idea

idée

Pensée concernant ce qu’on pourrait faire ou la façon de le faire.

En anglais simple : A thought about something you could do or how you could do it.

• I have an idea for lunch.
• She suggested a clever idea to save money.
• Which of these ideas should we try first?

Comment l'utiliser : idea for something (Do you have an idea for dinner?); idea of doing something (I like the idea of sharing an office.)

Synonymes : plan, thought, suggestion

Expressions courantes : good idea, idea for something, have an idea, idea to try

opinion, idée

Avis sur ce qu’est une chose ou sur ce qu’elle devrait être.

En anglais simple : A belief or opinion about what something is like or how it should be.

• Our ideas about work are different.
• Travel changed his ideas on education.
• She has strong ideas about how families should live.

Comment l'utiliser : ideas about/on something (They have different ideas about raising children.)

Synonymes : view, opinion, belief

Expressions courantes : idea about something, idea of something, different idea

concept, idée

Chose qu’on peut concevoir, comme la liberté ou l’amour, mais qu’on ne peut pas toucher.

En anglais simple : Something you can think about, such as freedom or love, rather than something you can touch.

• Freedom is an important idea.
• The book explores ideas about beauty and truth.
• Can an abstract idea change the world?

Comment l'utiliser : idea of something (The idea of equality matters to many people.)

Synonymes : concept, notion

Expressions courantes : abstract idea, idea of freedom, idea of justice

but, intention

Ce qu’on cherche à obtenir en faisant quelque chose.

En anglais simple : What you are trying to achieve by doing something.

• The idea is to save time.
• What’s the idea behind this new rule?
• We changed the route, but the basic idea stayed the same.

Comment l'utiliser : the idea is to do something (The idea is to make shopping easier.); idea behind something (The idea behind the scheme is to reduce waste.)

Synonymes : aim, purpose, intention

Expressions courantes : idea is to, idea behind something, whole idea

image mentale, représentation

Image de quelqu’un ou de quelque chose qu’on se représente dans sa tête.

En anglais simple : A picture of someone or something that you have in your mind.

• I have a clear idea of her face.
• The description gave me an idea of the room’s appearance.
• His idea of the garden was brighter than the real thing.

Comment l'utiliser : idea of what someone/something looks like (I have a vague idea of what the house looks like.)

Synonymes : mental image, picture, image

Expressions courantes : idea of someone, clear idea, vague idea