French Youtube Channels Rec 2025

Here are some French Youtube channels that were recommended by the lovely people that answered this post. I've tried to make some vague categories, based on the titles of the first videos I could find - don't quote me on any of that - I actually don't know the majority of these channels) (a special thanks to @myrmecomorphisme and @insertusernameici who listed quite a few and gave some extra descriptions, you can find their posts, in French : here and here ) @fillioxalyn was faster than me and made a great post in French with some recommendations : here Travel : - Bruno Maltor

Food/Cooking : - Whoogys

News/Politics/Sociology : - HugoDécrypte-Actus du jour, - HugoDécrypte - Grands formats ; - Clémovitch - Dave Sheik [history / geopolitics] - Grégoire Simpson [sociology] (FRENCH SUB AVAILABLE)

History/ Archeology : - NotaBene (FRENCH SUB AVAILABLE) - Bonelessarcheologie8221 [Prehistory and archaeology] - Histoires crépues [colonial history] - Histoire Appliquée - C'est une autre histoire (FRENCH SUB AVAILABLE) - Les revues du monde

Linguistics : - Linguisticae

Entertainment : - Squeezie - theobabac

Lifestyle / Vlog / Make-up : - Lena situation - Gaelle Garcia Diaz - Marion Chameleon

Storytelling : - Thegreatreview (ENGLISH/FRENCH SUB AVAILABLE) - Babor Lelefan - Poisson Fécond

Science / Tech / Medicine / Biology : - GMilgram - Fantine et Hippocrate - Astronogeek - La Tronche en Biais - BaladeMentale - CedrikJurassik [Paleontology] - Faune cool [animals] - EGO [AI , computer science] (ENGLISH/FRENCH SUB AVAILABLE) - ici Amy Plant [computer science, hacking] - Fouloscopie

Culture / Movies / Dub / Music / Fantasy / SF : - Misterfox - Chronik Fiction - Durendal (FRENCH SUB AVAILABLE) - LinksTheSun - LaSuitedeTrop - Notserious_s (FRENCH SUB AVAILABLE) - SEB [Music industry] - misterjday - Ratelrock [reviews of horror films/franchises] - Nexus VI [SF] - Alt 236 - Occulture [occultism/fantasy] - Calmos

Litterature/Book review : - jeannot se livre - Qu'est ce qu'on lit ?

Video Games : - Joueur du Grenier, - Pseudoless1 [recent games /game design] (FRENCH SUB AVAILABLE) - Ache [criticism, feminism and trans-identity in video games] (FRENCH SUB AVAILABLE) - Feldup

Why are the verbs of motion like this 😭😭😭 AHAHAHAHAHA who hurt them-

Strongest passports in each continent.

by the.world.in.maps/instagram

España 💪🏻

Some women are conditioned to be fragile and weak, and to believe that it's a sin to outperform a man. Her feminism would involve allowing women to be strong.

Some women are expected to be strong at times when they can't. Her feminism would involve reassuring her that it's okay to not be strong.

Some neurodivergent people are raised to believe that they're too stupid to ever amount to anything. Their disability activism would involve reassuring them that they're capable.

Some neurodivergent people are raised to believe that they're smart and gifted, and are expected to live up to impossible standards. Their disability activism would involve allowing them to fail, make mistakes, be stupid, etc.

Some children are constantly reminded "you're the child, I'm the adult" in order to deny their autonomy. Their youth rights activism would involve treating them like an adult at times when they feel ready for it.

Some children are treated like adults in order to justify increased expectations or to downplay abuse against them. Their youth rights activism would involve allowing them to be a child.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to oppression. Each individual person's experience is different. Whatever trauma is caused by their oppression, the activism should focus on undoing it.

Language Vocab Study Method #1

A creative albeit odd way of studying and memorizing new vocab is to use it as an insult.

When I first started learning Chinese, I was overwhelmed with the amount of vocab I had to learn just to master the basics, so me and my friends decided to turn it into a game which we still use for those odd words that just don't stick for some reason. This can be used for all languages, not just Chinese.

