The French are very big on manners and following the rules of étiquette. You can read here about the rules for gift giving, here for proper greetings, and here for the rules for kissing (yes, they even have rules for that!). But do you know where the rules come from?

The rules of French etiquette, from the French word étiquette (literally meaning a tag or label*), are often attributed to the period of Louis XIV as ways for the king to both accommodate and control the vast number of nobles whom he compelled to join him at the palace of Versailles (Louis believed in keeping his friends close, and his enemies closer!).

Over time, the rules of courtly etiquette spread throughout society as people sought to appear more sophisticated and “noble” themselves.

* Une étiquette can be the label on a bottle (like on a wine bottle), the tag in a shirt, or a sticker (though the French word for the English ‘sticker‘ is ‘autocollant‘ which literally means ‘self sticking‘ from the verb ‘coller‘, ‘to stick or adhere‘. ‘Coller‘ also gives us ‘la colle‘ which is French for ‘glue‘ . . . and the expression ‘être collé(e)‘, ‘to be in detention (at school).

And if someone ever calls you ‘un vrai pot de colle‘ (‘a real pot of glue‘) you should think about spending less time with them / giving them some space. This expression refers to someone who follows you around all the time or sticks too close.

Society is generally less formal today, but many people still follow the rules of etiquette and view good manners as a sign of “good breeding”. I still know some families in France where the children vouvoient leurs parents and where whole pieces of fruit are only eaten at the dinner table with a knife and fork (next time you’re in the mood for une belle pomme / a nice apple or une poire juteuses** / a juicy pear, try eating it on a plate, peeling it using just your knife and fork!)

Shifting gears just a bit: Did you get to see the Oscars ceremony this weekend?

It was a fun event – though not without controversy – at which France was particularly well represented.

From Best Actress nominee Isabelle Hupert and Best Animated Feature Film nominees My Life as a Zucchini and The Red Turtle, to nominations for Best Documentary, Best Costume Design, and Best Achievement in Visual Effects, French artists were up for a total of 9 awards.

If you liked La La Land, why not check out one of the French films often cited as inspiration for the film, look up and find out more about Les demoiselles de Rochefort (The young girls of Rochefort) and Les parapluies de Cherbourg (The umbrellas of Cherbourg)!

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

This blog was originally posted on The French Language Blog pages.

Spring is still a few weeks away

but at least up here in the hémisphère nord (northern hemisphere) and in the end of un janvier froid et gris (a cold and grey January), I know we can all use a little taste of spring to get us through.

En plus (And), so I got to thinking about all the colours of un arc-en-ciel (lit. an arc in the sky or a rainbow).

Les couleurs de l’arc-en-ciel sont (The colours of the rainbow are)

rouge / red

orange / orange

jaune / yellow

vert / green

bleu / blue

indigo / indigo

violet / violet (or purple)

Noir et Blanc (black and white) are not – scientifically speaking – colours, but they’re certainly useful words to know.

As are:

marron / brown

gris / grey

rose / pink

Les couleurs peuvent être (Colours can be)

clair / light

foncé / dark

vif / bright

pâle / pale

It is important to remember that colours are also adjectives. Most, like other adjectives in French, need to agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify, but it would be too easy if they all did! As is often the case, there are exceptions.

As a general rule:

Simple colours must agree:

(une voiture grise / a grey car; des livres rouges / red books; une souris verte / a green mouse)

Compound colours do not agree:

(des chaussures bleu pâle / light blue shoes; des crayons jaune citron / lemon yellow pencils)

Colours that are also nouns, do not agree:

(une chemise marron / a brown shirt; des chaises orange / orange chairs)!

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

This blog was originally posted on The French Language Blog pages.

Idioms (les idiotismes, m.) are expressions that don’t necessarily make sense literally, but have a well known meaning to native speakers. In order to be able to understand a language’s idioms, therefore, you can’t just know the exact definition of a word but you must also understand the social and cultural meaning behind that word.

It is also nearly impossible to perfectly translate.

Here are some common idiotismes that you may come across in French:

Appeler un chat un chat

Literal meaning: “To call a cat a cat”

Actual meaning: In English, we would use another idiomatic expression “calling a spade a spade.” This means that you call something out for what you see it as.

Example: “Je l’ai vu! Il faut appeler un chat un chat.” (I saw it! I’m just telling it as it is.)

Avoir la gueule de bois

Literal meaning: “To have a mouth of wood”

Actual meaning: This just means to have a hangover.

Example: Je suis sortie hier soir et je me suis levée ce matin avec une gueule de bois grave. (I went out last night and I woke up this morning with a serious hangover.)

Être à l’ouest

Literal meaning: “To be in the west”

Actual meaning: To be out of it or to be crazy/out of touch with reality.

Example: Il est complètement à l’ouest, ce mec! (This guy is totally out of it!)

