Thank you for writing in to support. You wrote: "The car is feminine une voiture. Why is NOUVELLE wrong? I have not seen NEUVE used before. Can you ex

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Accepted Answer

Hi Anna Liisa,
Just to add to what Chris said-
nouveau/nouvel/nouvelle (new) is normally placed before the noun as in:
Mon nouvel ami s'appelle Martin = My new friend is called Martin
Ma nouvelle voiture est bleue = My new car is a blue one
Mon nouveau pote s'appelle Jacques = My new mate is called Jacques
but
neuf/neuve ( brand new) is always placed after the noun.
J'ai un vélo tout neuf = I have a brand new bike
Ma voiture est neuve = My car  is brand new
But if you say:
"J'ai une nouvelle voiture", we don't know whether it is brand new or not, it is just 'new to you'
Hope this helps!

Answer

Nouveau/nouvelle -- new to me but not necessarily "brand new". The opposite of nouveau is ancien (=former).
Mets un nouvelle chemise, celle-ci a une tâche. -- Put on a new shirt, this one has a stain.Here the shirt isn't fresh out of the factory but just fresh out of the closet.Neuf/neuve -- brand new, newly made. The opposite of neuf is vieux (=old).
J'ai fixé ton vélo. C'est comme neuf. -- I fixed your bike. It's like new.