FlexiLingoIn one line
porteris to be wearing,mettreis to put on, ands'habilleris to get dressed.
Nouns
Clothes
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
les vêtements (m. pl.) | /vɛt.mɑ̃/ | clothes |
la chemise | /ʃə.miz/ | shirt |
le tee-shirt | /ti.ʃœʁt/ | T-shirt |
le pull | /pyl/ | jumper |
la veste | /vɛst/ | jacket |
le manteau | /mɑ̃.to/ | coat |
le blouson | /blu.zɔ̃/ | bomber jacket |
le pantalon | /pɑ̃.ta.lɔ̃/ | trousers |
le jean | /dʒin/ | jeans |
le short | /ʃɔʁt/ | shorts |
la jupe | /ʒyp/ | skirt |
la robe | /ʁɔb/ | dress |
le costume | /kɔs.tym/ | suit |
la cravate | /kʁa.vat/ | tie |
les chaussettes (f. pl.) | /ʃo.sɛt/ | socks |
les chaussures (f. pl.) | /ʃo.syʁ/ | shoes |
les baskets (f. pl.) | /bas.kɛt/ | trainers |
les bottes (f. pl.) | /bɔt/ | boots |
le chapeau | /ʃa.po/ | hat |
l'écharpe (f.) | /e.ʃaʁp/ | scarf |
les gants (m. pl.) | /ɡɑ̃/ | gloves |
la ceinture | /sɛ̃.tyʁ/ | belt |
les sous-vêtements (m. pl.) | /su vɛt.mɑ̃/ | underwear |
le maillot de bain | /ma.jo də bɛ̃/ | swimming costume |
le pyjama | /pi.ʒa.ma/ | pyjamas |
le pantalonis singular — and so arele jean,le shortandle pyjama. English treats all of these as plural ("a pair of trousers", "my jeans are"), because they have two legs. French counts the garment, not the legs:un pantalon,mon jean est…
la vesteis a jacket, not a vest. A vest isun maillot de corpsorun giletdepending on the type. Seefaux-amis.
Details and shopping
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
la taille | /taj/ | size |
la pointure | /pwɛ̃.tyʁ/ | shoe size |
la couleur | /ku.lœʁ/ | colour |
le tissu | /ti.sy/ | fabric |
le coton | /kɔ.tɔ̃/ | cotton |
la laine | /lɛn/ | wool |
le cuir | /kɥiʁ/ | leather |
la soie | /swa/ | silk |
la cabine d'essayage | /ka.bin de.sɛ.jaʒ/ | fitting room |
la poche | /pɔʃ/ | |
le bouton | /bu.tɔ̃/ | button |
la fermeture éclair | /fɛʁ.mə.tyʁ e.klɛʁ/ | zip |
la marque | /maʁk/ | brand |
French has a separate word for shoe size,
la pointure. English uses "size" for both.
Verbs
| Verb | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
porter | /pɔʁ.te/ | to be wearing |
mettre | /mɛtʁ/ | to put on |
enlever | /ɑ̃l.ve/ | to take off |
s'habiller | /sa.bi.je/ | to get dressed |
se déshabiller | /sə de.za.bi.je/ | to get undressed |
se changer | /sə ʃɑ̃.ʒe/ | to change clothes |
essayer | /e.se.je/ | to try on |
aller à | /a.le a/ | to suit somebody |
plaire à | /plɛʁ a/ | to appeal to |
coudre | /kudʁ/ | to sew |
laver | /la.ve/ | to wash |
Adjectives
| Masculine | Feminine | English |
|---|---|---|
grand /ɡʁɑ̃/ | grande /ɡʁɑ̃d/ | big |
petit /pə.ti/ | petite /pə.tit/ | small |
serré /sɛ.ʁe/ | serrée /sɛ.ʁe/ | tight |
large /laʁʒ/ | large /laʁʒ/ | loose |
court /kuʁ/ | courte /kuʁt/ | short |
long /lɔ̃/ | longue /lɔ̃ɡ/ | long |
élégant /e.le.ɡɑ̃/ | élégante /e.le.ɡɑ̃t/ | elegant |
confortable /kɔ̃.fɔʁ.tabl/ | confortable /kɔ̃.fɔʁ.tabl/ | comfortable |
chic /ʃik/ | chic /ʃik/ | smart — invariable |
à la mode /a la mɔd/ | — | fashionable |
démodé /de.mo.de/ | démodée /de.mo.de/ | out of fashion |
largemeans loose or wide, not large. For a big size it isgrand. Seefaux-amis.
