{"id":32027,"date":"2020-06-02T05:30:06","date_gmt":"2020-06-02T03:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=32027"},"modified":"2020-05-31T01:32:21","modified_gmt":"2020-05-30T23:32:21","slug":"french-vocabulary-in-the-street","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/french-vocabulary-in-the-street\/","title":{"rendered":"French Vocabulary – In the street"},"content":{"rendered":"

The other day I was out for a walk and practicing my French\u00a0en m\u00eame temps<\/strong> (at the same time)<\/em> by naming all the things I could\u00a0 see.\u00a0Les arbres, les plantes, le ciel, le soleil, des bo\u00eetes aux lettres, et la rue\u00a0<\/b>(The trees, the plants, the sky, the sun, mailboxes, and the street).<\/em> When I got to\u00a0la rue<\/strong> I wondered …<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Rue, avenue, ou boulevard\u00a0?<\/strong><\/p>\n

De nos jours<\/strong> (Nowadays<\/em>, lit. Of our days<\/em>) these words are often used interchangeably. But they historically have distinct meanings1<\/a><\/sup>and just to be clear, where I live, they are definitely\u00a0rues.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Une rue<\/strong> is generally smaller, usually narrower and has few if any side streets. Rue<\/strong> is also the most generic term for\u00a0street.<\/em><\/p>\n

Une avenue<\/strong> is a large urban\u00a0voie<\/strong> (way),<\/em> often bordered by trees (like the Avenue des Champs-Elys\u00e9es) and leading somewhere of importance, like a monument, that often gives the avenue its name … comme l’avenue de l’Op\u00e9ra \u00e0 Paris<\/b> (like the Avenue of the Opera in Paris).\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Un boulevard<\/b> was traditionally a road that ran along the fortifications of a city or was laid over the foundations\/former placement of such fortifications. As such boulevards were often circular (like the boulevard P\u00e9riph\u00e9rique<\/a>), though over time this changed.<\/p>\n

En voil\u00e0 du nouveau …<\/strong> \/ Here’s a new one …<\/em> As France begins opening up<\/a>, some are taking their pent up demand to les rues<\/strong> in the form of an updated version of the classic French ap\u00e9ro<\/em><\/a> …\u00a0 l’ap\u00e9rue!<\/strong><\/a> \ud83d\ude09<\/div>\n
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Here’s a little song to help you remember at least one of these words … and learn some other useful words for things you might find\u00a0dans la rue.<\/strong><\/p>\n