Help From Apg If Possible.

[Atheist]

I am unclear about the French words arriere, and derriere. Is there a simple explanation of where these words are appropriate?

[Togo]

Your derriere is usually in the arriere, but in your case we assume it is probably Ci dessus.

[Atheist]

Merci, Togo. Bonne fin de journée.

[DTCwordfan]

lol Togo, spot on..... and please, Atheist, let's spell them properly, arrière and derrière....it's all about the phonetics.

[AuntPollyGrey]

In what context? They both mean 'behind' but like the English word can have multiple meanings.
simply put derriere can mean 'behind' (and your bottom!)
en arriere means behind but more an action to go backwards

[AuntPollyGrey]

Vous trouverez le chat derrière l'arbre
You will find the cat behind the tree

le chat a marché en arrière vers l'arbre
the cat walked back to the tree

[Atheist]

DTC; sorry if I confused you; I don't know how to produce accents here.

[Atheist]

APG, surely that means the cat walked backwards towards the tree?

[Atheist]

I thought that arriere might be more adjectival, and derrier more nounish.

[Atheist]

But of course that doesn't help. I think it's a thing that a real francophone just knows feels right. I hoped there might be a little rule or clue that would give me the knack.

[AuntPollyGrey]

Athiest - sorry that's my bad translation of English - I meant backwards -thats what I meant, the action of going backWARDS.

It's like an Anglophile trying to explain the intricate nuances of their language, you just know which word(s) to say but don't quite know why you have used that particular word.

I think if you are wanting to describe an action of going backwards en arriéré would be appropriate, otherwise derriere should be used. As in English though there are multiple exceptions.

[ToraToraTora]

Bonnet de douche!

[Barsel]

Mange Tout - Mange Tout

[AuntPollyGrey]

Chateauneuf du Pape! TTT ;-)

[Atheist]

Merci Tatie!

[alavahalf]

Al stick wi me af !