Word of the Week: Le Scintillement
Tomas k - News Writer and Moderator 
How do you say “sparkling” in French?
? Le scintillement.
As in: the sparkling of the light.
Related, how do you say “sparkly”?
? Scintillant. Or scintillante.
As in: the sparkly cup.
Do you notice the relationship to an English word we sometimes use to describe a conversation or a personality? (If so, tell us in the comments ?.)
Photo Prompt: Le Scintillement
Le scintillement means the “sparkling” or the “twinkling”—like light playing on water.
See if you can find some sparkle or twinkle upon an ordinary object in your home. Or in your teacup. Then try to catch it with your camera.
I found my sparkle on a pink quartz heart (le cœur) that came with instructions to let it help with “accepting the past and moving on with peace.”
My camera happened to find the sparkle on le cœur (the heart), atop a piece of art that pictures my mom and her sister as dolls in a plexiglass dollhouse. A miniature teacup that I found in my mom’s things joined the little party in the afternoon light.
The artist statement, which I only discovered after my photo shoot, had—lo and behold—this notation: “Karen and I are the little girls in the corner….She has found a wonderful crystal which I would like to have….In her ‘great generosity’ she will probably give it to me.”
Well, if she didn’t, there’s a crystal here now, which the camera in its great generosity is sharing with anyone who would like to receive its gentle beauty! ?
(translation: as always, L.L. :)
New Here? You might like Why I’m Learning French Through Tea
? Explore More About the Word of the Week
Listen to how to say le scintillement…
Related: Scintiller Is the Present Tense Verb
je scintille—I sparkle
tu scintilles—you sparkle
il/elle scintille—he/she/it sparkles
nous scintillons—we sparkle
vous scintillez—you sparkle - formal/plural
ils/elles scintillent—they sparkle
Copy by Hand for Fun & Creative Inspiration?
La lumière scintille sur l’eau. — The light sparkles on the water.
Les étoiles scintillent dans la nuit. — The stars twinkle in the night.
Mon thé scintille au soleil. —My tea sparkles in the sunlight.
Le scintillement de la lumière sur ma tasse de thé crée un moment de magie pure. — The sparkling of light on my teacup creates a moment of pure magic.
Le scintillement du matin transforme une tasse ordinaire en quelque chose d’extraordinaire. The sparkling of morning transforms an ordinary cup into something extraordinary.
