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How to Say ‘Bend your knees, your back nice and straight.’ in French

Pliez les genoux, le dos bien droit.

plee-AY leh zhuh-NOO luh doh byan DRWAH

[plee-AY leh zhuh-NOO luh doh byan DRWAH]

Phrase Breakdown

Pliez les genoux,

plee-AY leh zhuh-NOO

Bend your knees,

Command. French uses 'les' (the) for body parts, not 'your'.

Example

Pliez les genoux et descendez.

Bend your knees and go down.

Words in this phrase

Pliez

[plee-AY]

bend

Polite command form of 'plier' (to bend, fold).

Example

Pliez les bras.

Bend your arms.

les

[leh]

the

Used before plural nouns to denote particularity.

Example

Les années passent vite.

The years pass quickly.

genoux

[zhuh-NOO]

knees

Plural of 'genou' (knee), with an irregular -x ending.

Example

J'ai mal aux genoux.

My knees hurt.

le dos bien droit.

luh doh byan DRWAH

back nice and straight.

Describes the posture. 'Dos' and 'droit' both end with silent letters.

Example

Asseyez-vous, le dos bien droit.

Sit down with your back straight.

Words in this phrase

le

[luh]

the

Used as a function word to indicate a noun and to mark the noun as definite.

Example

Le chat noir.

The black cat.

dos

[doh]

back

Masculine noun for the back of the body.

Example

Gardez le dos droit.

Keep your back straight.

bien

[byan]

indeed / really

Used to confirm or check something is correct.

Example

C'est bien ton sac ?

Is that really your bag?

droit

[DRWAH]

straight

Adverb meaning straight ahead, without turning.

Example

Allez droit devant vous.

Go straight ahead.

Guides for French learners

The Most Common French Verbs: the 20 You'll Actually UseThe 20 most common French verbs, with the present-tense forms you need, real example sentences with native audio, and two shortcuts for past and future.Ordering in French: Cafés, Bakeries and Restaurants (with Menu Vocabulary)How to order in French at a café, a bakery and a restaurant: the phrases, the questions staff ask, and the menu and food vocabulary to understand the answers.

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