War and Peace — Page 2
The aunt spoke to each of them in the same words, about their health and her own, and the health of Her Majesty, "who, thank God, was better today."
La tante s'adressa à chacun d'eux dans les mêmes termes, au sujet de leur santé et de la sienne, et de la santé de Sa Majesté, « qui, Dieu merci, allait mieux aujourd'hui ».
And each visitor, though politeness prevented his showing impatience, left the old woman with a sense of relief at having performed a vexatious duty and did not return to her the whole evening.
Et chaque visiteur, bien que la politesse l'empêchât de montrer son impatience, quitta la vieille dame avec un sentiment de soulagement d'avoir accompli une obligation fastidieuse et ne retourna pas la voir de toute la soirée.
The young Princess Bolkónskaya had brought some work in a gold-embroidered velvet bag.
La jeune princesse Bolkonskaïa avait apporté de l'ouvrage dans un sac de velours brodé d'or.
Her pretty little upper lip, on which a delicate dark down was just perceptible, was too short for her teeth, but it lifted all the more sweetly, and was especially charming when she occasionally drew it down to meet the lower lip.
Sa jolie petite lèvre supérieure, sur laquelle on distinguait à peine un fin duvet sombre, était trop courte pour ses dents, mais elle se relevait d'autant plus gracieusement, et était particulièrement charmante lorsqu'elle l'abaissait parfois pour la rapprocher de la lèvre inférieure.
As is always the case with a thoroughly attractive woman, her defect—the shortness of her upper lip and her half-open mouth—seemed to be her own special and peculiar form of beauty.
Comme c'est toujours le cas chez une femme véritablement séduisante, son défaut — la brièveté de sa lèvre supérieure et sa bouche entreouverte — semblait être sa forme particulière et propre de beauté.
Everyone brightened at the sight of this pretty young woman, so soon to become a mother, so full of life and health, and carrying her burden so lightly.
Tout le monde s'épanouissait à la vue de cette jolie jeune femme, si proche de devenir mère, si pleine de vie et de santé, et portant son fardeau avec une telle légèreté.
Old men and dull dispirited young ones who looked at her, after being in her company and talking to her a little while, felt as if they too were becoming, like her, full of life and health.
Les vieillards et les jeunes gens moroses et abattus qui la regardaient, après avoir été en sa compagnie et lui avoir parlé quelques instants, avaient l'impression de devenir eux aussi, comme elle, pleins de vie et de santé.
All who talked to her, and at each word saw her bright smile and the constant gleam of her white teeth, thought that they were in a specially amiable mood that day.
Tous ceux qui lui parlaient, et qui à chaque mot voyaient son sourire éclatant et l'éclat constant de ses dents blanches, pensaient qu'ils se trouvaient ce jour-là dans une humeur particulièrement aimable.
Vocabulary
- tante
- A parent's sister; an aunt
- adressa
- Past tense of 'adresser'; spoke or directed speech to
- chacun
- Each one; every person individually
- mêmes
- Adjective meaning 'same'; identical in nature or form
- termes
- Words or expressions used in speech or writing
- sujet
- Topic or subject matter being discussed
- santé
- The general condition of one's body; health
- sienne
- Feminine possessive pronoun meaning 'hers'
- Majesté
- Royal title of honor; 'Majesty'
- Dieu
- The supreme deity; God
- merci
- Expression of gratitude; 'thank you'
- allait
- Imperfect of 'aller'; was going or was doing
- mieux
- Comparative adverb meaning 'better'
- aujourd'hui
- Adverb referring to the current day; 'today'
- chaque
- Adjective meaning 'each' or 'every'
- visiteur
- A person who visits a place or individual
- bien
- Adverb meaning 'well'; in a good manner
- politesse
- Courteous behavior and good manners; politeness
- empêchât
- Imperfect subjunctive of 'empêcher'; prevented or hindered
- montrer
- To show or display something to someone
- impatience
- Inability to wait calmly; restless eagerness
- quitta
- Simple past of 'quitter'; left or departed from
- vieille
- Feminine adjective meaning 'old' or 'elderly'
- dame
- A woman of rank or refinement; a lady
- sentiment
- An emotional feeling or inner sensation
- soulagement
- A feeling of relief after worry or burden
- avoir
- Infinitive meaning 'to have'
- accompli
- Past participle of 'accomplir'; completed or fulfilled
- obligation
- A duty or commitment one is required to fulfill
- fastidieuse
- Tedious and tiresome; causing boredom or annoyance
- retourna
- Simple past of 'retourner'; returned or went back
- voir
- Infinitive meaning 'to see'
- toute
- Feminine adjective meaning 'all', 'whole', or 'every'
- soirée
- An evening social gathering or the evening itself
- jeune
- Adjective meaning 'young' or youthful in appearance
- princesse
- A royal woman; daughter or wife of a prince
- apporté
- Past participle of 'apporter'; brought something along
- ouvrage
- A piece of needlework or a literary work
