French Idiomatic Expressions With Matin and Matinée

The French words matin  and  matinà ©e  both mean morning and both are used in many idiomatic expressions. The  difference between the two is that  un matin  is a straightforward expression of time (the morning), while  une  matinà ©e  indicates a duration of time, usually stressing the length of time, as in the whole morning long.  Learn how to say dawn, repeatedly, sleep late  and more with these idiomatic expressions using matin  and  matinà ©e. This is a general principle that applies as well to other confusing pairs of words, such as  an  and  annà ©e,  jour  and  journà ©e,  and  soir  and  soirà ©e.  Note that the shorter words in each case representing a straightforward period of time are all masculine; the longer words indicating a stretch of time are all feminine. In the list below, note that while  de bon matin  is an acceptable expression, bon matin is not. Non-native speakers of French sometimes make the mistake of using bon matin to mean good morning, but this construction does not exist in French. The acceptable morning greeting is always simply  bonjour. Common French Expressions With Matin and  Matinà ©e   à   prendre matin, midi et soir -- to be taken three times a day Araignà ©e du matin, chagrin; araignà ©e du soir, espoir. (proverb) -- A spider in the morning, sadness (or,  bad luck); a spider at night, hope ( or, good luck) au matin de sa vie -- at the beginning / in the first years of ones life (when everything seems possible) au petit matin -- at dawn de bon matin -- early in the morning de grand matin -- early in the morning du matin au soir -- from morning till night à ªtre du matin -- to be an early riser tous les quatre matins -- repeatedly, again and again un de ces quatre matins -- one of these days une matinà ©e -- afternoon performance une matinà ©e dansante -- dance, informal afternoon dance party dans la matinà ©e -- (sometime) in the morning fair la grasse matinà ©e -- sleep late, sleep in