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La Mer – Sea, ocean

La Mer – Sea, ocean

Today we’ll look at a beginner noun which is essesntial for all students to know: la mer, which means sea, seaside and coast. I’m now by the sea in Mexico and have incluced a beautiful picture at the bottom of the page! Keep reading!

la mer – [mɛʀ]

sea

Word origin

The French feminine noun mer (sea) comes from marinus in Latin.

Example sentences

This first sentence is audiobiographical as I spent over ten years in both Thailand and on the island of Martha’s Vineyard!

J’ai passé plus de dix ans de ma vie au bord de la mer.

I spent more than ten years of my life by the seaside.

I wrote this next sentence using à la mer (to the sea) but could have also written à la plage (to the beach).

Cette année, nous partons en vacances à la mer.

We’ll go on vacation to the sea this year.

The word depuis means “since” in French. However, it can also mean “from” in the context of “from a vantage point”.

On peut voir la mer agitée depuis le balcon.

You can see the rough sea from the balcony.

A lot of students have difficulties with the pronunciation of Méditerranée (Mediterranean). Try breaking it down by its five syllables: Mé-di-terr-a-née

La mer Méditerranée est située au sud de l’Europe et au nord de l’Afrique.

The Mediterranean Sea is located to the south of Europe and north of Africa.

La mer au Mexique = the sea in Mexico

La mer au Mexique = the sea in Mexico

Related lessons

References

French Word of the Day

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David Issokson Founder & French Teacher at FrenchLearner.com
David Issokson is the founder of FrenchLearner.com, where he’s been helping students master French through vocabulary, grammar, and cultural lessons since 2012.

    David Issokson

    About the Author – David Issokson David Issokson is an online French teacher and the founder of FrenchLearner.com (established 2012). He has been teaching French online since 2014 and brings over 30 years of experience as a passionate French learner and fluent speaker. David creates clear, structured lessons supported by native audio recorded by Marie Assel Cambier, a professional voice artist and native French speaker. A graduate of McGill University in Montreal, he has taught hundreds of learners worldwide and publishes daily French lessons for more than 12,000 email subscribers. 📘 About David » 🌐 David’s personal site » 👍 Follow on Facebook »

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