French compound nouns
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A compound noun (French: un nom composé) is a noun formed from several separate words most often by hyphens (-) but representing only one word. However, the general meaning of the compound noun does not always depend on the distinct meanings of each word that composes it, but on the general meaning given to that name.
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Here you find an overview of the most used compound nouns.
Compound nouns | Translations |
---|---|
Un abat-jour | (lampshade) |
Un accroche-cœur | (spit curl) |
Un aide-comptable | (an assistant accountant) |
Un aide-cuisinier | (an assistant cook) |
Un casse-noisette | (a nutcracker suite) |
Un casse-tête | (a brainteaser) |
Un cerf-volant | (a kite) |
Un chasse-neige | (a snowplough) |
Un chef-d’œuvre | (a masterpiece) |
Un chef-lieu | (administrative centre of an arrondissement) |
Un chien-guide | (a guide dog) |
Un coffre-fort | (a strongbox) |
Un loup-garou | (a werewolf) |
Un marteau-pilon | (a drop hammer) |
Un micro-ordinateur | (a microcomputer) |
Un mandat-poste | (a money order) |
To form compound nouns you have to connect two or three words together.
These words can be separated by a hyphen or not. A compound word can be formed in different ways:
Functions | Compound nouns | Translations |
---|---|---|
Verb + noun | un amuse-gueule | (An appetizer) |
Noun + noun | un chou-fleur | (A cauliflower) |
Noun + genitive | un chemin de fer | (A railway) |
Adjective + noun | une plate-bande | (A flowerbed) |
Noun + adjective | un coffre-fort | (A strongbox) |
Verb + verb | savoir-faire | (Knowledge) |
To form the plural of compound nouns, you must look at their composition for:
Functions | Plural | Translations |
---|---|---|
one word | des portefeuilles | (Wallets) |
noun + noun adjective + noun adjective + adjective | des portes-fenêtres des grands-mères des sourds-muets | (French window) (Grandmothers) (Deaf-mute) |
noun + genitive | des chefs-d'oeuvre | (Masterpieces) |
verb + noun | des lance-pierres | (Slingshots) |
adverb + noun | des arrière-boutiques | (Back shops) |
For the verb + noun, the verb never agrees in the plural.
Here you will find an overview of the singular and plural of the most used compound nouns:
Singular | Plural | Examples |
---|---|---|
Une belle-sœur | Des belles-sœurs | (sisters-in-law) |
Un bouche-trou | Des bouche-trous | (stopgaps) |
Un boute-en-train | Des boute-en-train | (joker) |
Un bouton de manchette | Des boutons de manchette | (cuff links) |
Un bouton de rose | Des boutons de rose | (rosebuds) |
Un café-concert | Des cafés-concerts | (café where music-hall performances are given) |
Un café crème | Des cafés crème | (coffee with cream) |
Un casse-cou | Des casse-cou | (daredevils) |
Un casse-croûte | Des casse-croûte | (snacks) |
Un casse-noisette | Des casse-noisettes | (nutcrackers suite) |
Un cerf-volant | Des cerfs-volants | (kites) |
Un chef-lieu | Des chefs-lieux |
1. If the first word of the compound nouns is franc or grand, it agrees in the plural just with a masculine noun
Des grands-pères → Des grand-mères
2. When a compound noun starts with demi followed by a noun, the noun agrees in the plural
Des demi-heures.
3. When a compound noun starts with garde (noun) followed by a noun, the first word agrees but the noun agrees depending on the meaning
Des gardes-malades
4. When a compound noun starts with garde (verb) followed by a noun, the verb garde does not agree.
Des garde-manger.
Put an hyphen in the following compound nouns if necessary. If there is no hyphen leave the blank empty.
Bonne chance !
1. Une tirelire. (A piggy bank)
2. Un portemonnaie. (A wallet)
3. Un aidecomptable. (An accoutant assistant)
4. Un arrièregrandpère. (A grand old father)
5. Une bellesoeur. (A sister in law)
6. Un appareilphoto. (A camera)
7. Une caméracouleur. (A color camera)
8. Une demifinale. (A semi final)
9. Un horsjeu. (Off-side)
10. Un loupgarou. (A werewolf)
Write an -s in the following compound nouns to form the plural if necessary. Leave the blank if there is no -s
Bonne chance !
Examples: des portefeuilles
1. Une assurance-vie : Des assurance-vie
(Life insurance)
2. Un porte parole : Des porte parole
(Spokespersons)
3. La grand-mère : Les grand-mère
(Grandmothers)
4. Un sapeur-pompier : Des sapeur-pompier
(Firemen)
5. Un gratte ciel : Des gratte ciel
(Skyscrapers)
6. Un garde malade : Des garde malade
(Nurses)
7. Un avant-goût : Des avant-goût
(Foretastes)
8. Un aller-retour : Des aller-retour
(Back and forth)
9. Un arc en ciel: Des arc en ciel
(Rainbows)
10. Un bas ventre : Des bas-ventre
(Abdomens)
Put an hyphen in the following compound nouns if necessary. If there is no hyphen leave the blank empty.
Bonne chance !
1. Une tirelire. (A piggy bank)
2. Un portemonnaie. (A wallet)
3. Un aidecomptable. (An accoutant assistant)
4. Un arrièregrandpère. (A grand old father)
5. Une bellesoeur. (A sister in law)
6. Un appareilphoto. (A camera)
7. Une caméracouleur. (A color camera)
8. Une demifinale. (A semi final)
9. Un horsjeu. (Off-side)
10. Un loupgarou. (A werewolf)
Write an -s in the following compound nouns to form the plural if necessary. Leave the blank if there is no -s
Bonne chance !
