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Little Women — Page 2

English → Fr CHAPTER ONE Level 6/10

I agree not to expect anything from Mother or you, but I do want to buy _Undine and Sintran_ for myself.

Je consens à ne rien attendre de Mère ni de vous, mais je veux acheter _Undine et Sintran_ pour moi-même.

I've wanted it so long," said Jo, who was a bookworm.

Je le désire depuis si longtemps, » dit Jo, qui était une dévoreuse de livres.

"I planned to spend mine in new music," said Beth, with a little sigh, which no one heard but the hearth brush and kettle-holder.

« Je comptais dépenser le mien en nouvelle musique, » dit Beth, avec un petit soupir que personne n'entendit, sinon la brosse de foyer et le porte-bouilloire.

"I shall get a nice box of Faber's drawing pencils; I really need them," said Amy decidedly.

« Je vais m'acheter une belle boîte de crayons à dessin Faber ; j'en ai vraiment besoin, » dit Amy d'un ton décidé.

"Mother didn't say anything about our money, and she won't wish us to give up everything.

« Mère n'a rien dit au sujet de notre argent, et elle ne souhaitera pas que nous renoncions à tout.

Let's each buy what we want, and have a little fun; I'm sure we work hard enough to earn it," cried Jo, examining the heels of her shoes in a gentlemanly manner.

Achetons chacune ce que nous voulons, et amusons-nous un peu ; je suis sûre que nous travaillons assez dur pour le mériter, » s'écria Jo, examinant les talons de ses chaussures d'une manière toute masculine.

"I know I do—teaching those tiresome children nearly all day, when I'm longing to enjoy myself at home," began Meg, in the complaining tone again.

« C'est bien mon cas — enseigner à ces enfants fatigants presque toute la journée, alors que je languis de profiter de chez moi, » commença Meg, reprenant son ton plaintif.

"You don't have half such a hard time as I do," said Jo.

« Tu n'as pas la moitié des difficultés que j'ai, moi, » dit Jo.

"How would you like to be shut up for hours with a nervous, fussy old lady, who keeps you trotting, is never satisfied, and worries you till you're ready to fly out the window or cry?"

« Comment aimerais-tu être enfermée pendant des heures avec une vieille dame nerveuse et tatillonne, qui te fait courir sans cesse, n'est jamais satisfaite, et te tourmente au point que tu es prête à sauter par la fenêtre ou à pleurer ? »

"It's naughty to fret, but I do think washing dishes and keeping things tidy is the worst work in the world.

« C'est mal de se plaindre, mais je trouve vraiment que faire la vaisselle et tenir les choses en ordre est le pire travail du monde.

It makes me cross, and my hands get so stiff, I can't practice well at all.

Cela me met de mauvaise humeur, et mes mains deviennent si raides que je ne peux pas du tout bien m'exercer.

