Glossary

à pied	on foot
à bientôt	see you soon
accouchement	childbirth; labor and delivery
aérateurs	ventilators
allée	path, avenue, drive
allez	go
alors	then, at that time, in that case
amis	friends
arrondissement	a district or section of Paris
atelier	workshop, studio
au revoir	good-bye
auberge	inn, small hotel
aubergine	eggplant
auteur	author
autoroute	freeway
bain	bath, swim
baiser	a kiss
bal musette	dance with accordion accompaniment
bateau mouche	tour boat of the Seine in Paris
belle	beautiful
beur	French-born Arab
beurre noir	brown sauce
billets-doux	love letters
bis	The street number “9 bis” means 9a
bof	expression meaning “I don’t know” or “I don’t care”
bonbon	candy, sweet
bonhomme	fellow
boule	ball

bouquinistes	booksellers
brasserie	informal eating establishment
bricolage	do-it-yourself; patched-up job
bricoleur	handyman; do-it-yourselfer
brocanteur	dealer who sells used goods
butte	knoll, hillock
Ça va?	How are you?
cache-sexe	G-string
calme	calm
carrefours	crossroads
carte d’identité	identification card
chanteurs de charme	crooners
chanteuse	female singer
chaos	pile of boulders
chose	thing
choucroute	sauerkraut
cinémathèque	relating to the cinema
citron pressé	fresh lemonade
clochard	hobo, tramp
coifeuse	hairdresser
Comment?	What did you say?; How?
commerçant	shopkeeper, trader
conseiller	to advise, to recommend
coucher	to go to bed, put to bed
coulisse	behind the scenes
coup monté	put-up job
coups d’œil	glances
croustillant	crisp, crusty
cuisse	thigh
danseuses	female dancers
de riguer	compulsory; the rule

de trop	too many
désolé	desolate; sorry
déviation	detour; diversion
difficile	difficult
dossier	file
eau	water
eau-de-vie	brandy
écharpes	scarves
écorché	someone who is flayed alive

élan	style, flair, enthusiasm
entrepôt	warehouse
essai	try; attempt
extrêmement	extremely
faire les vitrines	to window shop
femmes fatales	women of seductive charm
fête	feast; festival, party
fin	done, finished, end
fin de siècle	end of the century
fine	brandy
fiston	son, lad
flâneur	stroller; street wanderer
fontaine	fountain, spring
frère	brother
fruits de mer	seafood
gendarmes	police officers
grand magasin	department store
gratteurs de guitare	guitar-scrapers
grenouille	frog
habitués	regular visitors
hammam	Turkish bath; spa
haute couture	high fashion
immédiatement	immediately
impairs	odd numbers

indigènes	natives, indigenous people
je déteste le rouge	I detest red
je regarde	I am just looking
joie de vivre	joy of living
jouer	to play
légère	light, slight, weak
littéraires	literary people

loge	dressing room; concierge’s apartment; spectator’s box
louche	dubious, shady, fishy
lourde	heavy
luxe	luxury
maison	home
malade	sick
merde	shit
midinette	silly young townie
mon	my
mort	death
nacelle	basket
n’est-ce pas	isn’t it?, won’t you?
naturellement	naturally
noir	black
non	no
oui	yes
pairs	even numbers
Parisienne	female Parisian
péniche	barge
péridurale	epidural
périphérique	outlying, peripheral; expressway surrounding a city
pétanque	lawn bowling

petit peu	a little bit
peu	a little
pied-à-terre	secondary or temporary lodging
politesse	politeness, courtesy
pommes	apples
privée	private
procureaur général	attorney general
promenades	walks, promenades
quartier	district, quarter
quelque	some; a few
quincaillerie	hardware
quotidien	daily; ordinary; everyday
raie	skate; ray
relations	contacts, relations
rouge	red
sage-femme	midwife
salon de thé	tea room
sentier	path
sentinelle	(vulgar) turd; sentinel
societé	company, society
sous-sol	basement
spectacles	shows
sportive	athletic
steak frites	steak with French fried potatoes
terrain vague	empty lot
tout	all
tout de suite	immediately, right away
vendeuse	sales lady
vespasiennes	urinals
ville lumière	city of light
vite	quickly, fast
volupté	sensual delight, pleasure
votre	your
Voulez-vous quelque chose	Do you want something?