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FRENCH WORD OF THE DAY

French word of the day: Ramer

Sometimes a simple hand gesture is enough to convey this word.

French word of the day: Ramer
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

Why do I need to know ramer?

Because it’s perfect for making somebody feel even more awkward when you’re not happy with their explanation.

What does it mean?

Ramer means “to row”, since une rame refers to an oar. In colloquial speech, it means to have a lot of difficulty when trying to do something.

Both the literal and figurative meanings are very similar to the word galérer, which also means “to struggle”, and originated with the galériens, prisoners who were forced to row galley ships as a punishment.

Ramer does have one extra meaning that galérer does not, however, because you can use it more specifically to refer to somebody who is struggling to explain themselves.

Either because they have told a lie and are trying to get away with it, or on the contrary, because they have been overly honest and revealed something that didn’t go down too well and are now trying to walk back their comments. It also applies when someone is confronted with a question or a piece of information for which they weren’t prepared.

In any case, it suggests the person is squirming, in a desperate attempt to sauver les meubles.

Viewers of the satirical daily news show Quotidien are unlikely to forget the term, because any time a politician is trying to explain themselves under pressure, producers cut to the song “Rame” by Alain Souchon, which goes, Rame, rame, rameurs, ramez (“Row, row, rowers, row”).

If you want to point out that somebody is having to ramer, you can rub it in by saying nothing and simply doing a rowing gesture with your arms, and people will understand.

Use it like this

Je rame pour trouver du boulot – I’m struggling to find work

Le ministre a dû ramer pour expliquer sa maladresse – The minister had to go to great lengths to explain his mistake

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FRENCH WORD OF THE DAY

French Word of the Day: Métropole

This French word might come up when learning about why France has 12 time zones.

French Word of the Day: Métropole

Why do I need to know métropole?

Because you might be curious about this distinction that is sometimes made before talking about France.

What does it mean?

Métropole – roughly pronounced may-troh-pole – translates as ‘metropolis’ in English. 

Most of the time, you will hear this word from public figures, local officials and the French press when discussing the urban area encompassing a city. As such, you could talk about la métropole de Bordeaux or la métropole de Lyon – this is a defined area that includes both the city and its suburbs or sometimes even a neighbouring town.

Explained: How French métropoles, départements and communes work

It is also the term used to distinguish mainland France from its overseas territories, as such you might hear people say la France métropolitaine, or just la Métropole. This is similar to how people might use L’Hexagone to refer to mainland France, which is sort of shaped like a hexagon.

You may hear people discuss the situation in la Métropole to draw comparisons with France’s overseas territories (referred to as les DOM, départements d’outre-mer), particularly when it comes to issues of inequality. 

Use it like this

Le taux de chômage est plus élevé dans les DOM qu’en métropole -The rate of unemployment is higher in the overseas territories than in mainland France.

Elle est de la métropole, elle n’a jamais visité la Martinique. – She is from mainland France, she has never visited Martinique.

La France métropolitaine n’a qu’un seul fuseau horaire, mais si l’on considère les territoires d’outre-mer, il y a 12 fuseaux horaires français. – Mainland France is only under one timezone, but when you consider the overseas territories there are 12 French time zones.

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