{"id":33467,"date":"2021-03-09T05:30:39","date_gmt":"2021-03-09T04:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=33467"},"modified":"2021-03-07T23:20:52","modified_gmt":"2021-03-07T22:20:52","slug":"french-building-vocabulary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/french-building-vocabulary\/","title":{"rendered":"French Building Vocabulary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week’s post got me thinking about French building vocabulary. The buildings people live in, the lives they live there. This week let’s look at the language of building.<\/p>\n

\"Copyright<\/p>\n

French Building Vocabulary<\/h3>\n

Les immeubles<\/b>1<\/a><\/sup>The French word for furniture<\/em> is les meubles<\/em>. Les meubles<\/em> historically referred to people’s property that could be moved, les immeubles<\/em> referred to property that could not be moved. Both words share a root with the word movable<\/em>. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>le b\u00e2timent<\/strong><\/td>\n
the building, <\/em>also construction<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>la tour<\/strong><\/td>\n
the tower<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0
the skyscraper<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>le bureau<\/strong><\/td>\n
the office, <\/em>also the desk<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>la maison<\/strong><\/td>\n
the house<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>l’appartement<\/strong><\/td>\n
the apartment<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>l’\u00e9tage<\/strong><\/td>\n
the floor, the story (of a building)<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>l’ascenseur<\/strong><\/td>\n
the elevator<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>l’escalier<\/strong><\/td>\n
the stairway<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

A la maison<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>Les pi\u00e8ces<\/strong><\/td>\n
The rooms<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>La cuisine<\/strong><\/td>\n
The kitchen<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>La salle \u00e0 manger<\/strong><\/td>\n
The dining room<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>Le salon<\/strong><\/td>\n
The livingroom<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>Le living \/ la salle de s\u00e9jour<\/strong><\/td>\n
The family \/ rec room<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>La chambre \u00e0 coucher<\/strong><\/td>\n
The bedroom<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>La salle de bain<\/strong><\/td>\n
The bathroom<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>Les toilettes<\/strong><\/td>\n
The bathroom<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>Le grenier<\/strong><\/td>\n
The attic<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>La cave \/ le sous-sol<\/strong><\/td>\n
The basement<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

La salle de bain ou les toilettes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The first time I went out with friends as a young man in Paris, still learning French, I remember asking “O\u00f9 est la salle de bain?<\/em>” when I needed to go to the restroom. It was that night that I learned that the word I had learned in high schools French as\u00a0the bathroom<\/em> was literally the room where the bathtub is! And while many\u00a0salles de bain<\/em> have toilets in them, the correct term to use when you’re out at a restaurant – or even at someone’s house – looking for the facilities, the right thing to ask is “O\u00f9 sont les toilettes<\/em>?”2<\/a><\/sup>Note: It’s considered more polite in French to ask for les toilettes<\/em> (plural) instead of la toilette<\/em> (singular).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>Les murs<\/strong><\/td>\n
The walls<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>Le plafond<\/strong><\/td>\n
The ceiling<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>Le plancher<\/strong><\/td>\n
The floor<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>La fen\u00eatre<\/strong><\/td>\n
The window<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>La porte<\/strong><\/td>\n
The door<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>Le toit<\/strong><\/td>\n
The roof<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Les activit\u00e9s \u00e0 la maison<\/h3>\n

<\/div><\/div><\/div>Que fait-on dans la cuisine?<\/strong>3<\/a><\/sup>What does one do in the kitchen?<\/em><\/span>
\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>On pr\u00e9pare les repas<\/strong>4<\/a><\/sup>on peut aussi dire cuisiner<\/em> ou faire la cuisine<\/em><\/span> dans la cuisine.<\/strong>5<\/a><\/sup>One prepares meals in the kitchen.<\/em><\/span>
\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>On mange.<\/strong>6<\/a><\/sup>One eats.<\/em><\/span>
\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>On lave la vaisselle.<\/strong>7<\/a><\/sup>One washes dishes.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
\n

<\/div><\/div><\/div>Que fait-on dans la salle \u00e0 manger?<\/strong>
\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>On mange dans la salle \u00e0 manger.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n

<\/div><\/div><\/div>Que fait-on dans le salon, la salle de s\u00e9jour, et le living?<\/strong>
\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>On regarde la t\u00e9l\u00e9vision, on \u00e9coute de la musique, et on joue des jeux de soci\u00e9t\u00e9.<\/strong>8<\/a><\/sup>One watches television, one listens to music, and one plays board games\/party games.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
\n

<\/div><\/div><\/div>Que fait-on dans la chambre \u00e0 coucher?<\/strong>
\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div>On dort dans la chambre \u00e0 coucher.<\/strong>9<\/a><\/sup>One sleeps in the bathroom.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
\n

La D\u00e9fense<\/h3>\n

As mentioned last week<\/a>, Paris had a long-standing ban on construction of tall buildings within the city limits. This lead to a boom in an area known as La D\u00e9fense just west of the city.<\/p>\n

Centered around a large pedestrian esplanade – home to the CNIT, the Grande Arche de la D\u00e9fense, and many works of public art – La D\u00e9fense is Paris’s business and financial district. Numerous entreprises fran\u00e7aises et \u00e9trang\u00e8res<\/b>10<\/a><\/sup>businesses, French and foreign<\/em><\/span>, many housed in the areas miriad tours<\/strong>11<\/a><\/sup>towers<\/em><\/span>, call it home.<\/p>\n

The concentration of gratte-ciels<\/strong>12<\/a><\/sup>skyscrapers<\/em>; lit. sky scratchers<\/em><\/span> is already impressive to see … and soon to get more impressive.<\/p>\n

You can learn more about the history of La Defense in this documentary from ina.fr<\/a> and see some of the future plans that will soon transform the skyline here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

French Culture – Architectural Oddities<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n