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Frenchshort stories

Lucien J.C1Kwiziq community member

Frenchshort stories

I would have expected 'un conte' to be a 'short story'. I was under the impression that 'Une nouvelle' tends to be a long short story. Thus 'Bel-Ami' is a 'roman', 'Boule de Suif' is a 'nouvelle' but 'Une Vendetta' is a 'conte'. What do you think/?

This question relates to:French vocab and grammar list "Reading vocabulary in French"
Asked 4 years ago
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CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Bonjour Lucien, 

The definition of ‘un conte’ is :

a récit, en général assez court de faits imaginaires. 

For me, the translation of conte is ‘tale’ as in 'fairy tale' ( conte de fées) so it is not the word I would use for a short story.

P.s. I love 'Boule de Suif' ...

Bonne continuation!

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Lucien J. asked:View original

Frenchshort stories

I would have expected 'un conte' to be a 'short story'. I was under the impression that 'Une nouvelle' tends to be a long short story. Thus 'Bel-Ami' is a 'roman', 'Boule de Suif' is a 'nouvelle' but 'Une Vendetta' is a 'conte'. What do you think/?

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