Examples: des portefeuilles
1. Une assurance-vie : Des assurance-vie
(Life insurance)
2. Un porte parole : Des porte parole
(Spokespersons)
3. La grand-mère : Les grand-mère
(Grandmothers)
4. Un sapeur-pompier : Des sapeur-pompier
(Firemen)
5. Un gratte ciel : Des gratte ciel
(Skyscrapers)
6. Un garde malade : Des garde malade
(Nurses)
7. Un avant-goût : Des avant-goût
(Foretastes)
8. Un aller-retour : Des aller-retour
(Back and forth)
9. Un arc en ciel: Des arc en ciel
(Rainbows)
10. Un bas ventre : Des bas-ventre
(Abdomens)
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Hello,
I am a multilingual teacher with experience in teaching French to German, Japanese, English, Bulgarian and Italian-speaking students, etc. (levels A1 to C1).
I have been teaching French for 8 years in Luxemburg and now in Bulgaria for 4 years, to teenagers, housewives, businessmen, employees, doctors, etc. I can also help you with DELF and DALF preparation. I give lessons via Skype, Zoom and Microsoft Teams in several countries.
My teaching method for each class : a grammar point together with listening, a lot of speaking with conversation questions or games. While you speak, I write all the new words you need to express yourself, illustrated by pictures or translated in your language.
I do my best to make you feel comfortable to speak and for you to have a pleasant time. According to me, using humour will help you learn more easily.
Whether you need to learn French for business, integration in a French-speaking country or studying, I will be happy to help you. Do not hesitate to contact me for a free trial lesson.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
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1 - If you are looking for a well-structured French program to take you from a beginner level to advanced level to be able to travel to France, i have developed with success my own program which includes 70 worksheets from basic to advance level.
2 - If you are thinking taking any DELF exam, I can help you as I have experience in this field (3 years with Ensemble en Francais - online school).
3 - If you are a VCE French student, I definitively will be able to boost your skills to do well at the exam due to my experience as VCE French teacher and also as a VCE assessor.
4 - Finally I have also an extensive experience in teaching French at the primary and middle school level
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Training is my passion. I like interacting with people. I am passionate about reading, watching movies, and music. I love to explore new places and have keen interest in arts and literature.I love meeting new people because every person is a whole new world you can learn from. I am also a keen reader and an enthusiastic traveller.
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Training is my passion. I like interacting with people. I am passionate about reading, watching movies, and music. I love to explore new places and have keen interest in arts and literature.I love meeting new people because every person is a whole new world you can learn from. I am also a keen reader and an enthusiastic traveller.
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Kelly is always on time, patient and friendly. She answers all my questions about the French language and culture. She is a good teacher and I recommend her. Kelly is always on time, is patient, and friendly. She answers all my questions about the French language and culture. She's a great teacher and I recommend her.
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Thanks Jo. I am also very happy to have you as a student.
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Training is my passion. I like interacting with people. I am passionate about reading, watching movies, and music. I love to explore new places and have keen interest in arts and literature.I love meeting new people because every person is a whole new world you can learn from. I am also a keen reader and an enthusiastic traveller.
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She is kind, she listen to me and try to help me to understand, she use pictures, english words and try to show me the meaning of words . I recommand her. She offers books for free.
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Hello,
I am a multilingual teacher with experience in teaching French to German, Japanese, English, Bulgarian and Italian-speaking students, etc. (levels A1 to C1).
I have been teaching French for 8 years in Luxemburg and now in Bulgaria for 4 years, to teenagers, housewives, businessmen, employees, doctors, etc. I can also help you with DELF and DALF preparation. I give lessons via Skype, Zoom and Microsoft Teams in several countries.
My teaching method for each class : a grammar point together with listening, a lot of speaking with conversation questions or games. While you speak, I write all the new words you need to express yourself, illustrated by pictures or translated in your language.
I do my best to make you feel comfortable to speak and for you to have a pleasant time. According to me, using humour will help you learn more easily.
Whether you need to learn French for business, integration in a French-speaking country or studying, I will be happy to help you. Do not hesitate to contact me for a free trial lesson.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Katia
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I am really excited about Katia as my teacher. I think she is a very good teacher. And a nice person too. She customise the lessons according to my wishes what i would like to learn. She is very experienced with skype. It all runs very smoothly. I am looking forward to the next lessons and i highly recommend her as your teacher. Miriam
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Hello, my name is Claus !For many years I teach students from all over the world as a professional teacher of the German language. With a lot of experience and patience I lead my students to their to teach successfully and with fun. I offer you general language courses of B1- C2 with test preparations, as well as courses in Business German (prerequisites are language proficiency in German from level B1 +!).
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Thanks for your support. I learned a lot from you and my last German test went very well. I will be happy to contact you again if I need your help again. With kind regards
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1 - If you are looking for a well-structured French program to take you from a beginner level to advanced level to be able to travel to France, i have developed with success my own program which includes 70 worksheets from basic to advance level.
2 - If you are thinking taking any DELF exam, I can help you as I have experience in this field (3 years with Ensemble en Francais - online school).
3 - If you are a VCE French student, I definitively will be able to boost your skills to do well at the exam due to my experience as VCE French teacher and also as a VCE assessor.
4 - Finally I have also an extensive experience in teaching French at the primary and middle school level
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Francois is teaching our daughter in French at the moment. She is a total beginner and they started from scratch. Both work for one hour daily and agree on homework which is being checked in the next lesson. The lesson via Skype is working well with the exchange of material Skype as well. We can definitely see progress.
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