FRENCH WORD-A-DAY

For la Saint Valentin / Valentine's Day --a.k.a. in France as "la fête des amoureux" /"the lovers' celebration"--don't miss today's column where you will learn more than a dozen ways to say "darling" in French to your sweet Valentine.

le coeur (ker) noun, masculine
1. heart

There are "heart" expressions à gogo in French, here are just a few:

à contre-coeur = reluctantly
par coeur = by heart
de bon coeur = willingly
un coeur de marbre = a marble heart (insensitive)
chauffer le coeur = to warm the heart, to encourage
un coup de coeur = a spontaneous attraction (to someone or something)
avoir le coeur sensible = to be tender-hearted
vider son coeur = to reveal one's feelings

avoir le coeur sur la main = to be big-hearted

si le coeur vous en dit = if you feel like it

Citation du Jour:
Le coeur découvre, la tête invente.
The heart discovers, the head invents. --Arthur Cravan

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Les Mots Doux ~ Terms of Endearment

It may seem strange that the French, widely regarded as one of the most sophisticated and beautiful people on the globe, use some of the most strange (and not so beautiful) terms to refer to their belle/beau (loved one). Take, for example, "ma puce" which means "my flea" (very popular here); also "mon chou" or "my cabbage" (beau, n'est-ce pas?). Here follow a few more original ways to say "sweetheart":

mon amour (mon a-moor) = my love
bébé (bay-bay) = baby
ma belle (mah bel) = my beautiful (one)
ma biche (mah beesh) = my doe
ma caille (mah kahy) = my quail
mon canard (moh ka-nar)= my duck
ma chérie/ mon chéri (shay-ree) = my dear
mon chou (moh shoo) = my cream puff
mon coeur (moh ker) = my sweetheart
mon lapin (moh la-pahn) = my rabbit
minou (me noo) = kitten
ma moitié (mah mwa-tyay) = my half

mon poulet = (moh poo-lay) my chicken
mon trésor (moh tray-zor) = my treasure
mon poussin (mon poo-sahn) = my chick
ma puce (mah poose) = my (little flea)
mon sucre d'orge (moh sookr-dorzh) = my barley sugar

ma petite crotte (mah pteet crot)= my little turd