Blog

Take Lessons & the French Accent

Take Lessons & the French Accent

Last year, I shared a $20 off code for TakeLessons, a website that helps match students with teachers.... This promo code for readers of Paris Weekender is still active! Use promo code GETLESSONS and new students will save $20 on their purchase of lessons, whether...

Tu vs. Vous

Tu vs. Vous

Every native English speaker gets confused by the tu versus vous, the informal versus formal or plural, distinction.  This chart has been going around for years, but in case you haven't seen it, it's worth a repost. It's hilarious and yet quite accurate. Credit goes...

International Francophonie Day

International Francophonie Day

Did you know that this coming Tuesday, March 20th is International Francophonie Day? It's a day to celebrate the French language and Francophone culture throughout the world. In honor of this day, Frantastique, an online language-learning platform, is offering readers...

Bonne Année !

Bonne Année !

The French take their "Happy New Year!" (or "Happy year!" as they say) very seriously. While you can get away with a simple bonne année, most French go one step--or two or three or four--beyond. It's quite common to accompany the greeting ("je te souhaite") with lots...

$20 Off Language Lessons

$20 Off Language Lessons

TakeLessons is a website that helps match students with teachers. They cover a number of subjects; to date, they have sold over 2 million lessons. Many lessons are taught by webcam, though some teachers will meet in person. . . TakeLessons is the largest online...

Love in Translation

Love in Translation

Thanks this week to my friend Linda for sharing with me this New Yorker article that I would like to now share with you. Sunrise this morning in Plougrescant, Côtes d'Armor, Brittany The author, Lauren Collins, offers some great insights into the relationship between...

Keeping up with France from the U.S.

Keeping up with France from the U.S.

If you're living in the U.S. or just back for an extended visit and you don't want to lose track of your French side, be sure to sign up for e-mail announcements from the French consulate (or Embassy, if you're in the D.C. area). Sacré Coeur, painted with the...

My New Pet Peeve

My New Pet Peeve

My least favorite word in the French language was and may still be the word normalement. Normalement basically means "if all goes according to plan". When you add normalement to a response, it means the thing should happen. For example: Question: « Le magasin est...

L’Argot You Need to Know

L’Argot You Need to Know

The French spoken by the French is not the French you learned in high school. Real life French is riddled with argot, or slang. But do not despair, there are two pieces of good news. First, you don’t need to speak argot. In fact, with limited exceptions (slang that is...

Send a Paris Postcard

As Seen On…

Google Ad