Latest / Learn French with Fexingo / French at the Laundromat Basics
Transcript
- Lucas: Hey Luna, welcome back to Learn French with Fexingo. Episode 119 — can you believe it? Luna: I know! And I feel like I'm actually starting to remember things. Like last week at the swimming pool — 'Je vais à la piscine'. That stuck. Lucas: Awesome. Today we're going somewhere you probably visit more often than a pool — the laundromat. Luna: Ohh, the laundromat. That's a real-world one. Okay, I'm ready. Lucas: Great. So first, you walk in and you want to say 'I'd like to do my laundry'. In French: Je voudrais faire ma lessive. Luna: Je voudrais faire ma lessive. That's... 'I would like to do my laundry'? Lucas: Exactly. Lessive means laundry. Let's say it together: Je voudrais faire ma lessive. Luna: Je voudrais faire ma lessive. Lucas: Perfect. Now, you need to find a machine. So you ask: Où est la machine à laver? Luna: Où est la machine à laver? That sounds like 'Where is the washing machine?' Lucas: Right. Machine à laver — washing machine. Try it. Luna: Où est la machine à laver? Lucas: Good. Now, you'll likely need change for the machine. Say: Il me faut de la monnaie. Luna: Il me faut de la monnaie. That means 'I need some change'? Lucas: Yes. Monnaie is change. Can you repeat it? Luna: Il me faut de la monnaie. Lucas: Nice. Then you also need detergent. You'd say: Je voudrais de la lessive. Luna: Wait — lessive again? But didn't that mean laundry? Lucas: Good catch. Lessive can mean both laundry and laundry detergent. Context helps. So Je voudrais de la lessive means 'I'd like some laundry detergent'. Luna: Ah, so it's like 'washing powder' or 'liquid detergent'? Lucas: Exactly. Say it: Je voudrais de la lessive. Luna: Je voudrais de la lessive. Lucas: And finally, after washing, you need to fold. Ask: Où puis-je plier mes vêtements? Luna: Où puis-je plier mes vêtements? — 'Where can I fold my clothes?' Lucas: Yes. Plier means to fold, vêtements means clothes. Your turn. Luna: Où puis-je plier mes vêtements? Lucas: You've got them all. Let's practice a mini-scene. You walk into a laundromat. You say: Je voudrais faire ma lessive. Luna: Je voudrais faire ma lessive. Lucas: Then you look around and ask: Où est la machine à laver? Luna: Où est la machine à laver? Lucas: You realize you need change: Il me faut de la monnaie. Luna: Il me faut de la monnaie. Lucas: You grab some detergent: Je voudrais de la lessive. Luna: Je voudrais de la lessive. Lucas: After the cycle, you ask: Où puis-je plier mes vêtements? Luna: Où puis-je plier mes vêtements? Lucas: You did it. You just did your laundry in French. Luna: That felt really good. And practical. If Fexingo has been helping you make actual progress with a language like this, you know it's because the show is made by people who care. We don't run ads, and listener support keeps it that way. Lucas: Yeah, if you'd like to support the show, you can buy us a coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It helps us keep creating episodes like this. Luna: And now, back to laundry. So if I'm actually in a laundromat in France, I might need to ask for change from the attendant, right? Lucas: Exactly. You could say: Bonjour, il me faut de la monnaie, s'il vous plaît. Luna: Bonjour, il me faut de la monnaie, s'il vous plaît. Lucas: Perfect. And the attendant might ask: Quelle machine? Which machine? Luna: Right. So I'd say: La machine à laver numéro trois. Lucas: There you go. Let's wrap up by repeating all five phrases one more time. First: Je voudrais faire ma lessive. Luna: Je voudrais faire ma lessive. Lucas: Où est la machine à laver? Luna: Où est la machine à laver? Lucas: Il me faut de la monnaie. Luna: Il me faut de la monnaie. Lucas: Je voudrais de la lessive. Luna: Je voudrais de la lessive. Lucas: Où puis-je plier mes vêtements? Luna: Où puis-je plier mes vêtements? Lucas: Amazing. Practice these before your next laundry day, and you'll be set. Thanks for joining us on Learn French with Fexingo. Luna: See you next time for more French fun. À bientôt!