Great Expectations — Page 7

English → Fr Chapter I. Level 8/10

"I wish I was a frog. Or a eel!"

« Je voudrais être une grenouille. Ou une anguille ! »

At the same time, he hugged his shuddering body in both his arms,—clasping himself, as if to hold himself together,—and limped towards the low church wall.

En même temps, il serra son corps frissonnant dans ses deux bras, — s'étreignant lui-même, comme pour se tenir ensemble, — et boitilla vers le bas mur de l'église.

As I saw him go, picking his way among the nettles, and among the brambles that bound the green mounds, he looked in my young eyes as if he were eluding the hands of the dead people, stretching up cautiously out of their graves, to get a twist upon his ankle and pull him in.

Tandis que je le regardais s'en aller, se frayant un chemin parmi les orties et parmi les ronces qui entouraient les tertres verdoyants, il me semblait, à mes yeux d'enfant, qu'il esquivait les mains des morts, qui se tendaient prudemment hors de leurs tombes pour lui saisir la cheville et l'y entraîner.

When he came to the low church wall, he got over it, like a man whose legs were numbed and stiff, and then turned round to look for me.

Lorsqu'il arriva au bas mur de l'église, il le franchit comme un homme dont les jambes sont engourdies et raides, puis se retourna pour me chercher.

When I saw him turning, I set my face towards home, and made the best use of my legs.

Quand je le vis se retourner, je tournai mon visage vers la maison et usai de mes jambes de mon mieux.

But presently I looked over my shoulder, and saw him going on again towards the river, still hugging himself in both arms, and picking his way with his sore feet among the great stones dropped into the marshes here and there, for stepping-places when the rains were heavy or the tide was in.

Mais bientôt je jetai un coup d'œil par-dessus mon épaule, et le vis reprendre sa marche vers la rivière, se serrant toujours dans ses deux bras, et se frayant un chemin avec ses pieds endoloris parmi les grosses pierres posées çà et là dans les marais, pour servir de pas lorsque les pluies étaient fortes ou que la marée montait.

The marshes were just a long black horizontal line then, as I stopped to look after him; and the river was just another horizontal line, not nearly so broad nor yet so black; and the sky was just a row of long angry red lines and dense black lines intermixed.

Les marais n'étaient alors qu'une longue ligne noire horizontale, tandis que je m'arrêtais pour le suivre du regard ; et la rivière n'était qu'une autre ligne horizontale, loin d'être aussi large ni aussi noire ; et le ciel n'était qu'une rangée de longues lignes rouges furieuses et de lignes noires épaisses entremêlées.

