Compound nouns formed with prepositions a, de, en

AprilA2Kwiziq community member

Compound nouns formed with prepositions a, de, en

Is cuillère à thé a fixed phrase meaning a teaspoon for measuring? The lesson says à generally means what something is used for, however, this phrase would then mean "a spoon for tea," not a "teaspoon."

Asked 3 years ago
JimC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

I think that you are correct literally to express "cuillère à thé" as "a spoon for tea" but we say in english "a teaspoon" both are the same thing, just expressed slightly different between the two languages.  

JessicaC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Larousse suggests «une cuillère à cafe», «une cuillère à moka» and «une petite cullère». (It also suggests «une cuiller» from English to French, but this otherwise seems to get translated as spoon.)

Compound nouns formed with prepositions a, de, en

Is cuillère à thé a fixed phrase meaning a teaspoon for measuring? The lesson says à generally means what something is used for, however, this phrase would then mean "a spoon for tea," not a "teaspoon."

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