Trouble Spots
THING: chose, objet, truc, machin, bidule, etc. etc. etc.
"Thing" has one concrete, legitimate meaning: "object". Then it has 4,864,999,001 non-meanings, that is to say, it is meaningless. It's the word you use when you can't think of the "real" word.
If you want to say "object," say chose. Fine. If you want one of those other words, find the real word!
• une chose = un objet
Un couteau est une chose qui sert à couper.
C'est une chose que tu devrais savoir maintenant.
[for chose, substitute what you're really talking about: un mot? un élément de grammaire? une expérience? une histoire? un événement? etc. etc.]
• truc, machin, bidule = SLANG. Means "thingamabob," "thingamajig," "do-dad," "whatchamacallit," etc.
Mon père a un truc qui fait ça plus vite.
[My Dad has this thing/gadget/way that does it quicker.]Passe-moi ce machin-bidule, s'il te plaît.
[Passe me that do-dad, please.]