The man spoke four languages so fluently he was mistaken for a native in each. But he was not a linguist. He was a polyglot. "One is an academic, one is a Swiss waiter," he remarked.
Saturday, February 29, 2020
une année bissextile - leap year
Toutes les années bissextiles tombent sur des nombres multiples de quatre, ou divisibles par quatre; ainsi les années 1768, 1772 , 1776, etc. , sont bissextiles.
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[The etymology of this word, bissextile, is Latin. It comes from words meaning "twice" and "sixth," because the leap day was inserted six days before the first day of March.]
Friday, February 28, 2020
der Bauch - the belly
This carving of buddha is called "Bu Dai Heshang"; he is always laughing and has a big belly.
Thursday, February 27, 2020
apesanteur - weightlessness
À ce jour, aucune étude n'a été consacrée aux effets de l'alcool en apesanteur.
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Monday, February 24, 2020
dagegen - against it; by contrast
I am absolutely against cell phones.
Sunday, February 23, 2020
se charger - to fill with clouds
The storm was violent, the sky filled with clouds, and high waves beat against the shore with a deafening noise.
Saturday, February 22, 2020
l'émail - enamel
Ces bactéries digèrent le sucre en formant un acide qui attaque l'émail des dents.
Friday, February 21, 2020
давать - let, provide
Спасибо. Хорошо. Давай на "ты".
And you?
Thank you, fine. Let's be informal.
Thursday, February 20, 2020
погода - the weather
Добрый день! Как Ваши дела? Хорошая погода сегодня.
Good day! How are you? The weather is nice today.
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
une crevette - a shrimp
To celebrate my birthday, I had a nice fried swordfish with shrimp on the side.
Pour fêter mon anniversaire, j'ai mangé un bon espadon poêlé avec des crevettes en accompagnement.
Les homards et les crevettes sont tous deux des crustacés.
Lobsters and shrimp are both crustaceans.
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
tanguer - to pich, rock, sway
Les gros nichons de la femme tanguaient alors qu'elle marchait, m'ensorcelaient.
Monday, February 17, 2020
Sunday, February 16, 2020
Saturday, February 15, 2020
un lutin - a goblin
La confusion entre le lutin, le nain des pays germaniques, et l'elfe des pays scandinaves est fréquente.
Friday, February 14, 2020
souhaiter - to wish
Les gens autour du monde, ils sont bons. Les gens autour du monde, ils sont pas méchants. Si tout le monde soit snob comme j'étais, ils ne recevront pas ce qu'ils souhaitaient avoir: l'affection.
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
das Kaninchen - a bunny
Rabbits love to eat carrots and apples.
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
la bonne réponse - the correct answer
Quelle est la bonne réponse à la Question Suprême de la Vie, l'Univers, et Tout Ce Qu'il y a?
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(the official take)
Monday, February 10, 2020
la fête foraine - the fair
Si nous allons à la fête foraine, je mangerai beaucoup de barbe à papa.
Sunday, February 9, 2020
le méchant - the villain
Mais finalement, elle se lassait de jouer le rôle de la méchante.
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[note that éventuellement means possibly, not eventually]
Saturday, February 8, 2020
Friday, February 7, 2020
Thursday, February 6, 2020
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
die Verstopfung - constipation, blockage
You must drink a lot of water when you are constipated.
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Monday, February 3, 2020
Sunday, February 2, 2020
Saturday, February 1, 2020
anrufen - to call, telephone
Du kannst mich jederzeit anrufen.
You can call me anytime.
Ruf mich heute Abend an, und wir machen Pläne.
Call me tonight and we'll make plans.
faire gaffe - watch out, be careful
Faut faire gaffe quand on traverse, à ne pas se faire écraser par un vélo. Be careful crossing, or you'll be run over by a bike.
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Я хочу оплатить счёт . I want to pay the bill.
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Gamahouche or gamahuche . I came across this archaic term in, unlikely though it is, a modern urban murder mystery by highly lauded nove...
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他 要 计算 一下 他 的 收入。 tā yào jìsuàn yíxià tā de shǒurù He wants to calculate his income.