E.g. 你是一个惊艳的股市 (Nǐ shì yīgè jīngyàn de gǔshì): You are a breathtaking stock market.

他是一座敌视的天文馆 (Tā shì yīzuò díshì de tiānwénguǎn): He is a hostile planetarium.

她是一台偷偷摸摸的烤面包器 (Tā shì yī tái tōutōumōmō de kǎo miànbāo qì): She's a sneaky toaster.

My first surname is extremely common, in the Spanish top 5, but the second one is not very common, maybe even very rare.

Finally continuing on a book that i really really need to return to the uni library; and just skipped a chapter (they're independent essays) because it wasn't relevant/interesting to me; but this next chapter is coming through within the first paragraph:

- attributed to Winston Brembeck

French Verbs, Expressions and Conjunctions that Trigger the Subjunctive

VERBS: WISH, REQUIRE, WANT, FORBID              

Je veux que tu ailles à l'école.

aimer que - to like that attendre que - to wait for demander que - to require, to ask désirer que - to desire exiger que - to demand, to require interdire que - to forbid ordonner que - to command permettre que - to permit préférer que - to prefer souhaiter que - to wish vouloir que - to want

VERBS: SUGGEST, APPROVE, OBJECT, PREVENT              

Il propose qu'ils fassent une excursion.

accepter que - to accept  that approuver que - to approve désapprouver que - to disapprove empêcher que -  to forbid, to prevent éviter que - to prevent, to avoid proposer que - to suggest, to propose recommander que - to recommend refuser que - to refuse souffrir que - to suffer supporter que - to bear, to endure tolérer que - to tolerate

VERBS/EXPRESSIONS: PERCEPTION, OPINION  

Je regrette que ma famille ne puisse pas venir.

admirer que - to admire that adorer que - to love, to adore aimer que - to love apprécier que - to appreciate avoir honte que - to be ashamed avoir peur que - to be afraid (ne pas) comprendre que - (not) to understand craindre que - to fear critiquer que - to critize déplorer que - to deplore, to regret détester que - to detest, to hate regretter que - to regret s'étonner que - to be surprised se réjouir que - to be delighted, to look forward to être content que - to be glad être déçu que - to be disappointed être désolé que - to be sorry être heureux que - to be happy être satisfait que - to be satisfied être surpris que - to be surprised être triste que - to be sad trouver bizarre/bon/important/… que - to find it strange/good/important/…

VERBS: DOUBT, QUERY

Personne ne doute que le chômage soit un grand problème.

douter que - to doubt that contester que - to dispute nier que - to deny

VERBS: NEGATION        

Je ne crois pas qu'ils sachent nager.

ne pas croire que - not to believe that ne pas espérer que - not to hope ne pas estimer que - not to estimate ne pas s'imaginer que - not to imagine ne pas penser que - not to think ne pas se rapeller que - not to remember ne pas trouver que - not to find ne pas affirmer que  - not to affirm ne pas assurer que - not to assure ne pas avouer que - not to admit ne pas constater que - not to observe ne pas déclarer que - not to declare ne pas dire que - not to say ne pas jurer que - not to swear ne pas prétendre que - not to pretend ne pas soutenir que - not to support

OTHER EXPRESSIONS    

Il est bon que tu viennes.

il est bon/bizarre/important/nécessaire/… que - it is good/strange/important/necessary that cela m'amuse que - it amuses me that cela me gêne que - it bothers me cela m'inquiète que - it worries me cela me plaît que - it pleases me cela me surprend que - it surprises me il convient que - it is right that il faut que - it is necessary that il importe que - it is important il vaut mieux que - it’s better

CONJUNCTIONS              

à condition que - if afin que - so that avant que - before bien que - although de peur que - for fear that de crainte que - for fear that jusqu'à ce que - until malgré que - despite pour que - so that pourvu que - provided that quoique - although sans que- without supposé que - supposed that

- Source: Grammatik Kurz & Bündig Französisch, PONS 2015 (Gabriele Forst)

25 ways to be a little more punk in 2025

I liked this post so much I'm making it into a series of zines.