Vocabulary

consens
First person singular of 'consentir'; to consent, agree
rien
Pronoun meaning 'nothing' or 'anything'
attendre
To wait for someone or something
Mère
Noun meaning 'mother'; female parent
ni
Conjunction meaning 'nor', used in negation
veux
First person singular of 'vouloir'; to want
acheter
To buy or purchase something
même
Adjective or adverb meaning 'same', 'even', or 'itself'
désire
First person singular of 'désirer'; to desire, want
depuis
Preposition meaning 'since' or 'for' indicating duration
longtemps
Adverb meaning 'for a long time'
dit
Third person singular past of 'dire'; said, told
était
Third person singular imperfect of 'être'; was, used to be
dévoreuse
Feminine noun meaning 'devourer', avid consumer
livres
Plural noun meaning 'books' or 'pounds' (currency)
comptais
First person singular imperfect of 'compter'; planned, intended
dépenser
To spend money on something
mien
Possessive pronoun meaning 'mine' (masculine singular)
nouvelle
Adjective meaning 'new' (feminine); also a short story
musique
Noun meaning 'music'; organized sound art form
petit
Adjective meaning 'small', 'little', or 'minor'
soupir
Noun meaning 'sigh'; audible breath expressing emotion
personne
Noun meaning 'person'; with 'ne', means 'nobody'
entendit
Third person singular simple past of 'entendre'; heard
sinon
Conjunction meaning 'except', 'otherwise', or 'if not'
brosse
Noun meaning 'brush', used for cleaning or grooming
foyer
Noun meaning 'hearth', 'home', or 'lobby'
porte
Noun meaning 'door'; also third person of 'porter'
bouilloire
Noun meaning 'kettle'; vessel for boiling water
vais
First person singular of 'aller'; go, am going
belle
Feminine adjective meaning 'beautiful' or 'lovely'
boîte
Noun meaning 'box' or 'tin container'
crayons
Plural noun meaning 'pencils' or 'crayons'
dessin
Noun meaning 'drawing' or 'sketch'; visual art form
vraiment
Adverb meaning 'truly', 'really', or 'genuinely'
besoin
Noun meaning 'need'; avoir besoin de means to need
décidé
Past participle of 'décider'; decided, determined
sujet
Noun meaning 'subject' or 'topic'; au sujet de means about
argent
Noun meaning 'money' or 'silver'
souhaitera
Third person singular future of 'souhaiter'; will wish
renoncions
First person plural subjunctive of 'renoncer'; to give up
tout
Adjective or pronoun meaning 'all', 'every', or 'everything'
Achetons
First person plural imperative of 'acheter'; let's buy
chacune
Feminine indefinite pronoun meaning 'each one' or 'every one'
voulons
First person plural of 'vouloir'; we want
amusons
First person plural of 's'amuser'; let's have fun
peu
Adverb meaning 'a little', 'few', or 'not much'
sûre
Feminine adjective meaning 'sure', 'certain', or 'safe'
travaillons
First person plural of 'travailler'; we work
assez
Adverb meaning 'enough' or 'rather', 'quite'
dur
Adjective or adverb meaning 'hard', 'tough', or 'difficult'
mériter
To deserve or merit something earned through effort
écria
Third person singular simple past of 's'écrier'; exclaimed
examinant
Present participle of 'examiner'; examining, inspecting
talons
Plural noun meaning 'heels' of shoes or feet
chaussures
Plural noun meaning 'shoes'; footwear worn on feet
manière
Noun meaning 'manner', 'way', or 'style of doing'
toute
Feminine form of 'tout'; all, entire, completely
masculine
Adjective meaning 'masculine' or 'manly' in style
bien
Adverb meaning 'well' or adjective meaning 'good'
cas
Noun meaning 'case', 'situation', or 'instance'
enseigner
To teach or instruct students in a subject
enfants
Plural noun meaning 'children'; young human beings
fatigants
Plural adjective meaning 'tiring', 'exhausting', or 'tedious'
presque
Adverb meaning 'almost', 'nearly', or 'virtually'
journée
Noun meaning 'day' emphasizing duration of the day
alors
Adverb meaning 'then', 'so', or 'at that time'
languis
First person singular of 'languir'; to languish, long for
profiter
To take advantage of or benefit from something
chez
Preposition meaning 'at the home of' someone
commença
Third person singular simple past of 'commencer'; began
reprenant
Present participle of 'reprendre'; resuming, taking up again
plaintif
Adjective meaning 'plaintive', expressing sadness or complaint
moitié
Noun meaning 'half'; one of two equal parts
difficultés
Plural noun meaning 'difficulties', 'troubles', or 'hardships'
Comment
Interrogative adverb meaning 'how' or 'what'
aimerais
Conditional of 'aimer'; would like, would love
être
Infinitive meaning 'to be'; fundamental linking verb
enfermée
Past participle of 'enfermer'; locked up, shut inside
pendant
Preposition meaning 'during' or 'for' a period of time
heures
Plural noun meaning 'hours'; units of time
vieille
Feminine adjective meaning 'old'; elderly woman
dame
Noun meaning 'lady' or 'woman'; formal term
nerveuse
Feminine adjective meaning 'nervous', 'anxious', or 'irritable'
tatillonne
Adjective meaning 'fussy', 'nitpicking', or 'overly particular'
fait
Third person singular of 'faire'; makes, does, causes
courir
To run or rush about; move quickly on foot
sans
Preposition meaning 'without', indicating absence
cesse
Noun meaning 'ceasing'; sans cesse means 'incessantly'
jamais
Adverb meaning 'never' or 'ever' in questions
satisfaite
Feminine adjective meaning 'satisfied', 'content', or 'pleased'
tourmente
Third person singular of 'tourmenter'; torments, tortures
point
Noun meaning 'point'; also negative adverb meaning 'not at all'
prête
Feminine adjective meaning 'ready', 'prepared' to do something
sauter
To jump, leap, or skip; sudden upward movement
par
Preposition meaning 'by', 'through', or 'per'
fenêtre
Noun meaning 'window'; opening in a wall for light
pleurer
To cry, weep, or shed tears from emotion
mal
Noun or adverb meaning 'pain', 'evil', or 'badly'
plaindre
To complain or feel sorry; se plaindre means to complain
trouve
First or third person singular of 'trouver'; finds, thinks
faire
Infinitive meaning 'to do' or 'to make'
vaisselle
Noun meaning 'dishes' or 'crockery'; faire la vaisselle means to wash up
tenir
To hold, keep, or maintain something in place
choses
Plural noun meaning 'things' or 'objects' in general
ordre
Noun meaning 'order', 'tidiness', or 'arrangement'
pire
Adjective meaning 'worse' or 'worst'; comparative of 'mauvais'
travail
Noun meaning 'work', 'job', or 'labor'
monde
Noun meaning 'world' or 'people'; du monde means in the world
Cela
Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'that' referring to something mentioned
met
Third person singular of 'mettre'; puts, places, sets
mauvaise
Feminine adjective meaning 'bad', 'poor', or 'wicked'
humeur
Noun meaning 'mood' or 'humor'; de mauvaise humeur means in bad mood
mains
Plural noun meaning 'hands'; body parts for grasping
deviennent
Third person plural of 'devenir'; become, turn into
raides
Plural adjective meaning 'stiff', 'rigid', or 'sore'
peux
First or second person singular of 'pouvoir'; can, am able to
exercer
To exercise, practice, or carry out an activity
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