, and now when I use it, French people laugh and say "Wow - you really do know the language!"

I also love "chouette" which is just so fun (i.e., "chouette"!!) I used to call my painting business "La Palette Chouette" (which I still love) but most Americans were baffled by both the name and pronunciation, so I changed it.

I am having the best time reading all of the other favorites. Many of them tickle my fancy, as well. Great list."
                                                  ~ Kate Dickerson

You can add your own favorites, too. I hope you enjoy this list as much as I did!