French for Kids with Professor Q: Class 07

Who'll Stop the Pluie?

Who'll Stop the Pluie?





Zut ! Il fait mauvais, oh, si si mauvais !

I'm sorry, class. I got carried away with

my French. But it does "fait mauvais" outside,

doesn't it? I mean, it's bad weather. There's neige (snow)

and pluie (rain) and nuages (clouds). Mercy on

me! And C. and I were going to faire du camping (go camping)

at Chincoteague demain (tomorrow). That trip may now be

canceled because of bad weather (annulé, if you

please, à cause du mauvais temps). I said it before

and I'll say it again: Zut ! (Dagnabbit!)

Hey, but wait a minute. At least this mauvais

temps (bad weather) gives me an idée (an idea).

I can teach you some termes météorologiques

today (terms about the weather). Isn't that chouette (neat)?

Okay, well, as soon as everyone stops dancing

in the aisles, I'll begin ;)

---

SNOW/NEIGE

Suppose I were to say to you, Il neige.

What could I possibly mean? I mean, honestly. (Anyone?) That's

right: I would be saying, "It's snowing." Then I might

go on to say that, Je vais à la neige, which should

give you to understand that I am going on a skiing holiday. (All

right, everyone: stop scribbling furiously. I'll repeat all these

translations at the bottom of the page!) And why should I go

on a skiing holiday? Why, because I like sports de neige

(winter sports). Mais attention (but watch out!): people

who go à la neige may get caught in a tempête

de neige (blizzard) and become bloqué par la neige

(snowbound). Of course, I should be so lucky, given the hivers

doux (mild winters) we've been having lately.

Actually, I was bloqué par la neige

just last year. Joel and I went to Snowshoe and they had a 2-foot

tempête de neige, even though la météo

(the forecast) had predicted only 5 centimeters (2 inches)! --

But je fais une digression (I'm getting off the subject).

RAIN/PLUIE

Now imagine that I were to say, Il pleut.

What could I possibly mean by THAT? (Ooh, look at all these hands

popping up!) Yes, that's right: I would mean: "It's raining."

Then again, suppose I said, Il pleut à verse or

Il pleut à seaux ? (Anyone?) Right: I would mean

that "It's raining buckets." Of course, I might say,

Le temps est à la pluie, in which case I'm just

saying that "It looks like rain." Then I might go so

far as to tell you about the different types of rain: you have

your pluie fine (drizzle), for instance, your pluie

d'orage (cloudburst), your pluie diluvienne (pouring

rain), or perhaps just one single solitary goutte de pluie

(raindrop). You have your pluie battante (driving

rain), your pluie torrentielle (torrential rain), your

forte pluie (heavy rain) and that automotive nightmare

we call pluie verglaçante (freezing rain).

I got caught in a pluie verglaçante

on Route 17 just north of Fredericksburg when I was driving my

family home from Grandma's house in les années soixante-dix

(the seventies). I had just received my permis de conduire

(driver's license) and -- Mais je fais une autre digression

(But I'm getting off the subject again).

Work with me, now. This class is almost over!

CLOUDS/NUAGES

Finally, suppose I were to say Il fait

un temps très nuageux or perhaps Le temps est couvert.

NOW what would I be raving about? (Anyone?) Yes, that's right:

I would mean, "It's cloudy!" Very good. Of course,

I could also say Le ciel est chargé de nuages or

Le ciel est couvert or even Ça se couvre

(for "It's clouding up.") You never can tell: I might

even mention the different kinds of clouds. You have your nuages

de pluie (rainclouds), for instance, your nuages pommelés

(fleecy clouds), and your nuages en flocons (fluffy

clouds). You have your nuages de poussière (dust

clouds), your nuages de grêle (hail clouds), your

nuages de fumée (smoke clouds) and if you're lucky,

you may even have your ciel sans nuages (your skies without

clouds).

I'm keeping my fingers crossed, anyway. You

know, C. and I have already reserved a space for tomorrow at

Maddox Family Campground across from Assateague Lighthouse? And

let me tell you: C.'s tent is not exactly waterproof. On last

year's trip, we had to call out the National Guard when we woke

up and found ourselves floating about the tent on our air mattresses!

Oops, voilà digression numéro trois. (I'm

off the subject for a third time!)

---

Now, here's the part where the teacher turns

imperiously to his dazzled charges and asks in a smug tone: "Now,

class, what have we learned today?" No, not really. But

I do hope I've pounded a few French weather terms into those

heads of yours. (As in rat-a-tat-tat!)

Tut-tut! But before you go, take a peek at

the vocabulary lists below. Oh, and don't forget to take the

three pop quizzes (on snow,

on rain, on clouds (missing)).

Meanwhile, I'm going to dial up C and see if he's still up for

a camp-out in this mauvais temps !

