What is the French game “1, 2, 3, soleil”?

1, 2, 3, soleil avec les enfants

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A2 French listening practice · French from France · Picked for people who know a little

💡 Did you know?
1, 2, 3, soleil
French playground game
the chant of a freeze-when-I-turn-round game every French child knows

Un, deux, trois, soleil ! is the whole rulebook of a French playground game. One child stands facing a wall and calls it out; the others creep forward behind their back. On soleil the caller spins round, and anyone still moving is sent back to the start line. First to reach the wall wins. Nobody in France explains the rules, because the four words are the rules.

English-speaking children play close relatives under other names — “Red Light, Green Light” and “Grandmother’s Footsteps.” The French version quietly drills a set of verbs worth having: bouger (to move), avancer (to move forward), retourner au départ (go back to the start), and the flat command ne bouge plus !

How common are the words?

How common are the words in this A2 French listening practice video?

100%
of words are in the top 2,000 most common French words
Most of the words in this video are common French words.

How common in written French

96%
Top 1,000
100%
Top 2,000
100%
Top 5,000

How common in spoken French

96.2%
Top 1,000
100%
Top 2,000
100%
Top 5,000

Harder words in this video

These words are harder than A2. Here is what they mean.

bouges
2×
Not in top 5,000People say this a lot
menotter
2×
Not in top 5,000
to handcuff
1, 2, 3, soleil
1×
children's game like freeze tag

Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · Lexique 3.83 (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.

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