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FRENCH WORD OF THE DAY

French word of the Day: Se régaler

If you enjoy enjoying things and then telling people about it, we have the word to help you show your full appreciation.

French word of the Day: Se régaler

Why do I need to know se régaler? 

Because sometimes life is great and you want to express that you’ve more than just liked something. 

What does it mean?

The verb se régaler means to treat or enjoy yourself.

Stronger than aimer, se régaler also shows that it was a pleasure. 

If your friend cooked you a lovely bœuf bourguignon, and you really want to compliment the chef, you can say Je me suis regalé – I really enjoyed it.

As with a lot in France, this word is often associated with good food and drink.

But one can also se regaler de other things.

For example: Je me suis régalé du concert  – I really enjoyed the concert

Je me suis régalé du livre  – I loved the book.

As it's a reflexive verb, you need to remember that it's je me, tu te etc and it's followed by de or du

Se régaler can also be an instruction, like when your fromager sends you off with some wonderfully smelly cheese and tells you to Regalez-vous! – Enjoy!

For more French words and phrases, check out of French word of the Day section.

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FRENCH WORD OF THE DAY

French Expression of the Day: Caillou dans la chaussure

This one might come in handy when you’re complaining about French bureaucracy.

French Expression of the Day: Caillou dans la chaussure

Why do I need to know Caillou dans la chaussure?

Because, sometimes, you just need to tell someone about your frustration with life’s little, annoying, metaphorically painful niggles.

What does it mean?

Caillou dans la chaussure – roughly pronounced kay-oo don la shass-your – translates as ‘stone in the shoe’, is a phrase as old as time, and means exactly what it says.

You can use this in a literal sense, for example if you’re hiking and get gravel in your boots, but it’s more usually used as a metaphor.

When someone says they have a pebble in their shoe, it means that something is not right – and it describes the metaphorical feeling of something troublesome that is more painful than it really needs to be and is creating bigger problems than its size would suggest.

You can use it about your own problems, and it’s also used to describe something that is a big problem for someone else – in English you might say something is the ‘millstone around their neck’ to describe a big, weighty problem that won’t go away.

Use it like this

Nouvelle-Calédonie : le gros caillou dans la chaussure de Macron – New Caledonia is the millstone around Macron’s neck

Nous connaissons tous cette sensation désagréable d’avoir un caillou coincé dans notre chaussure – We all know that unpleasant feeling of having a stone stuck in our shoe.

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