By the end of this lesson you'll be able to describe your home room by room, say where things are, and talk about who does which job around the house.
Where you live
You probably live in une maison or in one of these.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| un appartement | uh-nah-par-tuh-MAHN | a flat, an apartment |
| un immeuble | uh-nee-MUH-bluh | a block of flats, a building |
Floors use the ordinals from the lesson on numbers over 100, ordinals and years: au rez-de-chaussée, au premier étage, au deuxième étage. Le premier étage is one floor above the ground floor: the British first floor, and the American second floor.
J'habite dans un immeuble, au troisième étage.
I live in a block of flats, on the third floor.
Rooms
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| une pièce | ewn PYESS | a room |
| la cuisine | lah kwee-ZEEN | the kitchen |
| le salon | luh sah-LOHN | the living room |
| la salle à manger | lah sahl ah mahn-ZHAY | the dining room |
| la chambre | lah SHAHN-bruh | the bedroom |
| les toilettes | lay twah-LET | the toiletAlways plural, and usually a separate room. |
| l'entrée | lahn-TRAY | the hall, the entranceFeminine: une entrée. At a meal, it's the starter. |
| le balcon | luh bahl-KOHN | the balcony |
| le garage | luh gah-RAHZH | the garage |
You already know la salle de bains from the lesson on booking a hotel, le bureau from the lesson on plural nouns, and le jardin from the lesson on childhood memories. In France, les toilettes are usually a separate room, not part of the bathroom.
When someone describes a flat as having trois pièces, they usually don't count the kitchen or the bathroom.
Il y a trois pièces et un balcon.
There are three rooms and a balcony.
La cuisine est à côté du salon.
The kitchen is next to the living room.
À côté de, sur, sous and the others are from the lesson on prepositions of place, and dans from the lesson on prepositions.
Furniture
You know la chaise from the lesson on indefinite articles, and la table and le lit have come up too. Here are some more words.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| un canapé | uhn kah-nah-PAY | a sofa |
| un fauteuil | uhn foh-TUH-y | an armchair |
| une armoire | ew-nar-MWAHR | a wardrobe |
| une étagère | ew-nay-tah-ZHEHR | a shelf |
| une lampe | ewn LAHNP | a lamp |
| un tapis | uhn tah-PEE | a rug, a carpet |
| un frigo | uhn free-GOH | a fridge |
| la fenêtre | lah fuh-NEH-truh | the window |
Before a vowel, le and la both become l', so l'armoire and l'étagère hide their gender. That's why they're listed with une: learn them as une armoire and une étagère, and you'll always have the gender you need.
Le canapé est devant la fenêtre.
The sofa is in front of the window.
Les livres sont sur l'étagère.
The books are on the shelf.
Il y a une lampe à côté du fauteuil.
There's a lamp next to the armchair.
Jobs around the house
You know faire la vaisselle, faire le ménage, faire les courses and faire la cuisine from the lesson on faire and aller. Here are a few more.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| faire la lessive | fehr lah leh-SEEV | to do the laundry |
| faire le lit | fehr luh LEE | to make the bed |
| passer l'aspirateur | pah-say lahs-pee-rah-TUHR | to vacuum |
| ranger | rahn-ZHAY | to tidy |
| sortir les poubelles | sor-teer lay poo-BEL | to take out the bins |
| nettoyer | neh-twah-YAY | to cleanUse it as an infinitive for now. |
Il faut from the lesson on il faut and simple advice is ideal for talking about chores, since an infinitive follows it.
Il faut passer l'aspirateur dans le salon.
The living room needs vacuuming.
Je range la chambre le dimanche.
I tidy the bedroom on Sundays.
Mon frère sort les poubelles le mardi.
My brother takes out the bins on Tuesdays.
Who does what?
Household jobs are a good everyday subject, and you already have what you need to talk about them. Say who does the job, then add how often: le samedi, souvent, tous les jours. To ask about someone else's routine, try Qui fait la vaisselle chez toi ? (Who does the dishes at your place?).
En français
- Qui fait le ménage aujourd'hui ? (Who's doing the housework today?)
- Moi, je passe l'aspirateur. Tu peux faire la vaisselle ? (I'll vacuum. Can you do the dishes?)
- D'accord. Et les poubelles ? (OK. And the bins?)
- Il faut sortir les poubelles ce soir. (The bins need to go out this evening.)
- Je vais les sortir. (I'm going to take them out.)
What's next
Next, the lesson on qui, que and où shows how to join two sentences into one. You'll describe your home in the lesson on describing where you live.