All languages, English incorporated, have phrases that appear similar however are actually fairly other.
French additionally has those phrases, and working out when to use every provides a lot of nuance to your speech and will make you sound a lot more fluent.
These days, we’ll have a look at the phrase “motard,” a technique to say “motorcyclist” in French.
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What does “motard” mean in French?
The French phrase “motard” is a masculine noun referring to a one that rides a bike. In maximum sorts of French, the phrase is similar to the English phrase “motorcyclist,” despite the fact that it additionally refers to anyone who’s a bit of an fanatic. “Motard” can be used to describe police or army staff whose shape of transportation is a bike. In Quebec French, “motard” is utilized in a moderately insulting method to refer to bikers who behave badly or criminally.
What does “motard” mean?
In accordance to authoritative French dictionary LaRousse, the phrase “motard” is a synonym for “motocycliste.”
Each phrases are nouns that mean more or less the similar factor as “motorcyclist” in English, however there are a few refined variations.
One of those variations is grammatical. The phrase “motard” is a masculine noun, whilst the phrase “motocycliste” is a female noun.
That suggests “motard” must be used with grammatically masculine articles (“le” or “un”). If you need to use “motard” to refer to a girl, you’ll be able to use the fewer commonplace female shape as an alternative: “motarde.”
Is there a distinction between “motard” and “motocycliste”?
As famous above, “motard” and “motocycliste” are extra or much less synonyms in maximum sorts of French.
The primary distinction is that “motocycliste” can be utilized to any individual who’s using a bike at that time limit. “Motard,” then again, signifies that the motorcyclist in query is a little bit motorcycle-obsessed.
In different phrases, a “motocycliste” would possibly simply occur to have a bike becauase it’s one of the simplest ways for them to get to paintings.
A “motard,” then again, is anyone who is going to meet-ups, buys all of the newest tools, reads bike magazines, hangs out on hobbyist web sites and does different fan-like issues.
An an identical English word could be “bike fanatic” or “bike fan.”
How do you employ “motard” in a sentence?
“Motard” is a noun used to describe a particular person. That suggests you’ll be able to use it in every other position the place you’d put a noun that refers to someone.
Simply remember the fact that “motard” is masculine. If you need to discuss a feminine bike fan, you wish to have to make it female by means of placing an e at the finish, like this: “motarde.”
Examples
“Paul est un motard.” “Paul is a bike fanatic.”
Beautiful easy!
“Qui est le motard là-bas?” “C’est Pauline.” “Quois? Pauline?! Elle est une motarde?!”
On this case, the primary speaker assumes that the bike fan in query is male, in order that they use “le motard.” When advised that the individual is Pauline, they transfer to the use of the female “une motarde,” as an alternative.
“Ces motards se disputent toujours pour savoir qui est le plus rapide.” “The ones bike enthusiasts all the time argue about who’s quickest.”
In French, plural nouns all the time take the masculine, even supposing a team of folks comprises women and men. That suggests you’ll all the time see “motards,” and no longer “motardes.”
“Motard” and the armed products and services
Differently “motard” can be utilized, once more in accordance to LaRousse, is to refer to law enforcement officials, squaddies and different staff whose primary shape of transportation is a bike.
To make this extra explicit, you’ll be able to upload descriptive phrases to the tip, in order that “motard de los angeles police” to the tip, in order that “motard de los angeles police” could be equivalent in meaning to the English phrase “bike cop.”
“Motard” in Quebec French
Audio system of Quebec French will pay attention a fairly destructive nuance to the phrase “motard,” equivalent to the variation between “motorcyclist” and “biker” in American English.
Calling anyone a “motard” in Canada, then, means that the individual you’re speaking about could be engaged in some prison or in a different way shady trade, like belonging to a biker gang.
Even though this meaning isn’t same old in different sorts of French, the phrase may also be blended with “gangs” to give a particular destructive connotation.
As an example, this 2017 article from Le Parisien talks about how “les gangs de motards“ are “dans le radar” (at the rader) of the French police.
What’s the maintain “supermotard”?
In the event you’ve learn this put up and are available around the phrase “supermotard,” you may suppose it’s a phrase used to describe most effective probably the most enthusiastic of bike enthusiasts.
Then again, it’s in reality a explicit sort of bike utilized in supermoto sports activities.
In supermoto, riders power their car throughout 3 differing types of panorama, together with jumps and free filth. As it’s so specialised, a explicit sort of robust bike is needed.
As a outcome of those “supermotard” and comparable “hypermotard” taste motorcycles, the phrase “motard” has additionally began to leak into English as a method to refer to bikes themselves.
The entire similar, that most effective holds true in English. In maximum, if no longer all, instances, while you’re talking French the phrase “motard” is a bike fanatic relatively than the gadget they experience.

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