tells in the Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary

Translations for tells in the English»French Dictionary

I.tell <pret, pp told> [Brit tɛl, Am tɛl] VB trans

1. tell (gen) (give information to):

tell person:

dire

tell manual, instruction, gauge etc:

indiquer, dire

to tell sb sth, to tell sth to sb person:

dire qc à qn

to tell sb sth, to tell sth to sb map, instructions:

indiquer qc à qn

to tell sb how to do/what to do

expliquer à qn comment faire/ce qu'il faut faire

she told him what had happened/where to go

elle lui a dit or expliqué ce qui était arrivé/où il fallait aller

he told me how unhappy he was

il m'a dit or il m'a confié combien il était malheureux

to tell the time clock:

indiquer or marquer l'heure

to tell the time person:

lire l'heure

can you tell me the time please?

peux-tu me dire l'heure (qu'il est), s'il te plaît?

something tells me he won't come

quelque chose me dit qu'il ne viendra pas, j'ai le pressentiment qu'il ne viendra pas

his behaviour tells us a lot about his character

son comportement nous en dit long sur sa personnalité

I can't tell you how happy I am to…

je ne saurais vous dire combien je suis heureux de…

I am pleased to tell you that …

je suis heureux de pouvoir vous dire or annoncer que …

(I'll) tell you what inf, let's get a video out!

tiens, si on louait une vidéo?

I told you so!, what did I tell you!

je te l'avais bien dit!

you're telling me!

à qui le dis-tu!

don't tell me you've changed your mind!

tu ne vas pas me dire que tu as changé d'avis!

you'll regret this, I can tell you!

permets-moi de te dire que tu vas le regretter!

it's true, I tell you!

puisque je te dis que c'est vrai!

I won't stand for it, I tell you!

je ne le permettrai pas, je te préviens!

stress? tell me about it!

le stress? j'en sais quelque chose!

2. tell (narrate, recount):

tell joke, story

dire, raconter

to tell sb sth, to tell sth to sb

dire or raconter qc à qn

to tell sb about or of sth

parler de qc à qn, raconter qc à qn

from what the newspapers tell us, they're likely to lose the election

d'après ce que disent les journaux, ils risquent de perdre les élections

tell me all about it!

racontez-moi tout!

tell me about it! iron

ne m'en parle pas!

tell me more about yourself

parlez-moi encore un peu de vous

I told her the news

je lui ai dit or annoncé la nouvelle

their victims tell a different story

leurs victimes ont une autre version de l'histoire

he's very handsome—or so I've been told

il est très beau—du moins c'est ce qu'on m'a dit

‘my life as a slave girl, ’ as told to Celia Irving JOURN

‘ma vie d'esclave, ’ propos recueillis par Celia Irving

I could tell you a thing or two about her!

je pourrais vous en dire long sur elle!

3. tell (ascertain, deduce):

you can/could tell (that)

ça se voit/se voyait que

I/he can tell (that)

je sais/il sait que

who can tell what will happen next?

qui peut dire or savoir ce qui va se passer ensuite?

you can tell a lot from the clothes people wear

la façon dont les gens s'habillent est très révélatrice

I could tell that he was in love from the look in his eyes

je lisais dans ses yeux qu'il était amoureux

4. tell (distinguish):

tell

distinguer

to tell sb from sb

distinguer qn de qn

to tell sth from sth

sentir or voir la différence entre qc et qc

he can't tell right from wrong

il ne sait pas distinguer le bien du mal

can you tell the difference?

est-ce-que vous voyez or sentez la différence?

how can you tell which is which?, how can you tell them apart?

comment peut-on les distinguer l'un de l'autre?

the dog can tell him from his footsteps

le chien le reconnaît à ses pas

5. tell (order):

tell

dire, ordonner

to tell sb to do

dire à qn de faire

to tell sb not to do

défendre à qn de faire

do as you are told!

fais ce qu'on te dit!

she just won't be told!

elle refuse d'obéir!

you can't tell me what to do!

ce n'est pas toi qui vas me dire ce que je dois faire!

he didn't need telling twice! Brit, he didn't need to be told twice!

il n'y a pas eu besoin de le lui dire deux fois!