Vocabulary

Je: First person singular pronoun meaning 'I'.
voudrais: Conditional form of vouloir meaning 'would like'.
être: Infinitive verb meaning 'to be'.
une: Feminine indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an'.
grenouille: Noun meaning 'frog', a small amphibious creature.
Ou: Conjunction meaning 'or', presenting an alternative.
anguille: Noun meaning 'eel', a snake-like fish.
En: Preposition meaning 'in' or 'while', indicating manner or time.
même: Adjective or adverb meaning 'same' or 'even'.
temps: Noun meaning 'time' or 'weather'.
il: Third person masculine singular pronoun meaning 'he'.
serra: Past tense of serrer meaning 'he gripped or clutched'.
son: Possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', or 'its'.
corps: Noun meaning 'body', the physical form of a person.
frissonnant: Present participle meaning 'shivering' or 'trembling'.
dans: Preposition meaning 'in' or 'inside'.
ses: Possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', or 'its' (plural).
deux: Number meaning 'two'.
bras: Noun meaning 'arm' or 'arms'.
s'étreignant: Reflexive participle meaning 'embracing himself' or 'hugging himself'.
lui-même: Reflexive pronoun meaning 'himself'.
comme: Conjunction or adverb meaning 'as' or 'like'.
pour: Preposition meaning 'for' or 'in order to'.
se: Reflexive pronoun meaning 'oneself' or 'himself/herself'.
tenir: Infinitive meaning 'to hold' or 'to keep'.
ensemble: Adverb meaning 'together'.
et: Conjunction meaning 'and'.
boitilla: Past tense of boitiller meaning 'he hobbled along'.
vers: Preposition meaning 'toward' or 'towards'.
le: Masculine definite article meaning 'the'.
bas: Adjective or adverb meaning 'low' or 'down'.
mur: Noun meaning 'wall', a solid vertical structure.
de: Preposition meaning 'of' or 'from'.
l'église: Noun meaning 'the church', a Christian place of worship.
Tandis: Conjunction (tandis que) meaning 'while' or 'whereas'.
que: Conjunction or relative pronoun meaning 'that' or 'which'.
je: First person singular pronoun meaning 'I'.
regardais: Imperfect tense of regarder meaning 'I was watching'.
s'en: Reflexive pronoun combination meaning 'away' or 'of it'.
aller: Infinitive meaning 'to go'.
frayant: Present participle of frayer meaning 'making or clearing a path'.
un: Masculine indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an'.
chemin: Noun meaning 'path', 'road', or 'way'.
parmi: Preposition meaning 'among' or 'amid'.
les: Plural definite article meaning 'the'.
orties: Noun meaning 'nettles', stinging plants found in the wild.
ronces: Noun meaning 'brambles' or 'thorns', prickly wild shrubs.
qui: Relative pronoun meaning 'who', 'which', or 'that'.
entouraient: Imperfect of entourer meaning 'surrounded' or 'encircled'.
tertres: Noun meaning 'mounds' or 'hillocks', small raised ground areas.
verdoyants: Adjective meaning 'verdant' or 'lushly green'.
me: Reflexive or object pronoun meaning 'me' or 'to me'.
semblait: Imperfect of sembler meaning 'it seemed' or 'appeared'.
à: Preposition meaning 'to', 'at', or 'in'.
mes: Possessive adjective meaning 'my' (plural).
yeux: Noun meaning 'eyes', the organs of sight.
d'enfant: Noun phrase meaning 'of a child' or 'child's'.
qu'il: Contraction of que and il meaning 'that he'.
esquivait: Imperfect of esquiver meaning 'he was dodging or evading'.
mains: Noun meaning 'hands', the end parts of the arms.
des: Partitive or plural article meaning 'of the' or 'some'.
morts: Noun or adjective meaning 'the dead' or 'dead'.
tendaient: Imperfect of tendre meaning 'were stretching out or reaching'.
prudemment: Adverb meaning 'cautiously' or 'carefully'.
hors: Preposition meaning 'out of' or 'outside'.
leurs: Possessive adjective meaning 'their' (plural).
tombes: Noun meaning 'graves' or 'tombs', burial places.
lui: Indirect object pronoun meaning 'him' or 'to him'.
saisir: Infinitive meaning 'to seize', 'to grab', or 'to grasp'.
la: Feminine definite article or object pronoun meaning 'the' or 'her'.
cheville: Noun meaning 'ankle', the joint connecting foot and leg.
entraîner: Infinitive meaning 'to drag', 'to pull', or 'to lead away'.
Lorsqu'il: Conjunction contraction meaning 'when he'.
arriva: Past tense of arriver meaning 'he arrived' or 'reached'.
au: Contraction of à and le meaning 'to the' or 'at the'.
franchit: Past tense of franchir meaning 'he crossed' or 'climbed over'.
homme: Noun meaning 'man', an adult male person.