Avoir un poil dans la main

Literal meaning: “To have a hair in the hand”

Actual meaning: To be very lazy, in fact so lazy that they watched a hair grow in the palm of their hand!

Example: Il dort tous les jours jusqu’à midi. Il a vraiment un poil dans la main. (He sleeps every day until noon. He’s really lazy!)

Donner un coup de main

Literal meaning: “To give a a hit of the hand”

Actual meaning: To give a helping hand. This idiom can be especially confusing because, to someone who is not native, it can sound almost threatening, although all it means is to help someone out!

Example: Elle est tellement gentille. Elle me donne toujours un coup de main sans que je demande. (She is so nice. She always helps me out even without asking).

Bonne Chance!

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

This blog was originally posted on The French Language Blog pages.

As the temperatures cool down, there is nothing I like more than cooking warm, hearty meals. That means it is time to break out one of our favorite recipes: Hachis Parmentier.

Hachis Parmentier is a well-known French comfort food, and is similar to the British shepherd’s pie. Even better, it is relatively easy to make–as well as absolutely delicious. Named after the eighteenth-century nutritionist and inventor Antoine-Augustin Parmentier (who famously pioneered potatoes as a staple food crop), Hachis Parmentier has become a staple of French cuisine.

Just get ready for some chopping, as hachis means “chopped” or “minced” in French.

Typically, the basis for the recipe is leftover beef stew. If you don’t have leftover stew, no problem! This recipe includes how to make beef stew from scratch to include in the casserole.

Ingredients

For the stew:

1 large onion

2 carrots

1 leek

2 garlic cloves

1.5 pounds of ground beef

pinch of thyme

pinch of rosemary

salt and pepper to taste

For the mashed potatoes:

2 lbs potatoes

1 cup milk

1/2 cup cream

2 tablespoons butter

salt and pepper to taste

grated parmesan or gruyère to top

Instructions:

Peel and quarter potatoes, then boil them for 15 minutes or until tender. When done, mash the potatoes with the remaining ingredients (under the “mashed potatoes” section) and set aside. Chop carrots, onions, and leek. Saute the onions with garlic and ground beef with a little olive oil, then add carrots, leeks, thyme, and rosemary when meat is browned.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and continue to cook the mixture until the carrots are tender. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Have a glass of French Wine (drink sensibly).

While cooking, grease a casserole dish. Layer the ground beef mixture on the bottom of the pan, followed by the mashed potatoes. Cover the top of the mashed potatoes with grated cheese.

If you have additional beef and potatoes remaining, you can continue to layer them in the casserole dish. Put the casserole in the oven and cook for 30-35 minutes, or until the cheese is brown.

You can pair Hachis Parmentier with a simple green salad and a glass of red wine.

Bon Appetit!

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

This blog was originally posted on The French Language Blog pages.

Le nouvel an est ici (the new year is here) !

The whole world is celebrating as 2017 is welcomed and we say au revoir to 2016.

While la Saint-Sylvestre (New Year’s Eve) is all about welcoming in le nouvel an, the traditions around it can vary around the world, from la boule horaire (the time ball) in New York to eating des raisins (grapes) in Spain and other Spanish-speaking cultures.

Bonne Année – Welcome 2017 In French!

En France (in France), le reveillon de la Saint-Sylvestre (New Year’s Eve) consists of du champagne et du fois gras (champagne and foie gras) with kisses exchanged at midnight, traditionally sous une branche de gui (under a mistletoe branch). People take a moment to make their vœux du nouvel An (New Year’s resolutions) during la Saint-Sylvestre and échanger les étrennes (exchange New Year’s gifts).

Les étrennes is a special word for un cadeau, but only un cadeau de Noël or un cadeau pour le nouvel An. The word finds its origins in the Roman goddess of the new year, Strena (Strenua). In ancient Rome she was celebrated on January 1st with various gifts in the hopes of bringing good luck.

There is also a lot of noise made during the celebration with cries of “bonne année” (Happy New Year) and the sound of les klaxons de voitures (car horns) across all of France. If you fall asleep, all the noise may wake you up even if you forgot to set an alarm!

À Paris many people gather along les Champs Élysées and under la tour Eiffel to watch les feux d’artifice.

À 20 heures (at 8 o’clock), a few hours before the start of the new year, le président de la république française gives an address to the country stating their vœux présidentiels for the year that is about to begin. This was the last time François Hollande will be giving his vœux présidentiels as he is not running in the 2017 election.

As things wind down and people start waking up with la gueule de bois (a hangover) there is still time to think about les bonnes résolutions. Traditionally les vœux du nouvel An can be made up until le 31 janvier.

In the spirit of la Saint-Sylvestre, write your vœux du nouvel An!

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

This blog was originally posted on The French Language Blog pages.