Today’s lesson explains the verb mêler, which means “to mix” and the reflexive form se mêler, which means to meddle, stick your nose in, interfere and get involved. Mêler comes from Old French mesler, which in turn comes from miscere (to mix) in Latin.
mêler; se mêler
to mix; to meddle, stick your nose in, interfere, get involved
Pronunciation [mele]
Mêler – To mix; Se mêler – to meddle
Example sentences
For this first example, mêler means to mix, blend or combine.
L’auteur mêle plusieurs styles dans son nouveau roman.
The author mixes several styles in his new novel.
These two sentences use se mêler in the reflexive form, meaning to meddle, stick your nose in or interfere. The grammatical structure is se mêler de + noun.
Cet homme adore se mêler des affaires des autres.
This man loves to meddle in the affairs of others.
For this sentence, the expression ça ne te regarde pas (literally that doesn’t look at you) means “It’s none of your business“. A loose translation of ne t’en mêle pas could be “stay out of it!”.
Ça ne te regarde pas. Ne t’en mêle pas !
It’s none of your business. Don’t interfere!
Present tense conjugation
Mêler is a regular ER verb. This means that its conjugation pattern is the same as parler when conjugated in the present tense.
Je mêle I mix (or blend)
Tu mêles You mix (singular, informal)
Il, elle mêle He, she mixes
Nous mêlons We mix
Vous mêlez You mix (plural, formal)
Ils, elles mêlent They mix
References
Word of the Day archive | Lessons by David Issokson
