Gap-fill
Bouquin or livre: a book recommendation with French gaps to fill
Learn the familiar word bouquin beside neutral livre, explore four kinds of book in pictures, then complete a short story about sharing a good read.
- A2
- 6 gaps
- Translation included
- Learn this in the A2 notebook →
In short
Un bouquin is a familiar way to say “a book”. Un livre is neutral. You can recommend the same book with C’est un bon bouquin or C’est un bon livre; the first sounds more relaxed.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learnRed watch out
Four books to recognise
What kind of book is it?
Find:
| To a friend | Neutral description |
|---|---|
| Tu as lu ce bouquin ? | Avez-vous lu ce livre ? |
| C’est un super bouquin. | C’est un très bon livre. |
| J’ai des bouquins à te prêter. | J’ai des livres à vous prêter. |
The tone changes in the table, along with the address forms. Bouquin is masculine, just like livre in the book sense. Write un bouquin, ce bouquin, des bouquins. A newly published novel can be un bon bouquin as easily as an older favourite.
Complete the story: six gaps
Use the English hints to fill the gaps. For the first two, follow the stated tone: “book, familiar” asks for bouquin; “book, neutral” asks for livre. The later gaps use the book vocabulary from the pictures.
Un conseil de lecture
Léa écrit à Max : « Tu cherches quelque chose à lire ? J’ai un bon (book, familiar) à te prêter. » Dans son compte rendu pour le cours, elle utilise le mot (book, neutral).
Le (novel) raconte l’histoire de deux sœurs. Max préfère commencer par une (comic book) : il aime suivre l’histoire en images. Quand il rencontre un mot nouveau, il consulte son (dictionary).
Le soir, Léa choisit un (cookbook). Elle veut essayer une nouvelle recette dimanche. « Ce bouquin donne plein d’idées », dit-elle à Max.
Read it in English
Léa writes to Max: “Are you looking for something to read? I have a good book to lend you.” In her report for class, she uses the neutral word for book.
The novel tells the story of two sisters. Max prefers to start with a comic book: he likes following the story in pictures. When he comes across a new word, he consults his dictionary.
In the evening, Léa chooses a cookbook. She wants to try a new recipe on Sunday. “This book gives you lots of ideas,” she tells Max.
What does bouquiner mean?
Le dimanche, j’aime bouquiner au calme.
On Sundays, I like reading somewhere quiet.
Bouquiner is the related familiar verb for reading, often for pleasure. In a neutral description, use lire. Keep the masculine book noun separate from feminine une livre, which can mean a pound as a unit of weight or currency.