In this image, Montréal drivers are reminded to keep off a reserved bus lane, designated by a symbol in the shape of a diamond:
Tenté par la voie réservée?
Prenez l’autobus!
Tempted to use the reserved lane?
Take the bus!
That’s one way you’ll hear tenter used, in the sense of “to tempt.”
Another very common way is simply in the sense of “to want.”
If you heard someone say:
ça me tente pas,
they’re just saying “I don’t want to” or “I don’t feel like it.”
Learn to recognise it also pronounced like this:
ça m’tente pas (çam tente pas)
In billet #376, a question using tenter comes up in the video Rencontre du deuxième type:
Ça te tenterait-tu qu’on se marie?
Do you wanna get married?
Don’t be confused by the -tu in that question. The subject is ça, not tu. The -tu here is an informal way of asking a yes-no question.
We can leave the -tu out and the question still means the same thing: ça te tenterait qu’on se marie?
Ça te tente?
Ça te tente-tu?
Do you want to? Do you wanna?
Ça m’tente vraiment pas!
I really don’t wanna!
Ça me tente vraiment pas de recommencer.
I really don’t want to start over.
