Today’s lesson covers the masculine noun le coin, which translates to corner, local area, wedge. Coin comes from cŭnĕus in Latin, meaning wedge-shaped stone and area. Interestingly, the French word for coin (as in a piece of money) is la pièce.
le coin
corner, local area, wedge
Pronunciation [kwɛ̃]
Le coin – corner, local area, wedge
Example sentences
This first sentence uses coin in the context of “corner”. The reflexive verb se trouver, which means “to be located”.
La fromagerie se trouve au coin de ces deux rues.
The cheese shop is located at the corner of these two streets.
For this second sentence, coin means region or local area. The verb connaître is used for knowing people, places and areas of study.
Je ne connais pas du tout ce coin. Je ne suis pas de cette région.
I don’t know this area at all. I’m not from this region.
Another usage for coin is le petit coin, a slang term for bathroom or W.C.
Pardon, je vais aller au petit coin !
Sorry, I’m going to go to the bathroom!
Related vocabulary and expressions
- Coin-coin – sound a duck makes
- Coin perdu – backwater, remote place
- Dans un coin – someplace (where something might be lost)
- Dans un coin de la tête – at the back of the mind
- Rester dans son coin – to keep to yourself
- Bouder dans son coin – to sulk in a corner
Related lessons
References
Word of the Day archive | Lessons by David Issokson
