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What does weather described as ORDINAIRE mean in French? (#1160)

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A Québécois usage we’ve not taken much of a look at on OffQc is ordinaire. Have a look at this example, pronounced recently by a speaker in Québec:

Il fait beau aujourd’hui, il fait chaud! Profitez-en parce que demain ça va être ordinaire.

You might be tempted to translate ordinaire into English as “ordinary,” but there are better ways to render it. By ordinaire, the speaker meant the weather would be lousy. Indeed, the following day was a very rainy and cool one.

It’s nice out today, it’s hot! Make the most of it because tomorrow’s gonna be lousy.

It’s not just weather that might be described as ordinaire.

Le resto Poutinorama? Ben, honnêtement là, j’ai trouvé ça ordinaire et assez coûteux.
The Poutinorama restaurant? Well, to be honest, I didn’t think it was good, and it was pretty expensive.

J’ai mal joué, ç’a été ordinaire pour moi aujourd’hui.
I didn’t play well, today wasn’t a good day for me.

C’est pas mal ordinaire comme produit.
It’s a pretty lousy product. (The part that means “pretty” here is pas mal. Read those two words together because they form an expression. Pas mal isn’t a negation.)

Franchement, j’trouve ça ordinaire de sa part.
Honestly, I think that’s lousy of him.

Keep working on your French — the OffQc store is there to keep you going.


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