Set phrases
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
Je cherche un pantalon. | /ʒə ʃɛʁʃ œ̃ pɑ̃.ta.lɔ̃/ | I'm looking for some trousers |
Quelle taille faites-vous ? | /kɛl taj fɛt.vu/ | what size are you? |
Je fais du 40. | /ʒə fɛ dy ka.ʁɑ̃t/ | I'm a size 40 |
Je peux l'essayer ? | /ʒə pø le.sɛ.je/ | can I try it on? |
Où est la cabine ? | /u ɛ la ka.bin/ | where is the fitting room? |
Ça me va bien. | /sa mə va bjɛ̃/ | it suits me |
Ça ne me va pas. | /sa nə mə va pa/ | it doesn't suit me |
C'est trop serré. | /sɛ tʁo sɛ.ʁe/ | it's too tight |
Vous l'avez en bleu ? | /vu la.vez ɑ̃ blø/ | do you have it in blue? |
Vous l'avez en plus grand ? | /vu la.vez ɑ̃ ply ɡʁɑ̃/ | do you have it in a bigger size? |
être bien habillé | /ɛtʁ bjɛ̃n a.bi.je/ | to be well dressed |
Je fais du 40— French usesfairefor sizes, literally "I make a 40". English says "I'm a size 40" or "I take a 40".
Traps
| Trap | Explanation |
|---|---|
porter ≠ mettre | Je porte un pull = I'm wearing Je mets un pull = I'm putting on. |
le pantalon is singular | un pantalon — one pair of trousers. |
la taille for clothes, la pointure for shoes | taille is not wrong for shoes but pointure is precise. |
Ça me va, not Ça m'aime | "It suits me" uses aller à. |
essayer takes de only with a verb | essayer une robe (direct) essayer de partir (with an infinitive). |
chic is invariable | une robe chic, not chique. |
les vêtements is plural | For one item: un vêtement. |
porter · mettre · s'habiller — three verbs, three moments
one is a state, one an action, one a routine
English already splits two of these and you use them correctly without thinking:
| Verb | The moment | Example |
|---|---|---|
porter /pɔʁ.te/ | the current state — I have it on | Elle porte une robe rouge. /ɛl pɔʁt yn ʁɔb ʁuʒ/ |
mettre /mɛtʁ/ | the action — I am putting it on | Je mets mon manteau. /ʒə mɛ mɔ̃ mɑ̃.to/ |
s'habiller /sa.bi.je/ | the routine of getting dressed | Je m'habille en cinq minutes. /ʒə ma.bij ɑ̃ sɛ̃k mi.nyt/ |
porter is "to wear" and mettre is "to put on" — the same distinction English makes. The one that has no clean English equivalent is s'habiller, because English "get dressed" is a phrase rather than a verb and cannot take an object either.
And the three opposites:
| Pronunciation | ||
|---|---|---|
enlever | to take off — J'enlève ma veste. | /ɑ̃l.ve/ |
se déshabiller | to get undressed | /sə de.za.bi.je/ |
se changer | to get changed | /sə ʃɑ̃.ʒe/ |
A simple test:
If you could say "I'm wearing" →
porter. If you could say "I'm putting on" →mettre.
And s'habiller is used when the act of dressing is itself the subject, not a particular garment:
Il s'habille bien.— he dresses wellHabille-toi, on part !— get dressed, we're going
s'habiller takes no object — you cannot say je m'habille un pullmettre. Exactly as English cannot say "I get dressed a jumper".