Word of the Week:

Bienvenue to our first Word of the Week for February! 😊

You can read some of my previous Word of the Week posts here and here.

Let’s take a trip to the seaside (bound to be chilly at this time of year 😱), for a beach-themed Word of the Week: ‘coquillage’, which is masculine.

Have a look here and here for a really helpful explanation of genders in French!

How to pronounce it:

‘Coh-kee-yazh’.

What it means in English:

Seashell, or shellfish.

Where does it come from?

First used in the 16th century, it’s related to the word ‘une coquille’, which confusingly enough, also translates into English as ‘shell’.

‘Une coquille’ is only used to talk about the shells of land animals though, like snails.

How to use it in a sentence:

‘Regarde ce beau coquillage que j’ai trouvé sur la plage!’

English translation:

‘Look at this lovely seashell that I found on the beach!’

Similar words:

Un crustacé = a crustacean

Une carapace = a tortoise’s shell

Le sable = sand

Les galets = shingle

La plage = beach

(One of my favourite seashell-related videos, and quite possibly the most adorable -the only?- seashell cartoon character? And he’s got a French name as a bonus!😉)

How about you? I’d love to hear what our favourite French words are! Are you also a fan of ‘coquillage’?