French Proverbs Posted by Tim Hildreth on Sep 7, 2021 in Culture, Sports
It’s September. In France, that means la rentrée. Here in the US, September is also National Library Card Sign-up Month. Les bibliothèques1Libraries; not to be confused with les librairies which are bookstores are amazing places where you can find all sorts of wonderful content … including, at many, access to Transparent Language’s online learning portal. Learn more here.
Les proverbes français
Watching the great French movie Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain the other day reminded me of a back-to-school tradition from my days learning French.
I had une prof de français who liked to teach us un nouveau proverbe2a new proverb; don’t be confused by the final -e on proverbe, it is a masculine noun each week. Since many proverbs rely on historical and cultural context, they are a great way to flex your language muscle … and (at least according to Gina) “celui qui connaît bien les proverbes ne peut pas être complètement mauvais”3Those (the one) that know(s) their/the proverbs well, can’t be all/completely bad.
Here are the five proverbs from the film clip plus two more from my school days.
| Une hirondelle ne fait pas le printemps. | One swallow doesn’t make the spring. |
| L’habit ne fait pas le moine. | Clothes don’t make the monk (don’t judge a book by its cover) |
| A bon chat, bon rat. | A good cat requires a good mouse. |
| Petit à petit, l’oiseau fait son nid. | Little by little, the bird makes it’s nest. |
| Pierre qui roule, n’amasse pas mousse. | A rolling stone gathers no moss. |
| Cœur qui soupire n’a pas ce qu’il desire. | The heart that sighs doesn’t have what it desires. |
| Qui se ressemble, s’assemble. | Those that look alike, gather (Birds of a feather flock together) |
| C’est la fin qui couronne l’œuvre. | It’s the end that crowns the work (The ends justify the means) |
What other French proverbs do you know? Do you have a favorite? Let me know in the comments below.
Les Paralympiques
After Tokyo 2020(1), the 2020(1) Paralympic Games took place du 24 août au 5 septembre 20214from the 24th of August to the 5th of September. Les Bleus preformed well and ended the two week competition in 14th position with 54 médailles dont 11 d’or, 15 d’argent, et 28 médailles de bronze5medals including 11 gold, 15 sliver, and 28 bronze medals, twice as many as in the 2016 Rio games.
Les Bleus brought home le plus de médailles en tennis de table6Le saviez-vous/did you know? Table tennis players are called pongistes en français. et cyclisme7the most medals in table tennis (ping pong) and cycling.
You can read more and see all the results here.
- 1Libraries; not to be confused with les librairies which are bookstores
- 2a new proverb; don’t be confused by the final -e on proverbe, it is a masculine noun
- 3Those (the one) that know(s) their/the proverbs well, can’t be all/completely bad
- 4from the 24th of August to the 5th of September
- 5medals including 11 gold, 15 sliver, and 28 bronze medals
- 6Le saviez-vous/did you know? Table tennis players are called pongistes en français.
- 7the most medals in table tennis (ping pong) and cycling
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About the Author: Tim Hildreth
Since my first trip to France at 16, I have been a passionate francophile. I love the language, food, music, art, people, and more that make France and la Francophonie in general such an amazing part of our global community. Having lived in France and studied the language and culture for over 35 years, it is my great pleasure to be able to share a little bit of my deep love with you through this blog.