My quest to learn 100 French words was helped by reading French Women Don’t Get Fat. Here are some of the phrases Mireille Guiliano uses for her American audience.
Since French women do not live by bread alone, much less high protein, I present a comprehensive approach to living, strategies and philosophy you can make your own, including menus and quick recipes anyone can follow and, bien sûr, a guide to how we move. p. 7
bien sûr: This is used the way English speakers say “of course,” but the literal translation is more like “very sure.”
Now you will be eating in a totally different light, with an intuition to rival that of any French woman–a cultivated respect for freshness and flavor that unlocks the world of sensory delights to be discovered in presentation, color, and variety. What you do you will do for pleasure, not punishment. You’ll enjoy chocolate and a glass of wine with dinner. Pourquoi pas? p. 11
Pourquoi pas: Why not?
Approaching your equilibrium weight (bien dans ta peau) is a natural and intuitive progression, a course of fine-tuning that embraces both discovery and moderation. p. 59
bien dans ta peau: comfortable in your skin
Have a little walk around while waiting for someone (as we say, faire les cent pas, literaly “walk a hundred steps”). p. 209
faire les cent pas: Isn’t that a lovely concept? Instead of sitting around and waiting, walk a hundred steps.
It’s not that French women are not assaulted with as many unnatural ideals of womanhood presented in glossy magazines, we just don’t take it personally. No matter how well turned out or fit, if one is not bien dans ta peau, one can never project that certain état de grâce. This is something every woman can learn to achieve, and French women channel more intuitively than most. p. 226
état de grâce: state of grace
My previous Wondrous Words Wednesday post covered “to be” and “to have” in French for my first two words. I’ll give myself credit for another ten words for this post since I knew a few before I started reading French Women Don’t Get Fat.
Wondrous Words Wednesday is hosted by Bermudaonion’s Weblog. Kathy says: “Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our reading.”
