Les mots-valises – Today’s French

Portmanteau Words – Today’s French

What is a portmanteau word? What are examples of portmanteau words in French? How are they used in a sentence. Listen to Anne, repeat after her. Learn French at FrenchHour.com

The word portmanteau comes from French portemanteau. It means ‘coat rack’, ‘coat hanger’.

What is a portmanteau word – un mot-valise? It’s a blended word where the last syllable of the first word and the first syllable of the second are combined somehow.

Here is a short list of the most common ones. I’m hoping you can use some of them in a sentence. Send me your work. I’ll go over it.

adulescent.e – adulte+adolescent = teen-adult
alicament – aliment+médicament = food that cures
beurgeois.e – Beur+(bour)geois.e = person from North-African descent having a bourgeois life-style
bobo = bourgeois+bohème = yuppie with an attitude
Brexit – Br(i)tain+Exit – Brexit
coronapéro – coronavirus+apéro = virtual cocktail with friends and family during Covid-19
courriel – courrier+électronique = email
franglais – français+anglais = Frenglish
infox – informations+intoxication = fake news
lundimanche – lundi+dimanche = all the days of the week are the same
motel – moteur+hôtel – motel
pourriel – poubelle+courriel = spam email message