(Just noticed the typo on page 6 as I uploaded this, fml)

Some common suffixes for Russian abstract nouns (aka nouns that represent ideas and concepts): -ие and -ость. These nouns, by the way, can easily be changed to adjectives. -ие трудолюбие hard work → трудолюбивый hardworking терпение patience → терпеливый patient смирение meekness → смиренный meek прощение forgiveness → прощающий forgiving -ость щедрость generosity → щедрый generous благодарность gratefulness → благодарный grateful честность honesty → честный honest мудрость wisdom → мудрый wise верность faith → верный faithful

Can you believe these words were all on the wrapper of a chocolate bar?🍫

Language coaching FAQ document!

Hello everyone! I've compiled a document explaining what exactly language coaching is, who it's for, how much it costs (tldr; $13-20 an hour), how I can help and what sort of things we might do together.

If you're interested, check it out:

:))))

Happy language learning!

I actually really like the thing when you're starting to get the hang of a new language, enough to understand and say simple sentences but you gotta get creative to get more complex thoughts across, like a puzzle. I remember a time in the restortation school when a classmate who wasn't natively finnish and did her best anyway dropped something and sighed, telling me "every day is monday this week. I have had four mondays this week." And I understood.

I don't think I speak much of spanish anymore, but in the nursing school training period I did there, I did manage to get by with making weird Tarzan sentences. I got a nosebleed at some point and startled another nurse. Not knowing the words "humidity" or "stress", I managed to string together: "This is ok. It is hot, it is cold, I have a bad day, I am sad, I have blood. This is normal for me." And she understood.

And sometimes you just say things weird, but it's better than not saying it. One time, I was stuck in a narrow hallway behind someone walking really slowly with a walker, and he apologised for being in the way. I was not in any hurry, but didn't know the spanish word for "hurry", but I did know enough words to try to circumvent it by borrowing the english "I have all the time in the world."

The man burst into one of those cackling old man laughters that they do when something in this world still manages to surprise them. He had to be somewhere between 70 and a 100 years old, and I guess if there was one thing he wasn't expecting to hear today, it would be a random blond vaguely baltic-looking fuck casually announce that he is the sole owner and keeper of the very concept of time.

I’ve mostly learned Chinese in school, so I know a lot of academic vocabulary while having the language skills of a toddler in some basic areas. Once, I forgot the word for sad, which is a really dumb thing to forget. A bunch of the ways to say sad in Chinese are literally just “not happy”, but I also momentarily forgot how to say happy. So instead I said “there is an economic downturn inside my brain”.

When my wife and I were in Japan we went to an izakaya on our first full night in the country, and when it was time to pay we weren't sure where to do it, at the table or at the counter up front? Our waitress didn't speak much English, so I threw myself on that conversational grenade with, "Okane ga koko desu ka? Okane ga asoko desu ka?" Literally translated that's, "Money is/goes/should be here? Money is/goes/should be over there?"

She very gratefully confirmed that "Money goes over there," and we paid and left.

This is exactly what I was taught to do when I took Spanish (and I took a decades' worth, and my main teacher was amazing). He always tried to get us to tell him what we wanted or needed or was trying to say in the best way we knew how, because that is how people actually use language. Rather than have it be a barrier, he taught us above all to keep communicating. He never really told us why, or how valuable a skill it would be, he would just pretend he couldn't understand us anyway when we asked for a word we didn't know, and basically forced us to do exactly that. So it became completely normal to just...do that when we didn't know something.

