34 Comments
Perhaps I missed something along the way here, but shouldn't it be 'Tu es bel' as there's no context to describe gender?
beautiful is "beau" in masculine and "belle" in feminine.
in addition, when "beau" comes in front of a masculine noun starting with a vowel or a non-aspired H, it becomes "bel" :
- un bel oiseau
- un bel homme
None. But "bel" will come in front of a masculine word starting with a vowel or a non-aspired H, whereas "belle" is feminine.
But beautiful and pretty are synonyms in english. So shouldn't belle and jolie also be interchangeable?
"you are nice" = tu es gentil/le
A quality of heart, not linked with beauty.
well, if you look at the translation that comes up when you hover the mouse over "belle" it also says "nice". So it doesnt make sens not to accept "nice".
the lower you go, the further from the right context it is.
i'll give an example in english, in english one uses the word bar for the thing you do pull-ups on, the shape of a chocolate thingy and the place where you go to drink. in my native language, dutch, we have different words for all these kinds of bars (stang, reep and bar respectively).
so, right now, your dutch-learner counterpart would be translating 'this bar has good beer' as ''deze reep heeft goed bier'.
problem is, the dutch word reep only refers to the shape of that chocolate thingy.
hope this helps
It just means that when you hover on words, what you get is only a list of various possible translations in various possible contexts, ie not necessarily the right translation for the sentence you are working on.
So what you are saying is that 'belle' as 'nice' does not go in this particular context. Are you able to give any general contextual rule so I can reinforce my understanding? I am checking elsewhere but your input would be useful.
Sitesurf, many thanks for your answer: So my answer : "Tu es bel".-was it good. Or when there isn't after a none we have to write its feminine form. But if I say to a boy: I can say only "Tu es bel" I know that the forms are : beau, bel, belle= beau temps, bel ami, belle amie, I remember the rules.
No, "tu es bel" is not correct, because there is no need for "beau" to be changed to "bel" when used alone. The correct form is "tu es beau".
Again: "bel" will come in front of a masculine word starting with a vowel or a non-aspired H
No difference in sound, but "tu es bel" is incorrect: the masculine of "belle" is "beau", unless the following word starts with a vowel sound.
Almost. You would not say/write "Tu es bel homme." It would be "Tu es un bel homme."
beau = masculine singular in front of a consonant sound: un beau chien
bel = masculine singular in front of a vowel sound: un bel arbre, un bel homme
belle = feminine singular
beaux = masculine plural
belles = feminine plural
Why is belle handsome, I thought it was beautiful. I have observed that handsome is used mainly for masculine things and not feminine so why is belle handsome?
Good-looking and pretty is the same especially when speaking about a female
If you ever mean to charm any French woman, you should be careful with adjectives, like "belle" (beautiful) which is qualitatively superior to "jolie" (pretty/lovely).
both belle (Female) as bel (male) are right. There is not any clue for gender in this sentence so both are correct.
The regular masculine form is "beau": "Tu es beau / Vous êtes beau".
Only when the adjective is followed by a masculine noun starting with a vowel sound does "beau" change to "bel":
- un bel homme
- un bel arbre
Therefore, in the "type what you hear" exercise, the adjective must be in feminine: "Tu es belle /Vous êtes belle".
Is there any other translation that is accepted besides "beautiful"?