6. tell (count, enumerate) dated:

tell votes

compter, dénombrer

to tell one's beads REL

dire or réciter son chapelet

II.tell <pret, pp told> [Brit tɛl, Am tɛl] VB intr

1. tell (reveal secret):

promise me you won't tell!

promets-moi de ne pas le répéter

that would be telling!

ce serait rapporter!

that would be telling!

ce serait cafarder! inf

2. tell:

to tell of (be evidence of)

témoigner de

the lines on his face told of years of hardship

son visage buriné témoignait d'années de misère

3. tell (know for certain):

tell

savoir, dire

as or so far as I can tell

pour autant que je sache

how can you tell?

comment le sais-tu?

it's very hard to tell

c'est très difficile à dire or de savoir

you never can tell

on ne sait jamais

4. tell (produce an effect):

her age is beginning to tell

elle commence à sentir or à accuser son âge

every blow told

tous les coups se faisaient sentir or portaient

her inexperience told against her at the interview

son inexpérience a joué contre elle lors de son entretien

III.to tell oneself VB refl

to tell oneself refl:

to tell oneself

se dire (that que)

IV.tell <pret, pp told> [Brit tɛl, Am tɛl]

tell me another inf!

à d'autres! inf

to tell sb where to get off or where he gets off inf

envoyer promener qn, envoyer qn sur les roses inf

you tell me!

je n'en sais rien!, à ton avis?

to tell it like it is

parler net

to tell the world about sth

raconter qc à tout le monde

don't tell the world about it!

ne le crie pas sur les toits!

more than words can tell

plus qu'on ne peut dire

time (alone) will tell prov

(seul) l'avenir le dira, qui vivra verra

time will tell which of us is right

l'avenir dira qui de nous a raison

to tell one's love dated, liter

déclarer sa flamme dated, liter

I.tell off VB [Brit tɛl -, Am tɛl -] (tell [sb] off) (scold)

tell off

disputer inf

tell off

passer un savon à inf

person she got told off for leaving early/arriving late

elle s'est fait disputer or passer un savon parce qu'elle était partie tôt/arrivée en retard inf

I.tell on VB [Brit tɛl -, Am tɛl -] (tell on [sb])

1. tell on (reveal information about):

tell on person

dénoncer (to à)

he's always telling on people!

il est toujours en train de rapporter!

he's always telling on people!

il est toujours en train de cafarder! inf

2. tell on (have visible effect on):

the strain is beginning to tell on him

on commence à voir sur lui les effets de la fatigue

her age is beginning to tell on her

elle commence à sentir or accuser son âge

Your search term in other parts of the dictionary

to tell truth from falsehood

faire la différence entre le vrai et le faux

to tell a falsehood

mentir

to tell fibs inf

raconter des bobards inf

to tell fibs inf

mentir

to tell a tale

raconter une histoire

to tell a tale of woe (about oneself)

raconter ses malheurs

to tell a tale of woe (about others)

raconter une histoire pathétique

the figures tell the same/another tale

les chiffres disent la même chose/tout autre chose

the recent events tell their own tale

les événements récents parlent d'eux-mêmes

to spread or tell tales

raconter des histoires (about sb sur qn)

dead men tell no tales

les morts ne parlent pas

to live to tell the tale

être encore là pour en parler

to tell tales out of school

révéler des choses indiscrètes

to tell or give sb a hard-luck story

raconter ses malheurs à qn

Translations for tells in the French»English Dictionary

Your search term in other parts of the dictionary

pipeauteur (pipeauteuse)

person who tells a lot of half-truths

il raconte ça à la cantonade

he tells anyone and everyone

affabuler

to tell tall stories

tells in the PONS Dictionary

Translations for tells in the English»French Dictionary

I.tell <told, told> [tel] VB trans

1. tell (giving information):

tell

dire

to tell sb about [or of] sth

parler de qc à qn

to tell sb (that) ...

dire à qn que ...

we were told that ...

