Great Expectations — Page 1

English → Fr Chapter I. Level 8/10

My father's family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip.

Le nom de famille de mon père étant Pirrip, et mon prénom Philip, ma langue d'enfant ne pouvait tirer de ces deux noms rien de plus long ou de plus explicite que Pip.

So, I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip.

Ainsi, je me suis appelé Pip, et on en vint à m'appeler Pip.

I give Pirrip as my father's family name, on the authority of his tombstone and my sister,—Mrs. Joe Gargery, who married the blacksmith.

Je donne Pirrip comme nom de famille de mon père, sur la foi de sa pierre tombale et de ma sœur — Mme Joe Gargery, qui épousa le forgeron.

As I never saw my father or my mother, and never saw any likeness of either of them (for their days were long before the days of photographs), my first fancies regarding what they were like were unreasonably derived from their tombstones.

Comme je n'ai jamais vu mon père ni ma mère, et n'ai jamais vu aucun portrait de l'un ou de l'autre (car leur époque était bien antérieure à celle des photographies), mes premières imaginations sur ce qu'ils pouvaient être ressemblaient, bien à tort, à ce que m'en disaient leurs pierres tombales.

The shape of the letters on my father's, gave me an odd idea that he was a square, stout, dark man, with curly black hair.

La forme des lettres sur la pierre de mon père me donna l'étrange idée qu'il était un homme carré, corpulent, brun, aux cheveux noirs et bouclés.

From the character and turn of the inscription, "_Also Georgiana Wife of the Above_," I drew a childish conclusion that my mother was freckled and sickly.

Du caractère et du tour de l'inscription « _Également Georgiana, épouse du Susmentionné_ », je tirai la conclusion enfantine que ma mère était couverte de taches de rousseur et de constitution maladive.

To five little stone lozenges, each about a foot and a half long, which were arranged in a neat row beside their grave, and were sacred to the memory of five little brothers of mine,—who gave up trying to get a living, exceedingly early in that universal struggle,—I am indebted for a belief I religiously entertained that they had all been born on their backs with their hands in their trousers-pockets, and had never taken them out in this state of existence.

À cinq petites dalles de pierre, chacune d'environ un pied et demi de long, disposées en rang ordonné auprès de leur tombe, et consacrées à la mémoire de cinq de mes petits frères — qui avaient renoncé à tenter de gagner leur vie, très tôt dans cette lutte universelle —, je dois la conviction, pieusement entretenue, qu'ils étaient tous nés sur le dos, les mains dans les poches de leur pantalon, et ne les en avaient jamais retirées durant leur passage en ce monde.

