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- "Ta coiffure est d'une grande…
"Ta coiffure est d'une grande beauté"
Translation:Your hairstyle is beautiful
133 Comments
413
Not a native French speaker, and if one comes along, it'd be excellent to have their input, but if one starts Googling for different combinations, it quickly starts to look like the situation in French is not likely to be so different. There are 9 results for each of "Ta coiffure est belle" and "Ta coiffure est jolie" but over 100 for "Tes cheveux sont beaux" and 50 for "Tes cheveux sont jolis".
1311
Yes they are different in French. In English, though, one often says "hair" when referring to a hairstyle. "I like your hair" does not mean that I have a fondness for the strands of dead keratin that protrude from your head but that I appreciate what you have done (or have had done) to / with your hair.
Oui, ils sont différents en français. En anglais, cependant, "cheveux" se réfère souvent à la coiffure. "J'aime tes cheveux" ne veut pas dire que j'ai un penchant pour les brins de kératine morts qui dépassent de ta tête mais que j'apprécie ce que tu as fait à / avec tes cheveux.
1311
You're welcome. I'm Scottish and English is my "official" language, even though we use a lot of different words in Scotland. I am trying to improve my French and Spanish - not just the words but to be clearer in the way I explain things.
Vous êtes très gentil. Je suis écossais et l'anglais est ma langue "officielle", même si nous utilisons beaucoup de mots différents en Écosse. J'essaie de m'améliorer en français et en espagnol - pas seulement les mots mais d'être plus clair dans la façon dont j'explique les choses.
328
This happens to me all the time. It gets me the chance to show off my maternal grandmother. I have a picture of her at 19. I also have her hair.
I agree it should be accepted. It seems to accept hair-do but not hairdo which is the cited spelling here:
https://www.wordreference.com/fren/coiffure
Report it if you get it again.
490
If you're talking about the "Flirting" unit specifically, then yes, I've noticed that too (same thing with the "Idioms" unit)! :)
1311
“Coiffeur” is a hairdresser - the one who creates the coiffure. “Coiffure” is a hairdo/hairstyle but is only occasionally used.
490
I think those are also acceptable translations except "cheveux" is plural and masculine so it would be « Tes cheveux sont beaux. » Whether a francophone would actually say this is another story... Anyone want to comment?
“Her hairstyle is of great beauty.”
Why are expressions the way they are?
You say that a person has great beauty.
Beauty is a quality in the form of a noun.
You could have a completely different sentence with an adjective: “She has a beautiful hairstyle.”
The sentence, that Duolingo is using, puts more emphasis on her hairstyle than on her.
You could say “Her hairstyle is beautiful.” It is much less dramatic. “The preposition is there because “beauty” is a noun that is used about a person or sometimes about a beautiful animal and it is being used with the verb “to be” instead of the verb “to have.” Many women are beautiful, but it is less common to call a woman a beauty. It emphasizes that she is not just beautiful, but she is also an uncommon beauty,
So, “She is beautiful.” is a compliment, but “She is a beauty.” is a step up, a higher compliment and the next step up is “She is of great beauty.” It is an older form and much less commonly used, so it stands out as a higher compliment, though some people would find it too formal. Most people would just say that her hairstyle is beautiful or even that her hair is beautifully done.
In French, you could also say “Ta coiffure est belle.” which is the version with the adjective “Your hairstyle is beautiful.” Someone probably paid a lot of money for this hairstyle and the other person is feeling like paying a higher, more formal compliment so this sentence is used “Ta coiffure est d’une grande beauté,“. I think I would say “I like what you did with your hair.”, but then Americans prefer informal versions most of the time and even if it is what I would say in the situation, it is not a translation of this sentence.
1575
Can I say: [Tu es d'une grande beauté / Você est d'une grande beauté] to a woman, or is it only for attributes?
490
Not sure what you mean by the second part of your answer, but note that it should be "Who comments on..."! :)
216
I take is as " Your hairstyle is a big beautiful." I didnt know you needed to add grande before beaute.
490
Both mean "your" but « ta » is used for a singular feminine object starting with a consonant sound & « ton » is used for a singular masculine object OR a singular feminine object starting with a vowel sound; for completeness, the plural for masculine and feminine nouns is « tes » ! :)
This is an expression that Duolingo is teaching you which is literally "of great beauty", but it is more common than in English.
The regular word for beautiful is "belle" for a feminine singular word, "belles" for a feminine plural word, "beau" for a masculine singular word, "beaux" for a masculine plural word and "bel" for a masculine singular word that starts with a vowel sound.
Okay, now that I look back at all that, I see why Duolingo might have chosen this expression to teach us for now.
https://dictionary.reverso.net/english-french/beautiful
Dictionaries usually list by the masculine singular form, but normally list all forms there, for example "beau".
Breakdown of the sentence.
Ta|•Your
Ta is the Femenine way of your. Ton is the Masculine way of "YOUR."
Coiffure|•Hairstyle
Coiffure is hairstyle. Chevaux is hair.
Est d'une grande|•Is
You could've just said est but it's being more specific. D' is used after a vowel or a silent h.
Beauté|•Beautiful
When you first see the word, you might think of •Beauty• and yes, that's what first came to my mind. But bel (in French) is used in men. Look "C'est un bel homme." Bel is handsome. Belle (Femenine French form) is beautiful, just like beauté.
HTH. I'm not that 100% fluent in French but I really hope that this information has been of great help!! Bonne journée!!❤️☺️♥️
490
Good start! :) But some other corrections:
- « ta » is the feminine form of "your"
- « cheveux » is "hair"; « chevaux » is "horses"
- « beauté » does indeed mean "beauty" not "beautiful"; what this sentence actually translates to literally is "Your hairstyle is of (a) great beauty."
- "beautiful/handsome" is « beau(x) » for a masculine noun starting with a consonant sound, « bel » for a masculine noun starting with a vowel sound & « belle(s) » for feminine nouns
If I am talking to one person you and you are a friend, child, member of my family or even God, the father or son (thou), I will use "tu" to talk to you and
"ta" for "your" if the word that belongs to you is feminine and singular in French,
"ton" if the word that belongs to you is masculine and singular in French and
"tes" if the word that belongs to you is plural.
Also, "my" uses the forms "ma", "mon" "mes" in the same way and both "his" and "her" and even "their" all translate to "sa" for a feminine thing owned, "son" for a masculine thing owned or "ses" for a plural thing owned.
If I am talking to more than one of you or someone who is not familiar to me, than I must use "vous" for "you" and
"votre" for " your" for any singular noun that belongs to you and
"vos" for any plural noun that belongs to you.
Also, "our" translates to "notre" for a singular thing owned and "nos" for a plural thing owned.