I don’t speak French.
I’m fluent in C#, know a little German, a smattering of Spanish, but zero French. And yet, I’m leaving for France next Saturday on a whirlwind tour of the greatest sporting event known to man – le Tour de France.
I now rely on you, my community, to help me out… “Hello, hello, is this thing on?” 
I need you seasoned Tour-vets and Euro’s to give me the top 100 phrases that I’ll memorize to make my way during my adventure. I’m going with a tour company (BikeStyle Tours) and they speak English (albeit with an Aussie accent) so I’m not too concerned about lodging, transportation, etc. And forget about wimpy stuff like, “Do you have vanilla ice-cream?”, or “My stomach feels funny”. I need the stuff specifically for Le Tour, like “Who is in the breakaway?”, “How long until the peloton arrives” and “Are you that crazy devil guy I see on TV?” Stuff like that!
So, here’s your chance – use that little comments button and give me the words I need to make my trip happen. You can also email me at arlynasch at gmail dot com if you’d rather help that way.
Thanks everyone!
2010 Leadville Trail 100
2010 Julian Death March
I Do Not Ride Alone
My Secret Leadville Plan
Previewing the Leadville 100 MTB Course
2010 Triple Bypass
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
“Salut” = “hey!” (use as passing people)
“bon courage” = “be brave” (very common when encouraging people that are struggling)
“Assez raide” = pretty steep!
“accroche-toi” = “hang-on” as in “get on my wheel”
“allez, allez” = “go, go” (yell as the Tour riders passes)
“merci” = “thanks”
“ou est la toilette” = “where is the toilette”
“je suis epuisé” = “I am exhausted”
“un pression s’il vous plait” = “a beer (draft) please”
“Poutain” = uuummmm = “wholy shit (whore)” (yikes this is hard) poon-tang is a derivative
“grimper” = “to climb”
“maillot pois” = “pea shirt” or King of the Mountain shirt
“con” = “a very nasty insult”
“presque là” = “almost there”
“c’est tres dur” = “it’s very hard” (or just turn your head and say “dur!” to guy beside you
“l’échappe” = “escape” “ch” sounds like “sh”
as in who is in the escape.
“maillot jaune” = “yellow jersey”
“Col” = “mountain pass”
“flamme rouge” = red flag = one kilometre to finish
“grupetto” = the big pack at the back of the race that group together and pace themselves to the finish
“voiture-balai” = “broom wagon” a van with a broom on it – signifies the very back of the race.
“contre-le-montre” = against the clock = time trial
“chute” = fall = crash
“étape” = step = stage as in stage 5
“la grande boucle” = the big ring or loop = slang for the Tour de France
“le hexagone” ) slang for France (it’s shape)
“classement generale” = overall standings
“caravane publicitaire” = publicity caravan = a little over an hour before the riders pass there is a huge “parade” of sponsor floats where they throw out gifts (food, water, shirts, hats, keychains, etc” play music etc. very fun.
Me and devil guy
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1167/810327641_15e6ee4bdb_m.jpg
Thanks Will! I really appreciate it. Merci Beaucoup!
WOW… I was going to offer up “Mercy Buckets” but it looks like Will beat me to the punch with a much bigger list and one that is useful.
How about “Tête De Course” which means “the head of the race” or the leader.
Most importantly… have a blast and be careful with that new fervor to RACE. You don’t want to “chute” off a very large mountain. ENJOY!
“Lanterne Rouge” – the ‘red lantern’ (as in the red light at the end of a caboose) = the very last guy in the peleton (who doesn’t get DQ’d). You can actually be famous for being the Lanterne Rouge!
“en danseuse” – literally “like a ballerina” but used when you stand up on the pedals to climb. Very graceful term, imo, much prettier than “he’s standing on his pedals”.
“Ils arrivent!” = they’re coming! (you’ll hear this when the peleton is approaching). Pronounced “eelz-arreev” (don’t even ask about the spelling and not pronouncing the “ent” – it’s one of those French spelling rules that only applies to verb conjugation that will confuse the hell out of you!)
“Avoir une valise magique” (have a magic suitcase), “Pisser violet” (to pee violet) and “Manger chez Virenque (to dine at Virenque’s house) are all silly slang for “Le Dopage”, or doping.
“au bout de souffle” = at the end of his breath, meaning, on his last legs. (or to use it for yourself, say, “Je suis au bout de souffle” pronounced “juh swee oh boo de soofle)
“Je suis crevé” – like “je suis épuisé” (I am exhausted) it’s idiomatic for “I am flattened” (exhausted). Pronounced “juh swee krevay”
“J’ai crevé” means I’ve “flatted” (gotten a flat tire). Pronounced “jay krevay”.
In the morning before your climbs, do some positive mental affirmations (instead of the whining expressions we’ve been giving you!!):
“Je me sens forte!” = I feel strong (pronounced ‘juh muh sanh fort’)
“C’est super” = “This is super”- an americanism you’ll hear quite a bit, along with “c’est cool” (pronounced’say soop-air’)
je vais grimper tres bien aujourd’hui (jeh vay gram-pay tray bien oh-jord-wee) = I’m going to climb very well today
“j’adore…” = I love…. as in “J’adore grimper” (I love to climb), j’adore mon vélo (i love my bike), j’adore ca (I love this!), j’adore la France, j’adore le vin (I love wine)
asking for things you’ll need while riding:
“de l’eau s’il vous plait” = water please (pronounced deh lo see-voo-play), as in going into a café and asking the bartender to fill your “bidon” (water bottle). That’s the easier way to say it, but better to ask politely, “Monsieur, de l’eau s’il vous plait? Merci bien!” as you hand him your bottle…
On my blog on cycling in Europe I have a post on courtesy in France. The permalink is too long to post here, but just go to http://cycingeurope.wordpress.com and click on “Logistics, customs and courtesies” under Categories and you’ll find it. It also gives you some useful French expressions to memorize.
Amusez-vous! = Have a good time, or enjoy yourself (pronounced “ahmoo-zay voo)
Wow, a great list. I am in France at the moment and my 30 words only go so far.
“avez vous wifi” = “do you have wifi” (pronounced weefee). Very useful if you want to give blog updates.
A small beer just won’t do! so to correct one of Will’s
“un grand pression s’il vous plait” = “a large beer (draft) please”
@Jen: Thanks! I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t say j’adore grimper! (cause I do!)
@Pig: weefee is going to be key, although I expect my iPhone to be working by the time my plane lands. And thanks for the clarification, little beers just wont cut it
Où peux-je rencontrer un talonneur ?