mots courants
The English phrase "common words" is translated into French as mots courants.
The term mots courants refers to words used in everyday life. It is distinct from mots fréquents, which is a term used specifically in linguistics to describe words that appear with high frequency in a corpus.
What does it mean word for word?
In the phrase mots courants, mots means "words" and courants means "common" or "current".
How does it change in a sentence?
The singular form of the phrase is mot courant. In the plural phrase mots courants, both the noun mot and the adjective courant must take the plural s to agree.
Did you know?
- To be courant in a language is to be 'fluent', but this same word describes a 'draft' of air in a room, known as un courant d'air.
- While mots courants are everyday words, the word mot also refers to a 'word' in the sense of a witty remark or a 'bon mot' in English.
- The French language uses mots to describe a 'note' or a 'brief message' left for someone, such as laisser un mot.
Examples in context
- Il faut apprendre les mots courants.It is necessary to learn common words.
- Ce livre contient des mots courants.This book contains common words.
- Je connais déjà les mots courants.I already know the common words.
Example conversation
Manon and Nathan are studying for a language exam.
- ManonNathan, est-ce que tu connais les mots courants ?Nathan, do you know the common words?
- NathanOui, je les ai révisés hier soir.Yes, I reviewed them last night.
- ManonC'est bien, car ils sont essentiels pour l'examen.That's good, because they are essential for the exam.
- NathanJe suis prêt pour le test maintenant.I am ready for the test now.
