From these 49 words, as many per round as you like — up to all of them: first what is due today, then new ones. First you choose, then you fill the gap, then you write it yourself. Mistakes come back again shortly.
More about this list
Contempler sits in the middle of this list and is the one word here that an English reader will translate without hesitating and still get wrong. In French it does one thing only: to look at something for a long while because it is worth looking at — il contemple la vallée depuis le col. The eyes are open, the body is still, and nothing is being decided. « Contemplate » once did exactly that, and still can in careful prose, but its ordinary modern sense has moved off the eyes altogether and into the mind: « she contemplated resigning », « the scheme contemplates two stages ». That is a verb of weighing something up, and it takes an action noun or a gerund after it, which contempler never does. French keeps the two jobs in two words, and the second is envisager: what « she is contemplating resigning » says is elle envisage de démissionner. So read contempler as « to gaze at » and never as « to consider » — contempler de partir is a sentence no French speaker has ever had a use for.
The words
View
Verb (23)
scruterto scrutiniseVerbC1
Elle scrute le tableau des départs.She is scrutinising the departures board.
contemplerto gaze atVerbC1
Il contemple la vallée depuis le col.He gazes at the valley from the pass.
dévisagerto stare atVerbC1
Les voyageurs dévisagent le nouveau venu.The travellers stare at the newcomer.
lorgnerto eyeVerbC1
L’enfant lorgne le gâteau posé sur la table.The child is eyeing the cake on the table.
entrevoirto glimpseVerbC1
J’ai entrevu son visage derrière la vitre.I glimpsed his face behind the glass.
cillerto blinkVerbC1
Il a écouté la nouvelle sans ciller.He listened to the news without blinking.
se renfrognerto scowlVerbC1
Il se renfrogne dès qu’on parle du travail.He scowls as soon as work is mentioned.
rayonnerto beamVerbC1
Elle rayonnait en sortant de la salle.She was beaming as she came out of the hall.
rougirto blushVerbC1
Il rougit dès qu’on le remercie.He blushes as soon as anyone thanks him.
tressaillirto give a startVerbC1
Elle a tressailli au bruit de la porte.She gave a start at the sound of the door.
grimacerto grimaceVerbC1
Il grimace en soulevant la caisse.He grimaces as he lifts the crate.
frissonnerto shiverVerbC1
Elle frissonne au souvenir de cette nuit.She shivers at the memory of that night.
grelotterto shiver with coldVerbC1
Nous grelottions sur le quai.We were shivering with cold on the platform.
tremblerto trembleVerbC1
Sa main tremble en signant.His hand trembles as he signs.
tressauterto twitchVerbC1
Il tressaute à chaque coup de klaxon.He twitches at every blast of a horn.
gémirto moanVerbC1
Le blessé gémissait doucement.The injured man was moaning quietly.
grognerto gruntVerbC1
Il grogne une réponse sans lever la tête.He grunts an answer without looking up.
bâillerto yawnVerbC1
Il bâille sans se cacher la bouche.He yawns without covering his mouth.
enserrerto grip tightlyVerbC1
Ses doigts enserrent la rampe.His fingers grip the handrail tightly.
agripperto grab hold ofVerbC1
L’enfant agrippe la manche de sa mère.The child grabs hold of his mother’s sleeve.
empoignerto graspVerbC1
Il empoigne la corde à deux mains.He grasps the rope with both hands.
s’avachirto slouchVerbC1
Il s’avachit dès que la réunion traîne.He slouches as soon as the meeting drags on.
gigoterto fidgetVerbC1
L’enfant gigote sur sa chaise.The child fidgets on his chair.
Phrase (26)
jeter un coup d’œilto glancePhraseC1
Il a jeté un coup d’œil à l’horloge.He glanced at the clock.
parcourir une page du regardto skim a pagePhraseC1
Il parcourt la page du regard avant de répondre.He skims the page before answering.
plisser les paupièresto screw up one’s eyesPhraseC1
Elle plisse les paupières dans le soleil.She screws up her eyes in the sun.
faire un clin d’œilto winkPhraseC1
Le serveur nous fait un clin d’œil.The waiter winks at us.
hausser un sourcilto raise an eyebrowPhraseC1
Il a haussé un sourcil sans rien dire.He raised an eyebrow and said nothing.
froncer les sourcilsto frownPhraseC1
Elle fronce les sourcils devant la facture.She frowns at the bill.
sourire jusqu’aux oreillesto grin from ear to earPhraseC1
Le gamin souriait jusqu’aux oreilles.The lad was grinning from ear to ear.
sourire d’un air narquoisto smirkPhraseC1
Il a souri d’un air narquois pendant la réponse.He smirked all the way through the answer.
fuir le regardto avoid eye contactPhraseC1
L’élève fuit le regard du professeur.The pupil avoids the teacher’s eye.
avoir le souffle coupéto be left breathlessPhraseC1
Elle a eu le souffle coupé en ouvrant la porte.She was left breathless when she opened the door.
pousser un gros soupirto heave a heavy sighPhraseC1
Il pousse un gros soupir avant de recommencer.He heaves a heavy sigh before starting again.
secouer la têteto shake one’s headPhraseC1
Elle secoue la tête et referme le dossier.She shakes her head and closes the file again.
hausser les épaulesto shrugPhraseC1
Il hausse les épaules et change de sujet.He shrugs and changes the subject.
croiser les brasto fold one’s armsPhraseC1
Elle croise les bras pendant la réunion.She folds her arms during the meeting.
serrer le poingto clench one’s fistPhraseC1
Il serre le poing dans sa poche.He clenches his fist in his pocket.
lâcher priseto let goPhraseC1
Elle a fini par lâcher prise.She let go in the end.
pointer du doigtto point atPhraseC1
Il pointe du doigt la ligne fautive.He points at the faulty line.
faire signe d’approcherto beckonPhraseC1
Le gardien nous fait signe d’approcher.The guard beckons us over.
appeler d’un geste de la mainto wave someone overPhraseC1
Elle appelle le serveur d’un geste de la main.She waves the waiter over.
se pencher en avantto lean forwardPhraseC1
Il se penche en avant pour mieux entendre.He leans forward to hear better.
se renverser en arrièreto lean backPhraseC1
Elle se renverse en arrière sur sa chaise.She leans back in her chair.
se tenir droitto sit up straightPhraseC1
Il se tient droit sur sa chaise.He sits up straight on his chair.
arpenter la pièceto pace the roomPhraseC1
Il arpente la pièce en attendant l’appel.He paces the room while he waits for the call.
battre du piedto tap one’s footPhraseC1
Elle bat du pied sous la table.She taps her foot under the table.
tambouriner des doigtsto drum one’s fingersPhraseC1
Il tambourine des doigts sur le comptoir.He drums his fingers on the counter.
se mordre la lèvreto bite one’s lipPhraseC1
Elle se mord la lèvre pour ne rien dire.She bites her lip so as not to speak.
