Ma puce. On a cuter note, you can use “ma puce” with anyone that you love. This adorable French word for “sweetie” or “my dear” is appropriate for your significant other, a child, or even a friend. It is often used with children to mean “sweetie pie” and could be used the same way with a partner.
For lovers only: intimate French terms of endearment
Mon amoureux (M), mon amoureuse (F): My lover. Some people will say this to children, as it does not necessarily mean someone you sleep with, but it's honestly a little creepy.
You could translate it to "honey". Definitely romantic in a couple but can be used from a mother to her daughter, or any possibility like when "honey" is used. Between male/female friends definitely shouldn't be used, will sound as if there is a relationship.
How should we indicate possession if a singular noun (or name) ends on s? Simply by adding an apostrophe and a possessive s, for example "the boss's Ferrari", "Des's B&B", "Tom Jones's diary".
The Department of Economic Security (DES) is the safety net agency for the State of Arizona. As one of the largest agencies in state government, DES serves more than 2 million Arizonans annually through more than 60 programs that address the social and economic needs of those we serve.
Ma puce: 'My flea' is the literal meaning, which doesn't seem so romantic. In fact, it is more commonly used with children, specifically girls, and sounds a bit old-fashioned now. Mon chaton. Doudou.
In English, Les Puces mean “flea market”. Les Puces wines have scoured the French wine market, seeking out the very authentic “Vins de France”, in order to bring you this typical range of unpretentious and deliciously fresh wines.
Puce is a relative of pale pink. With undertones of purple and brown, its name comes from the French word puce, which means “flea.” Of course, the tiny insects themselves are brown, but the color puce comes from the bloodstain that dries after a flea has been smashed.
To describe an unspecified plural quantity, use “des” (both feminine and masculine), which tells you there is more than one item, but it is a vague plural quantity (it could be 2, could be 10,000 or more). This “des” usually applies to whole items, that you could count, but decided not to.
The Neutral Output Discharge Elimination System, NO-DES, truck is fully equipped with the controls, pumps, filters, hoses and necessary components to flush and filter a potable water system and reduce water waste. Photo courtesy of NO-DES Inc.
In general, you want to pronounce “desu” like “dess.” That means no “u” sound at the end. This happens a lot with words that end with “u” sounds, where the “u” sound is dropped.
E.g. J'ai des fraises. Grammar jargon: Les is the plural definite article; Des is the plural indefinite article. These articles are used with countable nouns (things you can count, like dogs, as opposed to mass nouns for things like milk which use partitive articles instead.)
With expressions of known quantity (e.g., "beaucoup"), you generally just use "de." This can be directly translated to "of" in English: "J'ai beaucoup de chiens." - "I have a lot of dogs."
Mon petit chou is a term of endearment that is used to refer to someone you love. It can be translated to mean "my little cabbage" or "my darling". Even if you've just started learning French, you might have already come across it.
