What is “tigre qui pleure” (crying tiger)?

Tigre qui pleure d’amour pour la Saint-Valentin

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

💡 Did you know?
le tigre qui pleure
noun phrase · French (cooking)
“'crying tiger': a Thai grilled-beef dish with a fiery dipping sauce”

This Valentine’s recipe leans on a dish with an irresistible name: «la sauce du tigre qui pleure» (“the crying tiger sauce”). Le tigre qui pleure (“the crying tiger”) is a Thai grilled-beef dish, hugely popular in France, named for the fiery, tangy dipping sauce said to make even a tiger weep.

The video plays on the name for Valentine’s, a tiger “crying with love.” The marinade is pure French-Thai fusion: sauce soja, sauce huître, and nuoc-mâm (fish sauce), then a quick sear. France’s love of Thai food means dishes like this keep their evocative names untranslated, which is half the fun of the menu.

How common are the words?

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

84.2%
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

75.3%
Top 1,000
84.2%
Top 2,000
93.5%
Top 5,000

How common in spoken French

80.9%
Top 1,000
92.8%
Top 2,000
100%
Top 5,000
👄 Words for talking
This video uses words people often say in French.

Harder words in this video

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

disposes
1×
Not in top 5,000
arranges, sets up (formal)
enchaînes
1×
Not in top 5,000
chains together, links
filmes
1×
Not in top 5,000
films, records (video)
fondants
1×
Not in top 5,000
melting; fudge-like dessert
huître
1×
Not in top 5,000
oyster
sauce du tigre qui pleure d'amour
1×
tiger sauce that cries of love

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

★Where you hear this
  • ▸On the menus of Thai restaurants across France.
  • ▸French cooking channels and food bloggers doing Thai recipes.
  • ▸In French Valentine’s Day dinner ideas.
  • ▸Alongside other untranslated dish names like pad thaï and bo bun.

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