{"id":22383,"date":"2015-08-26T13:55:31","date_gmt":"2015-08-26T11:55:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=22383"},"modified":"2017-10-23T16:20:52","modified_gmt":"2017-10-23T14:20:52","slug":"help-attention-urgence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/help-attention-urgence\/","title":{"rendered":"Help! Attention! Urgence!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many medical and emergency<\/a> words are similar in French, but they are also different enough to lead to major confusions. M\u00e9decin<\/strong> doesn’t mean medicine and an emergency is urgent, but in French it’s l’urgence<\/strong> that takes the name.<\/p>\n

That last sentence is confusing because of all the closely related words that are nearly the same, but\u00a0 different enough to trip people up:<\/p>\n

Doctor \u2013 le m\u00e9dicin
\nMedicine \u2013 le m\u00e9dicament
\nEmergency \u2013 une urgence<\/p>\n

When you get to la pharmacie<\/strong><\/a>, there will be some more things that will be confusing, especially for North Americans. If you need des analg\u00e9siques<\/strong> (painkillers) and ask for du Tylenol<\/em>, le pharmacien<\/strong> (the pharmacist) won’t understand. You need to ask for du parac\u00e9tamol<\/strong> if you want some Tylenol!<\/p>\n

If you have a prescription, don’t be fooled by the -tion<\/em> ending! A prescription is une ordonnance<\/strong>! Heuresement<\/strong> (fortunately), it’s easy to say what you’re allergic to with the formula \u00eatre allergique \u00e0 ______<\/strong>. You can put any food or m\u00e9dicament in the blank and you will be understood.<\/p>\n

Je suis allergique \u00e0 tout !<\/p>\n

I’m allergique to everything!<\/em><\/p>\n

Before you get to la pharmacie<\/strong>, chez le m\u00e9dcin<\/strong>, or l’h\u00f4pital<\/strong>, you need to know how to say what’s wrong. A common difference between French and English is switching between when you have to use \u00eatre<\/strong><\/a> (to be) and avoir<\/strong><\/a> (to have).<\/p>\n

Par exemple :<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have<\/strong> the flu.
\nI have<\/strong> a cold
\nI am<\/strong> cold.<\/p>\n

En fran\u00e7ais :<\/strong><\/p>\n

J’ai<\/strong> la grippe.
\nJe suis<\/strong> erhum\u00e9.
\nJ’ai<\/strong> froid.<\/p>\n

You can always say je suis malade<\/em><\/strong> (I am sick) if you’re not sure how to express what’s wrong. Mais en g\u00e9n\u00e9ral<\/strong> (but in general), aches and pains are expressed with:<\/p>\n

le mal \u00e0 _____<\/p>\n

Filling in the blank with whatever body part hurts. A headache is le mal \u00e0 la t\u00eate<\/strong>, a stomachache \u2013 le mal \u00e0 l\u2019estomac<\/strong>, a toothache \u2013 le mal aux dents<\/strong>, etc.<\/p>\n

Saying you have an ache of some sort is then easy, just rememeber to take off the article le<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

J’ai mal \u00e0 la t\u00eate.
\nI have a headache.<\/em><\/p>\n

The same rules apply for la gueule de bois<\/a><\/strong> (a hangover), but remembering le vocabulaire<\/strong> when vous avez le mal partout<\/strong> (you ache everywhere) can be difficult.<\/p>\n

If there’s any medical or emergency related topics you’d like me to cover in future articles, be sure to laisser un commentaire<\/strong> (leave a comment) below!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Many medical and emergency words are similar in French, but they are also different enough to lead to major confusions. M\u00e9decin doesn’t mean medicine and an emergency is urgent, but in French it’s l’urgence that takes the name. That last sentence is confusing because of all the closely related words that are nearly the same…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":22384,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22383","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vocabulary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t