on nous a dit que ...

we were told by the police that ...

la police nous a dit que ...

to tell sb what happened/where sth is

dire à qn ce qui s'est passé/où se trouve qc

nobody was told why he left

personne n'a su pourquoi il était parti

to tell sb about a change/a meeting

informer qn d'un changement/d'une réunion

don't tell anyone

ne dis à personne

I wasn't told

on ne m'a rien dit

your house tells people a lot about you

votre maison en dit long sur vous

to tell sb the time

donner l'heure à qn

he can tell the time

il sait lire l'heure

to tell sb's fortune

dire la bonne aventure à qn

to tell the future

prédire l'avenir

2. tell (narrate):

tell story

raconter

to tell sb (about) what happened

raconter qc à qn

3. tell (command):

to tell sb to +infin

dire à qn de +infin

do as you're told inf

fais ce qu'on te dit

4. tell (make out):

tell

discerner

I can tell if it's good

je sais tout de suite si c'est bon

to tell the difference

faire la différence

you can never tell

on ne peut jamais savoir

5. tell (count):

tell

compter

all told

en tout

Phrases:

I'll tell you what

tu sais quoi

there's no tellling

Dieu seul sait

that would be telling inf

ça c'est mon affaire

I told you so

je te l'avais bien dit

didn't I tell you?

je t'avais dit

what did I tell you? inf

je te l'avais bien dit

tell me another (one) inf

à d'autres

you're telling me! inf

à qui le dis-tu?

II.tell <told, told> [tel] VB intr

tell

dire

will she tell?

est-ce qu'elle va rapporter?

tell against VB trans Brit form

tell against

jouer contre

tell on VB trans

1. tell on (affect negatively):

tell on

affecter

2. tell on (inform on sb):

tell on

dénoncer

tell apart VB trans

tell apart

différencier

tell off VB trans

tell off child

gronder

tell off employee

faire des reproches à

to tell sb off about sth

faire une remarque à qn à propos de qc

I.telltale [ˈtelteɪl], tell-tale N pej

telltale

rapporteur(-euse) m (f)

II.telltale [ˈtelteɪl], tell-tale ADJ

telltale

révélateur(-trice)

Translations for tells in the French»English Dictionary

Your search term in other parts of the dictionary

film de fiction

film that tells a story

galéjer

to tell tall stories

houspiller qn

to tell sb off

fabuler

to tell stories

tells Examples from the PONS Dictionary (editorially verified)

it falls to me to tell you ...

il m'incombe de vous dire ...

to tell sb about a change/a meeting

informer qn d'un changement/d'une réunion

your house tells people a lot about you

votre maison en dit long sur vous

let me tell you without circumlocution that ...

permettez-moi de vous dire sans détours que ...

I've (got) several things to tell you

j'ai deux/plusieurs choses à vous dire

to tell sb different things at different times

tenir un double langage à qn

how can he tell such a lie!

comment peut-il raconter ce mensonge!

this information tells us that sb did sth

il résulte de ce renseignement que qn a fait qc

tell me what you think of this

tu m'en diras/vous m'en direz des nouvelles

something tells me she's going to do it

quelque chose me dit qu'elle va le faire

Monolingual examples (not verified by PONS Editors)

English

This from a man who tells us at almost every stop along the campaign trail that he has the judgment to lead.

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However, the narration tells us that his grief is so sincere that his soul is saved.

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The boy tells the king of the two dragons.

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He is stupefied when she declares him a liar and a cheat, and tells him that she has already given him both the mantle and her bracelet.

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She tells him he looks terrible and has had no sleep and if he doesn't take care of himself, he'll need a hospital bed.

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It tells the tale of a cab driver hailing from a small town, who falls in love with a rich girl.

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Bex then visits him at work and tells him to stand up for himself, and invites him to a night club.

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While grocery shopping, the kids scarf down as many free samples as they can until the employee tells them that the samples are just incentives for people to buy.

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It titillates, it petrifies, but most importantly, it tells you a story which is daunting, imaginative and unconventional.

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He tells her to stop moping around and do it.

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