SNOW/NEIGE

abominable homme des neiges

-- abominable snowman


aller à la neige -- to go on a skiing holiday


après-ski -- snow boot


banc de neige -- snow bank


bataille de boules de neige -- snowball fight


bloqué par la neige -- snowbound


bonhomme de neige -- snowman


boule de neige -- snowball


cécité des neiges -- snow blindness


champ de neige -- snowfield


chute de neige -- snowfall


combinaison de ski -- ski suit


congère -- snowdrift


couronné de neige -- snowcapped


flocon de neige -- snowflake


Il neige -- It's snowing


Il tombe de la neige -- It's snowing


Je vais à la neige -- see 'aller à la neige'


limite des neiges -- snowline


motoneige -- snowmobile


neige fondue -- melted snow


neige fraîche -- freshly fallen snow


neige poudreuse -- powdery snow


neiger -- to snow


neigeux -- snowy


raquette pour la neige -- snowshoe


sports de neige -- winter sports


tempête de neige -- snowstorm

Je vais à la neige

avec Joel.


I'm going on a skiing holiday with Joel.





Regardez ma nouvelle combinaison de ski.


Check out my new ski outfit.

Chic, n'est-ce pas ?
COLOR="#990000" SIZE="+1">


Cool, huh?





Quoique je me sente comme Frankenstein dans ces énormes

après-ski.


Although I feel like Frankenstein in these big boots.

RAIN/PLUIE

annulé à

cause du mauvais temps

-- rained out


capuche -- rain hat


danse de la pluie -- rain dance


eau de pluie -- rainwater


forte pluie -- heavy rain


goutte de pluie -- raindrop


grosse pluie -- heavy rain


Il pleut -- It's raining


Il pleut à seaux -- It's raining buckets


Il pleut à verse -- It's raining buckets


Il pleut des cordes -- It's raining cats and dogs


imperméable -- raincoat


jour sans pluie -- dry day


Le temps est à la pluie -- It looks like rain


parapluie -- umbrella


pleuvoir -- to rain


pluie battante -- driving rain


pluie diluvienne -- pouring rain


pluie fine -- drizzle


pluie d'orage -- cloudburst


pluie torrentielle -- torrential rain


pluie verglaçante -- freezing rain


qu'il pleuve ou qu'il vente -- come rain or shine


sous la pluie -- in the rain

Je viens d'acheter une

nouvelle capuche verte.


I just bought a new green rainhat.





On dirait qu'il va pleuvoir à seaux.


They say it's going to rain absolute buckets.





Certes, le temps est à la pluie.


It certainly LOOKS like rain.





En fait, voilà la première goutte de pluie !


In fact, there's the first raindrop!

Chouette !
COLOR="#990000" SIZE="+1">


Goody!

CLOUDS/NUAGES

banc de nuages
COLOR="#000099" SIZE="+1">-- cloud bank


Ça se couvre -- It's clouding up


ciel plein de nuage -- cloudy sky


couvert -- cloudy


Il fait un temps très nuageux -- It's very cloudy


Le ciel est chargé de nuages -- It's cloudy


Le ciel est couvert -- It's cloudy


Le temps est couvert -- It's cloudy


nuages de fumée -- smoke clouds


nuages de grêle -- hail clouds


nuages de pluie -- rainclouds


nuages de poussière -- dust clouds


nuages en flocons -- fluffy clouds


nuages menaçants -- stormclouds


nuages pommelés -- fleecy clouds


nuageux -- cloudy


sans nuages -- cloudless


se couvrir de nuages -- to cloud over


se voiler de nuages -- to cloud over





Ces nuages pommelés

me font penser à un troupeau d'oies.


These fleecy clouds

make me think of a flock of geese.





Et regardez le banc de nuages.


And check out that cloud bank.





C'est un récif corallien, n'est-ce pas ?


It's a coral reef, wouldn't you say ?





Mais hélas, il tonne !


But alas, it's thundering!

C'est, en réalité,

un nuage menaçant !


It's actually a stormcloud!

OTHER TERMS ABOVE/AUTRES TERMES

CI-DESSUS

Attention !
COLOR="#000099" SIZE="+1"> -- Watch out!


chouette -- neat


demain -- tomorrow


faire du camping -- go camping


hivers doux -- mild winters


idée -- idea


Je fais une digression -- I'm getting off the subject


les années soixante-dix -- the seventies


mauvais temps -- bad weather


météo -- weather forecast


numéro trois -- number three


permis de conduire -- driver's license


termes météorologiques -- weather-related

terms


voilà -- there is


Zut ! -- Dagnabbit!

Stop!
Before you go: Have you...



1. Seen my Site Glossary
2. Seen my goofy picture page?
3. Seen my Pop-Ed Pieces?
4. Read my Big Ideas?
5. Read my Pet Peeves?
6. Listened to my Music?
7. Seen my brand-new words?
8. Bought my specially selected Amazon gifts?
9. Bought my personally designed gifts?
10. Bought my Carbon Cap?
11. Read my Outrageous Times newspaper?
12. Read my latest article entitled The Tragedy of King Queere?

Check out what the author is up to on the Social Web:
aNobii (his book reviews)
AimeStreet (his music)