Vocabulary

nom: noh — A word used to identify a person or thing
famille: fah-mee — A group of related people living together
père: pehr — A male parent; father
étant: ay-tah — Present participle of 'être'; meaning 'being'
prénom: pray-noh — A person's first or given name
langue: lahng — The organ used for speech; also means 'language'
enfant: ahn-fahn — A young human being; a child
pouvait: poo-veh — Third-person singular imperfect of 'pouvoir'; could
tirer: tee-ray — To pull or extract something from something else
noms: noh — Plural of 'nom'; names or nouns
rien: ryah — Nothing; not anything at all
long: loh — Having great length; extended in space
explicite: ex-plee-seet — Clearly expressed and leaving nothing implied
Ainsi: ah-see — Adverb meaning 'thus,' 'so,' or 'in this way'
appelé: ah-puh-lay — Past participle of 'appeler'; named or called
on: oh — Indefinite pronoun meaning 'one,' 'we,' or 'they'
vint: vah — Third-person singular simple past of 'venir'; came
appeler: ah-puh-lay — To call someone by a name
donne: don — First-person singular present of 'donner'; I give
comme: kom — Conjunction or preposition meaning 'as,' 'like,' or 'since'
foi: fwah — Faith, trust, or belief in something
pierre: pyehr — A stone or rock; also a proper name
tombale: toh-bahl — Adjective relating to a tomb or gravestone
sœur: suhr — A female sibling; sister
Mme: mah-dam — Abbreviation for 'Madame'; a title for a woman
épousa: ay-poo-zah — Third-person singular simple past of 'épouser'; married
forgeron: for-zhuh-roh — A person who shapes metal by forging; blacksmith
Comme: kom — Conjunction meaning 'as,' 'since,' or 'because'
jamais: zhah-meh — Never; used in negative constructions or meaning 'ever'
vu: vü — Past participle of 'voir'; seen
ni: nee — Neither…nor; negative correlative conjunction
mère: mehr — A female parent; mother
aucun: oh-kuh — No, not any; used in negative constructions
portrait: por-treh — A painting or photo representing a person's likeness
autre: ohtr — Different or additional; another person or thing
car: kar — Conjunction meaning 'because' or 'for'
époque: ay-pok — A period or era in history
bien: byah — Adverb meaning 'well,' 'very,' or 'quite'
antérieure: ahn-tay-ryuhr — Coming before in time; earlier or prior
celle: sel — Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'that one' (feminine)
photographies: foh-toh-grah-fee — Images captured by a camera; photographs
premières: pruh-myehr — Feminine plural of 'premier'; first in order or time
imaginations: ee-mah-zhee-nah-syoh — Mental images or ideas formed without direct perception
pouvaient: poo-veh — Third-person plural imperfect of 'pouvoir'; could
être: etr — Infinitive verb meaning 'to be'
ressemblaient: ruh-sahm-bleh — Third-person plural imperfect; resembled or looked like
tort: tor — Wrong; error; used in 'à tort' meaning wrongly
disaient: dee-zeh — Third-person plural imperfect of 'dire'; were saying
pierres: pyehr — Plural of 'pierre'; stones or rocks
tombales: toh-bahl — Plural adjective relating to tombs or gravestones
forme: form — The shape or appearance of something
lettres: letr — Plural of 'lettre'; letters of the alphabet or written correspondence
donna: doh-nah — Third-person singular simple past of 'donner'; gave
étrange: ay-trahzh — Unusual or unfamiliar; strange or odd
idée: ee-day — A thought or concept formed in the mind
homme: om — An adult male human being; man
carré: kah-ray — Square-shaped; having equal sides or a stocky build
corpulent: kor-pü-lahn — Having a large, heavy body; stout or overweight
brun: bruh — Having a dark brown color; dark-complexioned
cheveux: shuh-vuh — The hair growing on a person's head
noirs: nwar — Plural of 'noir'; black in color
bouclés: boo-klay — Curly or wavy, describing hair texture
caractère: kah-rahk-tehr — The nature or personality of a person or thing
tour: toor — A turn or style; also a tower or trip
inscription: ah-skreep-syoh — Words carved or written on a surface as a memorial
_Également: ay-gahl-mahn — Adverb meaning 'also,' 'equally,' or 'likewise'
épouse: ay-pooz — A married woman; wife
Susmentionné_: sü-mahn-syoh-nay — The above-mentioned person or thing referenced earlier
tirai: tee-ray — First-person singular simple past of 'tirer'; I drew or pulled
conclusion: koh-klü-zyoh — A judgment or decision reached through reasoning
enfantine: ahn-fahn-teen — Feminine adjective meaning childlike or pertaining to childhood
couverte: koo-vehrt — Covered or marked with something on the surface
taches: tahsh — Spots or stains on a surface or skin
rousses: roos — Reddish-brown in color; used for freckles or red hair
constitution: koh-stee-tü-syoh — The physical makeup or general health of a person
maladive: mah-lah-deev — Sickly or unhealthy in appearance or nature
cinq: sank — The number five
petites: puh-teet — Feminine plural of 'petit'; small or little
dalles: dahl — Flat stone slabs used for flooring or grave markers
chacune: shah-kün — Feminine form of 'chacun'; each one individually
environ: ahn-vee-roh — Approximately; about a certain amount or distance
pied: pyay — A foot as a unit of measurement or body part
demi: duh-mee — Half; one of two equal parts
disposées: dees-poh-zay — Arranged or placed in a particular order or pattern
rang: rahn — A row, line, or rank of people or objects
ordonné: or-doh-nay — Arranged in an orderly or neat manner
auprès: oh-preh — Near or close to; beside someone or something
tombe: toh — A grave or burial place for a deceased person
consacrées: koh-sah-kray — Dedicated or devoted to a particular purpose or memory
mémoire: may-mwar — Memory or remembrance of a person or event
petits: puh-tee — Masculine plural of 'petit'; small or little
frères: frehr — Plural of 'frère'; brothers or male siblings
renoncé: ruh-noh-say — Past participle of 'renoncer'; given up or abandoned
tenter: tahn-tay — To attempt or try to do something difficult
gagner: gah-nyay — To earn, win, or gain something
vie: vee — The state of being alive; life
tôt: toh — Early; sooner than expected or usual
lutte: lüt — A struggle, fight, or contest against opposition
universelle: ü-nee-vehr-sel — Feminine adjective meaning universal or affecting everyone
dois: dwah — First-person singular present of 'devoir'; must or owe
conviction: koh-veek-syoh — A firm belief or opinion held with certainty
pieusement: pyuh-zmahn — In a pious or devoutly faithful manner
entretenue: ahn-truh-tuh-nü — Maintained or kept alive over time
tous: too — All; every one of a group
nés: nay — Plural past participle of 'naître'; born
dos: doh — The back of the human body
mains: mah — Plural of 'main'; hands of a person
poches: posh — Pockets sewn into clothing for storing small items
pantalon: pahn-tah-loh — A garment covering the legs; trousers or pants
retirées: ruh-tee-ray — Removed or taken out from a place or position
durant: dü-rahn — Preposition meaning 'during' a period of time
passage: pah-sahzh — A brief stay or transit through a place or time
monde: mohd — The world; all of humanity or existence

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