- sac
- A bag or pouch used for carrying items
- velours
- A soft fabric with a thick short pile; velvet
- brodé
- Decorated with embroidery stitched onto fabric
- or
- A precious yellow metal; gold
- jolie
- Feminine adjective meaning 'pretty' or 'attractive'
- petite
- Feminine adjective meaning 'small' or 'little'
- lèvre
- One of the two fleshy folds of the mouth; lip
- supérieure
- Feminine adjective meaning 'upper' or 'higher'
- laquelle
- Feminine relative pronoun meaning 'which' or 'on which'
- distinguait
- Imperfect of 'distinguer'; could make out or notice
- peine
- Difficulty or barely; also sorrow or trouble
- fin
- Adjective meaning 'fine', 'delicate', or 'thin'
- duvet
- Soft fine down hair or feathers; a light growth
- sombre
- Dark in color or shade; gloomy in tone
- trop
- Adverb meaning 'too' or 'too much'
- courte
- Feminine adjective meaning 'short' in length
- dents
- Hard white structures in the mouth used for chewing; teeth
- relevait
- Imperfect of 'relever'; lifted or raised itself up
- autant
- Adverb meaning 'as much' or 'equally'
- gracieusement
- In a graceful or charming manner; elegantly
- particulièrement
- Adverb meaning 'particularly' or 'especially'
- charmante
- Feminine adjective meaning 'charming' or 'delightful'
- lorsqu'
- Conjunction meaning 'when'; used before a vowel
- abaissait
- Imperfect of 'abaisser'; lowered or brought down
- parfois
- Adverb meaning 'sometimes' or 'occasionally'
- rapprocher
- To bring closer together; to draw nearer
- inférieure
- Feminine adjective meaning 'lower' or 'beneath'
- toujours
- Adverb meaning 'always' or 'still'
- cas
- An instance or situation; a case or occurrence
- chez
- Preposition meaning 'at the home of' or 'among'
- femme
- An adult female human; a woman or wife
- véritablement
- Adverb meaning 'truly' or 'genuinely'
- séduisante
- Feminine adjective meaning 'seductive', 'alluring', or 'charming'
- défaut
- A flaw or imperfection in something or someone
- brièveté
- The quality of being brief or short in length
- bouche
- The opening in the face used for eating and speaking; mouth
- entreouverte
- Feminine adjective meaning 'half-open' or 'slightly ajar'
- semblait
- Imperfect of 'sembler'; seemed or appeared to be
- être
- Infinitive meaning 'to be'
- forme
- The shape or structure of something; form
- propre
- Adjective meaning 'own', 'clean', or 'proper'
- beauté
- The quality of being pleasing to the senses; beauty
- Tout
- Adjective or pronoun meaning 'all', 'everything', or 'every'
- monde
- The world; 'tout le monde' means 'everyone'
- épanouissait
- Imperfect of 'épanouir'; blossomed or radiated happiness
- vue
- The act of seeing; sight or view of something
- proche
- Adjective meaning 'near', 'close', or 'imminent'
- devenir
- Infinitive meaning 'to become'
- mère
- A female parent; a mother
- pleine
- Feminine adjective meaning 'full' or 'filled with'
- vie
- The state of being alive; life or existence
- portant
- Present participle of 'porter'; carrying or bearing
- fardeau
- A heavy load or burden; something difficult to bear
- telle
- Feminine adjective meaning 'such' or 'so great'
- légèreté
- The quality of being light; lightness or nimbleness
- vieillards
- Elderly men; old people of advanced age
- jeunes
- Plural adjective meaning 'young'; youthful people
- gens
- People in general; persons or individuals
- moroses
- Plural adjective meaning 'gloomy', 'sullen', or 'morose'
- abattus
- Past participle of 'abattre'; dejected or downcast
- regardaient
- Imperfect of 'regarder'; were looking at or watching
- après
- Preposition meaning 'after' or 'following'
- été
- Past participle of 'être'; been; also the noun 'summer'
- compagnie
- The presence of others; company or companionship
- parlé
- Past participle of 'parler'; spoken or talked
- quelques
- Adjective meaning 'a few' or 'some'
- instants
- Very brief moments of time; instants
- impression
- A feeling or idea formed about something; impression
- aussi
- Adverb meaning 'also', 'too', or 'as well'
- pleins
- Masculine plural adjective meaning 'full' of something
- Tous
- Masculine plural of 'tout'; meaning 'all' or 'everyone'
- ceux
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'those' or 'the ones'
- parlaient
- Imperfect of 'parler'; were speaking or talking
- mot
- A unit of language; a word
- voyaient
- Imperfect of 'voir'; were seeing or observing
- sourire
- A facial expression of happiness; a smile
- éclatant
- Adjective meaning 'dazzling', 'brilliant', or 'radiant'
- éclat
- Brilliance, sparkle, or radiant brightness
- constant
- Adjective meaning 'constant', 'steady', or 'continuous'
- blanches
- Feminine plural adjective meaning 'white'
- pensaient
- Imperfect of 'penser'; were thinking or believing
- trouvaient
- Imperfect of 'trouver'; found or considered something to be
- jour-là
- That particular day; on that very day
- humeur
- A person's mood or state of mind at a given time
- aimable
- Adjective meaning 'kind', 'pleasant', or 'amiable'
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