A googler landed on OffQc using the search terms “shit quebecers say.”
OffQc’s all about that shit. Here’s some more of it today: niaiseux. If you haven’t heard this word yet, listen to more French — it’s used a lot.
Most of the time, niaiseux means stupid.
C’est une question niaiseuse.
It’s a stupid question.
C’est niaiseux, je le sais, mais c’est plus fort que moi.
It’s stupid, I know, but I can’t help it.
une personne niaiseuse
a stupid person
C’est donc ben niaiseux!
That’s so stupid! (donc ben sounds like don bin)
Je vais me sentir niaiseuse avec ma question, mais…
I going to feel stupid by asking this, but…
Maybe you’ve heard of this television show: On va s’coucher moins niaiseux. It means something like “you’ll go to bed less ignorant tonight.”
Sometimes the meaning is less harsh than stupid and more like silly or foolish, like a person who gets a rise out of people by joking around.
T’es niaiseux quand tu veux! (said in friendly way)
You’re so silly sometimes!
J’aime faire rire, faire le niaiseux.
I like to make people laugh, act silly.
Maybe you noticed that last example used niaiseux as a noun: un niaiseux, une niaiseuse.
Me prends-tu pour un niaiseux?
Do you think I’m stupid or something?
Elle a joué la niaiseuse.
She played innocent.
Sometimes niaiseux will refer to something really simple to do.
C’est niaiseux à faire.
It’s simple to do.
C’est délicieux et vraiment niaiseux à faire!
It’s delicious and very simple to make!
Getting back to the sense of stupid: if someone’s niaiseux, he should wisen up.
Ça déniaise de lire.
Reading wisens you up (it de-stupids you).
But the verb déniaiser, let’s leave that shit for another day.
Related reading:
Everything you ever wanted to know about the québécois verb NIAISER
Everything you ever wanted to know about the québécois verb POGNER
