Alice's Adventures in Wonderland — Page 1

English → Fr CHAPTER I. Level 5/10

Down the Rabbit-Hole

Dans le terrier du Lapin

Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, "and what is the use of a book," thought Alice "without pictures or conversations?"

Alice commençait à se sentir très lasse d'être assise à côté de sa sœur sur le talus, et de n'avoir rien à faire : une ou deux fois elle avait jeté un coup d'œil dans le livre que lisait sa sœur, mais il n'y avait ni images ni dialogues, « et à quoi sert un livre, » pensait Alice, « sans images ni dialogues ? »

So she was considering in her own mind (as well as she could, for the hot day made her feel very sleepy and stupid), whether the pleasure of making a daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking the daisies, when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her.

Elle réfléchissait donc en elle-même (aussi bien qu'elle le pouvait, car la chaleur du jour lui donnait très envie de dormir et lui brouillait les idées), si le plaisir de tresser une guirlande de marguerites vaudrait la peine de se lever et d'aller cueillir les marguerites, quand soudain un Lapin Blanc aux yeux roses passa en courant tout près d'elle.

There was nothing so _very_ remarkable in that; nor did Alice think it so _very_ much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to itself, "Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!

Il n'y avait là rien de bien _extraordinaire_ ; Alice ne trouva pas non plus très _étrange_ d'entendre le Lapin se dire à lui-même : « Oh mon Dieu ! Oh mon Dieu ! Je vais être en retard !

Vocabulary

terrier: tɛ.ʁje — A burrow or underground den dug by animals.
Lapin: la.pɛ̃ — A small furry mammal; a rabbit.
commençait: kɔ.mɑ̃.sɛ — Imperfect tense of 'commencer'; was beginning to do something.
sentir: sɑ̃.tiʁ — To feel or to smell; perceive a sensation.
lasse: las — Feeling weary or tired; fatigued from boredom.
assise: a.siz — Seated or sitting down; feminine past participle of 'asseoir'.
côté: ko.te — Side; near or beside someone or something.
sœur: sœʁ — A female sibling; sister.
talus: ta.ly — A sloped embankment or grassy bank beside a path.
rien: ʁjɛ̃ — Nothing; used in negative constructions meaning 'nothing'.
fois: fwa — Time or occasion; used in expressions like 'once'.
jeté: ʒə.te — Thrown or cast; past participle of 'jeter'.
coup: ku — A blow or stroke; used in many French expressions.
œil: œj — The eye; singular of 'yeux'.
livre: livʁ — A book; a written or printed publication.
lisait: li.zɛ — Imperfect of 'lire'; was reading a text.
y: i — Adverbial pronoun meaning 'there' or 'in it'.
ni: ni — Neither/nor; used in negative constructions to list items.
images: i.maʒ — Pictures or illustrations found in a book.
dialogues: dja.lɔɡ — Conversations or exchanges between characters in a text.
quoi: kwa — What; an interrogative or relative pronoun.
sert: sɛʁ — Third-person singular of 'servir'; serves or is useful.
pensait: pɑ̃.sɛ — Imperfect of 'penser'; was thinking about something.
sans: sɑ̃ — Preposition meaning 'without', indicating absence.
réfléchissait: ʁe.fle.ʃi.sɛ — Imperfect of 'réfléchir'; was reflecting or thinking deeply.
donc: dɔ̃k — Conjunction meaning 'therefore', 'so', or 'thus'.
elle-même: ɛl.mɛm — Herself; reflexive emphatic pronoun for a woman.
aussi: o.si — Also, too, or as; used for comparison or addition.
pouvait: pu.vɛ — Imperfect of 'pouvoir'; was able to or could do.
car: kaʁ — Conjunction meaning 'because' or 'for', giving a reason.
chaleur: ʃa.lœʁ — Heat or warmth; the quality of being hot.
donnait: dɔ.nɛ — Imperfect of 'donner'; was giving or causing something.
envie: ɑ̃.vi — Desire or urge; feeling like doing something.
dormir: dɔʁ.miʁ — To sleep; the infinitive of the verb 'to sleep'.
brouillait: bʁu.jɛ — Imperfect of 'brouiller'; was confusing or blurring things.
idées: i.de — Ideas or thoughts; concepts formed in the mind.
plaisir: plɛ.ziʁ — Pleasure or enjoyment; a feeling of satisfaction.
tresser: tʁɛ.se — To braid or weave together strands or flowers.
guirlande: ɡiʁ.lɑ̃d — A garland or wreath made from flowers or leaves.
marguerites: maʁ.ɡə.ʁit — Daisies; white-petaled flowers with a yellow center.
vaudrait: vo.dʁɛ — Conditional of 'valoir'; would be worth the effort.
peine: pɛn — Effort, trouble, or sorrow; worth the difficulty.
lever: lə.ve — To get up or to raise; stand up from a position.
cueillir: kœ.jiʁ — To pick or gather flowers, fruits, or plants.
soudain: su.dɛ̃ — Suddenly; unexpectedly and all at once.
yeux: jø — Eyes; the plural of 'œil'.
roses: ʁoz — Pink; also the plural of 'rose', the flower.
passa: Simple past of 'passer'; passed by quickly.
courant: ku.ʁɑ̃ — Running; present participle of 'courir', to run.
près: pʁɛ — Near or close; indicating proximity to something.
extraordinaire: ɛks.tʁa.ɔʁ.di.nɛʁ — Extraordinary; remarkable or highly unusual in nature.
trouva: tʁu.va — Simple past of 'trouver'; found or considered something.
étrange: e.tʁɑ̃ʒ — Strange or odd; something unusual or surprising.
entendre: ɑ̃.tɑ̃dʁ — To hear; to perceive sound with the ears.
lui-même: lɥi.mɛm — Himself; reflexive emphatic pronoun for a male subject.
Dieu: djø — God; used in exclamations like 'Mon Dieu!' meaning 'My God!'
retard: ʁə.taʁ — Lateness or delay; being behind schedule.

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