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“It went well.” How do you say that in French? (#1045)
During a conversation, I heard someone say a French equivalent of it went well. For example, if someone asked you how things had gone on your exam, you might say it went well (if it did indeed go well,...
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“I’m looking forward to the weekend.” How do you say that in French? (#1046)
A reader of OffQc asks how to say looking forward (to it) and looking forward to the weekend. You can use j’ai hâte, which means I’m looking forward to it or I can’t wait. If you want to say what it is...
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“Does it fit?” How do you say that in French? (#1047)
I tried on an article of clothing in a store recently. When I came out of the cabin after trying it on, a woman working at the counter asked me if it fit. Any idea how she might’ve said it? She asked:...
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Do the Québécois really call hamburgers “hambourgeois”? (#1048)
The OQLF favours two words for hamburger: un hamburger and un hambourgeois, and they recognise an informal usage: un burger. The thing about words favoured by the OQLF, though, is that they aren’t...
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“I can’t take it anymore.” How do you say that in French? (#1049)
During a conversation, someone said: J’p’us capab’. It means I can’t take it anymore, I can’t deal with it anymore, I can’t stand it anymore, I’m sick of it, I’ve had it, etc. Looking at j’p’us capab’,...
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“Do you want to try?” How do you say that in French? (#1050)
During a conversation, someone asked a French equivalent of do you want to try? Does how you’d have asked this question in French resemble the following? Est-ce que ça te tente d’essayer? Do you want...
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True or false? ÉTÉ and ÉTAIS are pronounced the same (#1051)
False. Été and étais are pronounced differently. Été is pronounced été, or [ete] using the International Phonetic Alphabet. Étais is pronounced étè, or [etɛ] using the International Phonetic Alphabet....
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When might a speaker use COMMENT QUE in French? (#1052)
On the radio, there’s an audio clip taken from a television show being used for promotional purposes. In the audio clip, the character from the television show can be heard saying: Je suis dégoûtée de...
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“Stuck in the snow.” How do you say that in French? (#1053)
In an ad on the radio, a speaker says: On est pognés dans’ neige pendant six mois. We’re stuck in the snow for six months. (He was talking about life in Québec, I think!) Pogné (from the verb pogner)...
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“It’s really great!” How do you say that in French (without using a word...
More French from the radio today — a radio host said this about a song she’d just played on air: Eille, c’est què’qu’chose, là! Hey, it’s really great [that song]! Hey, it’s really somethin’ [that...
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“My friend’s father.” Can you guess how someone said this in French without...
During a conversation, a guy said a French equivalent of my friend’s father. But he didn’t use the word ami, and he didn’t use de either. Can you guess how he said it? You’ve learned to show possession...
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“I’m just kidding.” Can you guess how someone said this in French without...
We’ve seen quite a few times now how the verb niaiser can be used to render the expression I’m just kidding (you) into French: J’te niaise, which is a contraction of je te niaise. J’te niaise sounds...
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What is Black Friday called in Québec? (#1057)
The day after Thanksgiving in the United States is called Black Friday — it’s a day when stores offer their products at discount. Black Friday exists in Canada now too, and on the same day as in the...
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“Who sings that song?” Can you guess how this question was asked in French...
In French, someone asked who sings that song? But the question didn’t include the French word chanson, and it didn’t begin with qui. Any idea how the question might’ve been asked? Here’s what the...
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What Montréal streets look like in late November (#1059)
I posted some pre-winter images to the OffQc Facebook page recently, but I wanted to put them here on the blog too, for your reference. They’re images of a few aspects typical of Montréal at this time...
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“I want one.” How do you say that in French? Clue: It’s not JE VEUX UN (#1060)
In this post, let’s review the basic use of the French en. I want one. J’en veux un. To say I want one in French, you’ve got to include en. You can’t say je veux un. Instead, you say j’en veux un. Why?...
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What is the article of clothing this kid is wearing called in French? (#1061)
I saw this sign in front of a clothing shop in Montréal. I’ve hidden the text at the top of the sign where we see one possible French name for the article of clothing this boy is wearing. Can you...
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More help with using EN in French: lots of examples to read (#1062)
In an effort to turn all of you into experts on using en, here’s more help! If you haven’t yet read the entry from #1060 about how en works, start there first, then come back here. In this post, there...
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“I saw ’em.” How do you say that in French? (#1063)
During a conversation, a man said in French I saw ’em — not I saw them, but an informal French equivalent of I saw ’em. Do you know how to render that in French maintaining the same level of...
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Questionable potato chips names involving words for the male reproductive...
I think potato chips manufacturers might want to get a hold of some bilinguals. Une bite (France) and une graine (Québec) are both vulgar French words for the penis. Look at what I saw on a store...
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