You would probably call me crazy if I was telling you that we can see a lot of вЂњflying deersвЂќ on the beaches in France, particularly in the city of Berck, in the north of France. Anyway, itвЂ™s still has nothing to do with goatsвЂ¦ Le cerf-volant To confuse things even more, according to the legend, the sprouts of this aromatic plant were eaten by roe deers, called вЂњchevreuilвЂќ in French. Even if we know the words вЂњchГЁvreвЂќ (goat) and вЂњfeuilleвЂќ (leaf), this still doesnвЂ™t help guess that вЂњchГЁvrefeuilleвЂќ is nothing but вЂњhoneysuckleвЂќ in English.

Ok, this one isnвЂ™t as popular as the others but its name is definitely as interesting. Originally, it may have come from вЂњchouette-sourisвЂќ (owl-mouse) because they are nocturnal animals but was transformed into вЂњchauve-sourisвЂќ, which is a lot funnier indeed. What is the difference between a mouse and a bat in French? Apparently one of them is bald! Formed with the words вЂњchauveвЂќ (bald) and вЂњsourisвЂќ (mouse), the French word for bat doesnвЂ™t seem to make much sense. It seems that a knot butterfly, as the literal translation suggests, is for French peopleвЂ™s mind a very accurate description of a bow tieвЂ¦ Why not? La chauve-souris вЂњLe noeud papвЂќ, as the French would say, is a very fancy piece of clothing usually worn only on special occasions like weddings or balls. Weird, when we know that a potato is not a fruit but a rootвЂ¦ And to confuse things even more, youвЂ™ll often hear French speakers call a вЂњpomme de terreвЂќ a вЂњpatateвЂќ in colloquial French. Literally, it translates as вЂњapple from EarthвЂќ or вЂњapple of the EarthвЂќ, it actually means a mere potato. This may be the most common and strange compound word of the French language. DonвЂ™t forget: it may not make sense to you but it does for French speaking people. Thankfully for you вЂ“ or unfortunately, your call вЂ“ the French language has some wonderful funny words of its own.

Yes, it might not make sense to someone else, but to me itвЂ™s a perfect mnemonic way to learn vocabulary. Sure, it has nothing to do with a flying dragon like I imagined them (do you also picture the ones from Game of Thrones?) but itвЂ™s so unexpected that itвЂ™s actually pretty easy to remember it.В In German, the word for plane is also pretty funny: вЂњdas FlugzeugвЂќ literally translates, in my mind, as the вЂњflight stuffвЂќ. Take the English word вЂњdragonflyвЂќ for instance. In fact, those are the words that I find the most interesting and the most memorable. When learning a language, we often come across words that, translated into our own language, seem bizarre, stupid or funny. вЂњDo you eat apples of the Earth?вЂќ, вЂњYou should wear a knot butterfly at the weddingвЂќ, вЂњMy grandmaвЂ™s house has two beautiful oxвЂ™s eyesвЂќ, вЂњI have an irrational fear of bald-mice.вЂќ are all perfectly understandable sentences for someone who speaks French.В Translated into English, however, the wording sounds a little bit funny.

Funny words list