binx7836 | French - Learn French in a friendly community! | Page 1

reef orbitBOT Apr 16, 2026, 5:00 AM

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Please be patient

Our volunteers look into many questions every day; sometimes it takes them a little while to answer.

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Make it descriptive, including relevant context, but also to the point. This way you improve your chances of getting a more relevant and specific answer.

vale prawn Apr 16, 2026, 5:04 AM

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"vieux" does pretty much directly translate to "old", whenever you're talking about people or things. That said, people often use "personnes agées" for old people in order to be more respectful ("vieux" can be pretty blunt)

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"ancien" isn't generally used for people. It generally is used for things from a past era. If you're using it about someone it specifically is to mock them about their age. (in very specific contexts, it can be used as "elder" in a more respectful way, but that's not a regular use case)

vocal steppe Apr 16, 2026, 5:10 AM

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vale prawn "ancien" isn't generally used for people. It generally is used for things from a...

Ah, like the word ancient, I should have known. Also I just saw "agréable" used to say something is nice but I thought it was "sympa"? Or is that primarily to comment about behavior?

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Or is it just another word for it?

vale prawn Apr 16, 2026, 5:13 AM

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for people, you'd rather use "sympa" (short for sympathique)
"agréable" isn't so much about behaviour as it is about aura for people (nice to be around I guess)

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it's more so used for situations, things that put you at ease

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for instance a bath, or a temperature (that feels nice)

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when you're not talking about people, there absolutely is an overlap tho, even if one may be preferred

vocal steppe Apr 16, 2026, 5:15 AM

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Ah, I just translated it and I always wanna double check here but based on your description, using it to describe something as pleasant seems to be pretty accurate.

cyan oak Apr 16, 2026, 5:16 AM

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Agréable is sort of like enjoyable, agreeable, pleasant

vocal steppe Apr 16, 2026, 5:16 AM

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Yaya

cyan oak Apr 16, 2026, 5:16 AM

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Sympa maybe closer to "nice" but feels more specific to me

vocal steppe Apr 16, 2026, 5:17 AM

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It is like a synonym to sympa which I assume are in all languages

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Very similar but not exact meaning

vale prawn Apr 16, 2026, 5:19 AM

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even when two words mean the same thing overall, they may be used in different contexts, and that may be different from what you're used to in another language
overall, the important part is to understand enough to be able to continue, you'll get the nuances over time with experience

vocal steppe Apr 16, 2026, 5:20 AM

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Mhm, that is how it was for English! Did enough reading and the nuances became clear!

vale prawn Apr 16, 2026, 5:20 AM

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it's not bad to clear up some confusion and ask questions, don't get me wrong, as long as you don't let those nuances get in your way

vocal steppe Apr 16, 2026, 5:21 AM

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Yeah, I just think of it as while you can be more specific, generally you are free to describe something in your own slightly varied way. There are a lot of words at your disposal!

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So long as it generally makes sense

vale prawn Apr 16, 2026, 5:23 AM

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it's like when you asked about an vs année
maybe you never learn about it but once you encounter it like 500 times it becomes intuitive
or maybe you learn the nuances and feel like you got it down after having encountered it about 20 times
both are valid ways to proceed
and in the meantime it's not like you couldn't understand

vocal steppe Apr 16, 2026, 5:24 AM

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Mhm, I plan to use the French channels frequently once I feel adjusted enough and hopefully immersing myself that way will make it where I can nail down the nuances.

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