Translation of "a kiss".

Question

I was surprised that you used the word un baiser for a kiss -- it has been my understanding that it is a rude word and has been "replaced" by un bisou. Have I been misguided, or is there a context in which it's okay to use the word? Thanks for whatever light you can shed on my benighted mind...

Accepted Answer

It sure is a strange one to us anglophones, but It has been strongly stressed to me that ‘un baiser’ as a noun is a perfectly acceptable kiss, but ‘baiser’ as a verb means somewhat more than that and is in fact very vulgar - ‘je veux te baiser’ translates as ‘I want to f..k you’ so extreme caution is needed when using this word !!!   But letters to friends in France can still be signed off with ‘Bons baisers’ with no impropriety or risk of offence. (Still, to be on the safe side, no harm in sticking to ‘bisous’)

Answer

Following on from the last question, I’ve been learning French for a number of years now and I still can’t sort it out in my head when speaking ‘baisser’ and ‘baiser’ 😟, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made French friends howl with laughter talking about ‘préservatif’ instead of ‘conserve’ 😱