French Word of the Day: Baraque

From chatting about your home to describing someone's impressive physique, baraque is a French word you'll come across more often than you might expect.

Whether you're talking about a house or describing someone who's built like a tank, baraque is a versatile French word to know.

The word baraque, roughly pronounced bah-rack (listen here ), is most commonly known to mean a "hut" or a "shack". Usually built out of wood or stone, these houses were originally used by fishermen, woodcutters or seasonal workers. In addition to serving as inns, they have functioned as post stations since the 17th century.

You may also recognise the word from signs like baraque à frites , referring to the stalls that sell French fries. In this context, baraque keeps its original sense of a simple hut or kiosk.

Over time, its meaning broadened to include any house in informal speech. It's quite common and can have a neutral, affectionate or slightly dismissive tone if describing a building as old or unattractive. You will often hear French speakers refer to houses as such in social conversations.

For example: Quelle baraque ! - What a huge house! (admiring) or ils vivent dans une vieille baraque . - They live in an old shack. (less flattering)

Today, you can also use the slang term baraque or the adjective baraqué(e) to refer to someone very tall, strong or heavily built. It's a - less profane - version of the English phrase 'built like a brick shithouse' to describe someone very tall, broad or heavily-built.

Ils vivaient dans une baraque en bois en pleine nature. - They lived in a wooden shack in the middle of nowhere.

Ils ont acheté une belle baraque à la campagne. - They bought a lovely house in the countryside.

Depuis qu'il joue au rugby, il est devenu vraiment baraqu e. - Ever since he started playing rugby, he's become a real unit.