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FRENCH WORD OF THE DAY

French word of the day: Bondé

This isn't a word you want to have to use during a pandemic.

Published: 20 July 2021 13:18 CEST
French word of the day: Bondé
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

Why do in need to know bondé?

It’s particularly useful during the summer, or all year round if you live in Paris.

What does it mean?

Bondé means “full” or “packed”. Public transport, bars, beaches, shops… These are just some of the things you might refer to as bondé. It’s for when a place is bursting at the seams because there are so many people packed together.

It is usually reserved for talking about places crammed with people, but you might also hear it used in reference to objects.

A bonde is a plug such as you might find on the top of a wine barrel, and bonder means to fill something up to the plug, or the bung. So when you describe a venue as bondé, you might be paying homage to one of France’s greatest and most delicious traditions.

Not to be confused with the verb bander, which sounds almost identical when spoken and means “to have an erection”. Context is your friend here!

Use it like this

Le supermarché était bondé ce matin – The supermarket was jam-packed this morning.

Les Champs-Elysées étaient bondés de supporters quand la France a gagné la Coupe du monde – The Champs-Elysées was packed with supporters when France won the World Cup.

J’aime pas la Côte d’Azur, les plages sont toujours bondées – I don’t like the French Riviera, the beaches are always overcrowded.

Synonyms

Noir de monde – crammed

Comble – full to capacity

Bourré – packed

Member comments

  1. Possibly a better, more vernacular, translation is ‘rammed’. Do young people still say ‘rammed’? I’m out of touch with them these days.

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For members

FRENCH WORD OF THE DAY

French Expression of the Day: Les doigts dans le nez

This French expression has nothing to do with unpleasant personal habits.

Published: 25 April 2024 10:24 CEST
French Expression of the Day: Les doigts dans le nez

Why do I need to know les doigts dans le nez?

Because you don’t need to be disgusted if a French person says this phrase near you. 

What does it mean?

Les doigts dans le nez – roughly pronounced lay dwah dahn luh nay – translates precisely as ‘the fingers in the nose’.

However, it’s not related to picking your nose. It actually means ‘doing something with ease’. In English, one might say ‘piece of cake’ or ‘I could do it with my eyes closed’. 

Though a popular colloquial expression nowadays, the phrase first began to be used in the early 1900s, after horse races – and originally was accompanied by a gesture. If a jockey handily won a race, the commentator might make this comment or add a gesture to jokingly comment on how easy the win had been.

These days the gesture seems to have fallen out of favour, so you won’t see French people stuffing their fingers up their nose to make a point, but the phrase remains. 

It is meant to give the idea that the feat was so easy, it could be accomplished even with two fingers in your nose.

If you are looking for a similar expression, you could also say something was un jeu d’enfants (a children’s game), to describe it being simple and quick.

Use it like this

Ce type a terminé le marathon, les doigts dans le nez. Sérieusement, le gars s’est à peine entraîné et il est arrivé dans les dix premiers. – The guy finished the marathon, piece of cake. Seriously, he barely trained and still finished in the top 10.

Les deux premières semaines: les doigts dans le nez. Mais par la suite, les choses se sont compliquées. – The first two weeks: piece of cake. But after that, things became complicated.

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