Level B1 (Intermediate)
The French word of the day is la lecture. It looks like “lecture” in English but actually means “reading.” Today you’ll learn its true meaning and usage.
Meaning
Pronunciation with IPA
Example sentences
Related words
Meaning
In French, “la lecture” means “reading”—the act of reading books, articles, or any written material. It’s a classic false cognate (faux ami) for English speakers because it does not mean a spoken lecture or class—that meaning corresponds to une conférence.
Pronunciation
Example sentences
Quick note: The verb lire also means “to read”. Lire describes the physical action of reading a word, sentence or number, etc. For example, je lis le mot (I read the word).
For this first sentence, the preposition pendant has two meanings in French: For and during. Using pour (for) in this sentence would be wrong.
Je fais de la lecture pendant une heure tous les jours avant de me coucher.
I read every day for one hour before going to bed.
For this second sentence, the adverb trop translates literally to “too” or “too much”. I could have also used the adverbs si and tellement, both meaning “so” in this sentence.
Les jeunes aujourd’hui sont trop accros aux portables et font de la lecture de moins en moins.
Young people today are so addicted to their cell phones and read less and less.
For this final sentence, the English “to give a lecture” (as in a university class) is donner une conférence. Also note that the other usage of “lecture” in English (expressing disapproval or criticism) is une leçon, une morale and un sermon in French.
Le prof a donné une conférence sur l’histoire de l’Asie.
The professor gave a lecture about the history of Asia.
Words related to la lecture
- Un lecteur / une lectrice a reader (person)
- Un livre a book
- Un roman a novel
- La littérature literature
- Un auteur / une auteure author
