Answers
Apr 20, 2012 - 11:39 PM
I'm just a beginner, so I used Google Translate to check out the two words. It indicated that "bas" means "low" and "court" means "short." It returned the following--no guarantee that the grammar is correct, but at least it shows a distinction between the two words :)
the sun is low in the sky = le soleil est bas dans le ciel
he is short = il est à court
he wrote a short story = il a écrit une courte histoire
low and short = bas et à court
the sun is low in the sky = le soleil est bas dans le ciel
he is short = il est à court
he wrote a short story = il a écrit une courte histoire
low and short = bas et à court
Apr 21, 2012 - 11:16 AM
I began thinking that you may have been asking WHEN to use "bas" rather than "court" instead of wanting definitions for the words (low, short). I can only offer some of the usage examples that I found for these words on the online Collins Dictionary - http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dict...
http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dict...
* Bas (quiet)
Her voice was so low he had to strain to catch it. = Elle parlait si bas qu'il devait tendre l'oreille pour l'entendre.
To speak in a low voice. = Parler à voix basse
* Bas (morale)
Morale is low. = Le moral est bas.
* Bas (in height)
That plane is flying very low. = Cet avion vole très bas.
The sun was low in the sky. = Le soleil était bas sur l'horizon.
* Bas (low level)
Rates of interest have dropped to record lows. = Les taux d'intérêt ont atteint leur niveau le plus bas.
http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dict...
* Court (not long lasting)
It was a great holiday, but too short. = C'étaient des vacances super, mais trop courtes.
* Court (measurement)
a short skirt = une jupe courte
short hair = les cheveux courts
http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dict...
* Bas (quiet)
Her voice was so low he had to strain to catch it. = Elle parlait si bas qu'il devait tendre l'oreille pour l'entendre.
To speak in a low voice. = Parler à voix basse
* Bas (morale)
Morale is low. = Le moral est bas.
* Bas (in height)
That plane is flying very low. = Cet avion vole très bas.
The sun was low in the sky. = Le soleil était bas sur l'horizon.
* Bas (low level)
Rates of interest have dropped to record lows. = Les taux d'intérêt ont atteint leur niveau le plus bas.
http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dict...
* Court (not long lasting)
It was a great holiday, but too short. = C'étaient des vacances super, mais trop courtes.
* Court (measurement)
a short skirt = une jupe courte
short hair = les cheveux courts
Apr 21, 2012 - 07:13 PM
Court is short as opposed to long and bas is short as opposed to tall.
Apr 24, 2012 - 05:46 AM
They have different meanings and uses: "Bas" means "Low" as in the opposite of "High", so you use it to refer to buildings, mountains or the volume. "Court" means "Short" as in the opposite of "Long" so you use it for clothes, objects, streets, etc, mostly for distances or measures... As for the opposite of "Tall" in French it's "Petit", so for somebody's height for example you'd use: Petit/Grand (Short/Tall)