dont: Relative pronoun meaning 'whose', 'of which', or 'from which'.
jambes: Noun meaning 'legs', the lower limbs of the body.
sont: Third person plural of être meaning 'are'.
engourdies: Adjective meaning 'numb' or 'stiff', lacking sensation.
raides: Adjective meaning 'stiff' or 'rigid'.
puis: Adverb meaning 'then' or 'afterwards'.
retourna: Past tense of retourner meaning 'he returned' or 'went back'.
chercher: Infinitive meaning 'to look for' or 'to fetch'.
Quand: Conjunction meaning 'when'.
vis: Past tense of voir meaning 'I saw'.
retourner: Infinitive meaning 'to return' or 'to go back'.
tournai: Past tense of tourner meaning 'I turned'.
mon: Masculine possessive adjective meaning 'my'.
visage: Noun meaning 'face', the front part of the head.
maison: Noun meaning 'house' or 'home'.
mieux: Adverb or adjective meaning 'better'.
Mais: Conjunction meaning 'but'.
bientôt: Adverb meaning 'soon' or 'shortly'.
jetai: Past tense of jeter meaning 'I threw' or 'cast a glance'.
coup: Noun meaning 'blow', 'shot', or used in phrases like 'glance'.
d'œil: Noun phrase meaning 'of the eye', used in coup d'œil (glance).
par-dessus: Preposition meaning 'over' or 'above'.
épaule: Noun meaning 'shoulder', the joint connecting arm to body.
reprendre: Infinitive meaning 'to resume', 'to retake', or 'to continue'.
sa: Feminine possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', or 'its'.
marche: Noun meaning 'walk' or 'march', the act of walking.
rivière: Noun meaning 'river', a large flowing body of water.
serrant: Present participle of serrer meaning 'gripping' or 'clutching'.
toujours: Adverb meaning 'always' or 'still'.
avec: Preposition meaning 'with'.
pieds: Noun meaning 'feet', the lower extremities of the legs.
endoloris: Adjective meaning 'sore' or 'aching', painful to touch.
grosses: Adjective meaning 'large' or 'big' (feminine plural).
pierres: Noun meaning 'stones' or 'rocks'.
posées: Past participle of poser meaning 'placed' or 'set down'.
çà: Adverb used in çà et là meaning 'here and there'.
là: Adverb meaning 'there', indicating a place or location.
marais: Noun meaning 'marsh' or 'swamp', a waterlogged area.
servir: Infinitive meaning 'to serve' or 'to be used as'.
pas: Noun meaning 'step', or used in negation meaning 'not'.
lorsque: Conjunction meaning 'when' or 'at the time when'.
pluies: Noun meaning 'rains', precipitation falling from the sky.
étaient: Imperfect of être meaning 'were'.
fortes: Adjective meaning 'strong' or 'heavy' (feminine plural).
ou: Conjunction meaning 'or', presenting an alternative choice.
marée: Noun meaning 'tide', the rise and fall of sea water.
montait: Imperfect of monter meaning 'was rising' or 'going up'.
Les: Plural definite article meaning 'the'.
n'étaient: Negative imperfect of être meaning 'were not'.
alors: Adverb meaning 'then' or 'at that time'.
qu'une: Contraction meaning 'than a' or 'but a'.
longue: Adjective meaning 'long' (feminine singular).
ligne: Noun meaning 'line', a long narrow mark or row.
noire: Adjective meaning 'black' (feminine singular).
horizontale: Adjective meaning 'horizontal', parallel to the ground.
tandis: Conjunction (tandis que) meaning 'while' or 'whereas'.
m'arrêtais: Imperfect of s'arrêter meaning 'I was stopping' or 'pausing'.
suivre: Infinitive meaning 'to follow'.
du: Contraction of de and le meaning 'of the' or 'from the'.
regard: Noun meaning 'gaze' or 'look', the act of looking.
n'était: Negative imperfect of être meaning 'was not'.
autre: Adjective or pronoun meaning 'other' or 'another'.
loin: Adverb meaning 'far' or 'far away'.
d'être: Infinitive phrase meaning 'of being' or 'from being'.
aussi: Adverb meaning 'also', 'too', or 'as' in comparisons.
large: Adjective meaning 'wide' or 'broad'.
ni: Conjunction meaning 'nor', used in negative constructions.
ciel: Noun meaning 'sky' or 'heaven'.
rangée: Noun meaning 'row' or 'line', an arranged series of things.
longues: Adjective meaning 'long' (feminine plural).
lignes: Noun meaning 'lines', long narrow marks or rows.
rouges: Adjective meaning 'red' (plural).
furieuses: Adjective meaning 'furious' or 'fierce' (feminine plural).
noires: Adjective meaning 'black' (feminine plural).
épaisses: Adjective meaning 'thick' or 'dense' (feminine plural).
entremêlées: Past participle meaning 'intermingled' or 'interwoven' together.

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