Later, when I was in college and/or in the real world and I didn't know a word or couldn't remember or didn't have the words for a concept, I would I automatically do what I always did, what had become normalised: I would talk around it, which is what my teacher always called it. I even had one of my professors compliment me on getting what I needed that way, and she said that she'd never had another student do that and how helpful it was for her to be able to help me. I know that when I encountered others in my job with whom I had to speak in Spanish, and I couldn't communicate with them in the "proper" way, I could still get what I needed, or they needed, and there was always a sense of delight that even though my grammar was far from perfect, and I didn't always use the right words, that we all accomplished what we were there for. Most people don't care if you get it "right." They just want to be able to communicate effectively. (Can't speak for the French, though. 😉)

I also highly recommend doing this in your native language if you forget a word or blank on something. When I have conversations with people and they tell me they're blanking or can't think of something, I always, always ask them to describe it. Most people don't because they think it's weird and so either they don't get their point across or the conversation simply stops. But if they were more willing to keep communicating, we might get there. So I'm subtly trying to train everyone around me to do the same thing.

it's so much less frustrating and more funny when you can forget the word for windows and just say 'the doors for light to come in the wall' and if you forget the word for noodles you say 'you know the bread worms? from soup?' and if you forget the word for tiger you say 'those big assholes in the jungle, with stripes, they're orange.'

genuinely people love it when you do this. it makes the rest of the conversation so much more fun.

official linguistics post

I do this all the time because I keep forgetting basic words, even in my native language 😅

I got a few responses from my last post that people were interested in my experience learning to play/make the Guqin, so I'll add those posts in to my Hanfu posts :D

History The Guqin (古琴)is a very ancient and important instrument in Chinese history. Originally it was simply called "Qin" but later on "Qin" also became used for other instruments such as piano (gangqin/钢琴), violin (xiaotiqin/小提琴), etc. so "Gu" was added to the beginning ("Gu" means historical/very old/ancient).

The earliest form of Guqin comes from the Warring States period about 2500 years ago, although some records indicate the instrument existed even earlier. There is a saying in Chinese, "君子六艺", meaning the six skills all 'gentlemen' must learn under Confucian teachings. This included the Guqin (kind of like how everyone needs to learn English, math, science in school today).

Warrings States Guqin

Because of how the Guqin is played, there is a belief that the emotions of the player will affect their playing. In addition, those who are familiar with Guqin can listen to a piece and know the emotional state of the musician. There are many stories surrounding this instrument that has garnered it a lot of cultural and historical value to the Chinese civilization. China chose to put the famous Guqin piece, "Flowing Water"(流水) in the Voyager Golden Record sent to space by NASA in 1977 because of its cultural significance.

Styles + parts The Guqin is a slender instrument. Modern-day Guqin has 7 strings that are plucked to create sound. Above the strings is a set of 13 dots called "hui"(徽), these indicate where the left hand plays.

The instrument is made from 2 pieces of wood, the top portion has a slight upward curve that represents the Heavens (no religions connotation), and the bottom board is flat representing the Earth (historically, people though the Earth was flat). A standard Guqin is 3 "chi/尺" 6.5 "cun/寸" which is approximately 125cm, representing the 365 days of the year (this length can vary, however), and the 13 "hui/徽" represents the 13 months (of the lunar calendar).

There are many styles of Guqin, each with its own unique name. Guqin owners will sometimes name their Guqin and carve it into the bottom. It's also common for owners of famous Guqin to carve a line or two of poetry on the bottom of the Guqin. Currently, the most commonly found and classical style of Guqin is "Zhongni/仲尼" (which was also the courtesy name of Confucius, marking its significance).

Guqin with names and poetry carved into the bottom

ah yes, my favourite foreign language feel, “I know what all of those words mean individually but not together like that”

Bonus track: a word in Mandarin where I recognize the individual characters but can't recall what they mean together.

Pst btw if you've ever wanted to use / look at / make handwriting headcanons about Chinese calligraphy, this site allows you to search a character and then pulls up an image list of that character in tons of famous calligraphers' styles!!

It's also organized by different script styles (standard, seal, semi-cursive, cursive) for different uses!

If you click on the blue names under the pictures, the site pulls up a list of every character it has indexed as written by that particular calligrapher too, so very helpful to find individual styles : )