Today’s lesson covers the masculine noun le bruit, which translates to “noise”. We’ll also look at the related adjective bruyant (noisy). The Modern French word bruit is related to the litterary verb bruire (to rustle, hum, buzz), which comes from rugire (to roar) in Latin.
bruit
noise
Pronunciation [bʀɥi]
Example sentences
This first sentence uses entendre, which means “to hear”. Students often confuse this verb with écouter (to listen).
Est-ce que tu entends le bruit du moteur?
Do you hear the noise of the motor?
This sentence uses the verb énerver, which means to annoy or irritate. In the reflexive form, s’énerver means to get angry to lose your temper. The adverb trop translates to “too” or “overly”. Trop de + noun translates to “too much (or many) + noun”.
Les voisins m’énervent ! Ils font trop de bruit.
The neighbors are annoying me! They’re making too much noise.
This final sentence was a bit tricky to translate. Qu’est ce qu’ils sont (literally what they are) is a way in spoken French to simply say ils sont (they are).
Mais qu’est ce qu’ils sont bruyants, ces enfants !
These kids are so noisy!
Related lessons
References
Word of the Day archive | Lessons by David Issokson
