French people: please comment?

Question

I am learning French and as part of our homework, we had to write out an invitation to something. I wrote about a Poker night and found that the word for poker in French is 'tisonnier'. This was what my dictionary said.

My teacher did not know the word and has sent back my homework asking me what it means! But he's french!

Can anyone shed some light on this? It seems most peculiar to me!

Merci.

Answer 1

its correct, tell him hes an a*****e

Answer 2

Poker is still called "le Poker" by French people.

"Tisonnier" is the  stick usually make of wrought iron you use to poke at the ambers in a fireplace...

Be careful when you open your dictionnary! It hapenned to me a lot of time when I learned English.

Answer 3

Yes, we use the word "poker", never heard 'tisonnier' (and don't know what is it?)

Answer 4

yes, in france we also say Poker, we use the same word

Answer 5

I'm french, the good world is "poker".

A "tisonnier" is for fire.

Answer 6

In France we use the word Poker, and un tisonnier is something for moving wood logs in chimney fire.

Answer 7

Hey!

I'm French, and I always heard about the english word "poker" and not "tisonnier" to name the game. For me, the word "tisonnier" refers to the kind of stick that you use to move around the fire in a fireplace, but I researched a little bit to see if you were right. It seems that it's another way to call it in french. I don't know it's maybe a regional word.

J'espere que j'ai pu t'aider un petit peu sur le mal entendu.

Answer 8

everybody in france use the word Poker, I dont know the word Tisonnier, it must be an old fashioned name for this game.

Answer 9

You have discovered the perils of literal translation and of false cognates.

The English word "poker" derives from the Irish word "poca" and has nothing to do with the instrument which one uses to move wood around in a fireplace.

So when you go to look up the word for the card game called poker in your English-French dictionary or plug it into a translation program you wind up with the word for the fireplace tool.

In France the card game is called "Le Poker."