Written by Edwar Manjarres

“Attache ta tuque!” (Tie down your hat!) is a very typical expression in Quebec. It is used to warn that something intense is coming, and in the months of December, when winter arrives, it is more common to hear it.

In this blog, I present an imagined account of the common routine of winter in Quebec with phrases in French that will help you deduce new words. Read along with me to the end and expand your winter vocabulary with this short story. 

First contact with the frette in Quebec

In his first winter, Juan looked at his car before starting it and thought: —Ie dois déneiger ma voiture (I have to clear the snow off my car).

The air was biting. Feeling the weather, Juan murmured: —Il fait frette (It's very cold). The wind was blowing hard and was freezing. Juan felt the cold: he said to himself —The wind is freezing! 

Each step in the route was a challenge because of the ice. Juan was impressed and said: "The road is slippery!" (The road is slippery).

Suddenly, while working in the neige, he looked up and saw a young woman. She was also taking neige from her car, wearing a tuque hat full of flocons (flakes). He smiled and said, referring to the weather: —Il neige beaucoup (It's snowing a lot). He said to Juan: "Attache ta tuque!"

Juan responded with a courteous gesture courtois (courteous), but the froid hurt him in the face by the tempête (storm): Juan thought —The cold hurts my face! (The cold hurts my face).

She invited him to a activité typical of winter: —On va patiner sur la patinoire (Let's go ice skating at the rink).

The snow continued to fall, and she said: —I love playing/going outside in the snow (I love playing/going outside in the snow).

At the end of the afternoon, they took refuge in a cafeteria. With their hands wrapped around a steaming cup , they discovered the ultimate comfort for the froid . They both said: —Hot chocolate is comforting. 

Congratulations if you understood the text. This reading is at beginner level. To progress, it is important to follow a learning structure with a certified course, such as those we offer at Planeta Immiland.

Why is deductive reading useful when learning French?

Deductive reading is very useful when learning French because it helps you understand the meaning of the words nouvelles or complex words without having to translate them directly.

When you see a word in French (neige) and the Spanish context (nieve) is right next to it or in the following sentence, your brain deduces the meaning of the foreign word.

This allows you to read faster and concentrate on the story instead of looking up every word in a dictionary.

By applying deduction, you begin to create a natural connection between the concept (cold, wind) and the word in français (frette, glacial), which improves vocabulary retention.

Learn languages with Planeta Immiland Education

At Planeta Immiland Education , we are the leading language school for immigration to Canada. We teach English and French based on the standards of the CLB (Canadian Language Benchmarks), which measure your level of linguistic competence in real communication situations.

Do you already know your level of French? We invite you to take our free test and start your French course with us.

I hope this story helps you use phrases from Quebec French. Thank you for reading. See you in the next blog!

With love, 

Planeta Immiland Education