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“It can even last two winters.” Can you guess how someone said that in French...
You know those shoe protector sprays they try to sell you when you buy a new pair of boots but that you never want to buy because you’ve just spent a small fortune on the boots themselves? As I was...
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“I’m gonna wait a little bit.” Can you guess how someone said that in French?...
During a conversation, a guy said a French equivalent of “I’m gonna wait a little bit.” But when he said it, he used a number of pronunciations typical of spoken language. Here’s what he said: j’vas...
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“Everybody’s talking about it.” How do you say that in French? (#1067)
If you know the television show, you know the answer to the question: Tout le monde en parle. There’s that en again… A reader of OffQc mentioned this show’s name after we looked at en the first time...
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“Ah screw it!” How do you say that in French using MARDE? (#1068)
This post is all about how the Québécois marde can be used. Yes, that’s right, shit. Below — 6 examples. Let’s begin. This image is entirely unrelated to the contents of this post. T’ES DANS’ MARDE,...
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“Don’t you think that’s a long time?” How do you ask that in French? (#1069)
Maybe someone’s just told you that you’re going to have to wait three hours; surprised, you want to say in French don’t you think that’s a long time? Do you know how you might say this? To begin, you...
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“Take two.” How do you say that in French? Clue: it’s not PRENDS DEUX! (#1070)
One way we haven’t seen en used yet is when it appears with an imperative. But first, remember from #1060 how you saw sentences like the ones below? J’en achète un. I buy one (of them). J’en obtiens...
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“I’m going for supper.” Can you guess how an employee said this in French?...
An employee advised his co-worker that he was going on supper break by saying a French equivalent of “I’m going for supper.” Can you guess how he said it? The employee used a first-person present tense...
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“There was a hell of a lot.” How do you say that in French? (#1072)
A few posts back, we looked at different examples using marde. Let’s turn that post about marde into part 1 of a new series about swearing in Québécois French and continue now with part 2: maudit. One...
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“You sure of that?” Can you guess how a mother said that to her boy in...
A mother in Montréal spoke with her young boy. The boy made a comment in jest; laughing, his mother retorted, “You sure of that?” Can you say how she might’ve asked this in French? Here’s what she...
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10 of the most googled French usages in 2015 on OffQc (#1074)
Here are 10 of the most googled French usages that led readers to OffQc this year. Do you know them all? VOYONS DON’ When feeling taken aback by something, you can say voyons don’. (Don’ is in fact...
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Is it true that BIENVENUE can mean “you’re welcome” in French? (#1075)
A reader of OffQc asks whether or not it’s possible to hear bienvenue in the sense of you’re welcome. The answer is yes — not only does bienvenue mean welcome (to this place), but it’s also often used...
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“I hate winter.” How might you say that in French? (#1076)
If you’ve already bought and read the OffQc guide C’est what?, then you know the answer to this question. J’haïs ça, l’hiver. I hate winter. That’s how someone said it in a conversation. Let’s take a...
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When talking about a song, which is right: C’EST BON or C’EST BONNE? (#1077)
Imagine you’re listening to a song (une chanson in French or, informally, une toune), and you want to tell your friend that it’s good. Which one will you say? • C’est bon, or • C’est bonne. Whether...
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What does DONNE-MOI-Z-EN mean in French? (#1078)
In #1060, we started looking at how en is used in French. From that series of posts, you’ll remember that, loosely speaking, en means some, (some) of it, (some) of them. J’en veux. I want some. J’en...
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A pronunciation of ELLE you didn’t learn in school (#1079)
Take a look at these examples of French: – à part le matin – à m’tanne avec ça – à shake d’l’épaule All three phrases come from the song Donne-moi-z’en by Bernard Adamus. (Do you remember we looked at...
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“It takes me forever.” How might you say that in French? (#1080)
On the radio, a woman who lives off the island of Montréal, in the suburbs, talked about how it takes her a really long time to get into the city on snowy mornings. From the radio studio in Montréal,...
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Can you say these 99 examples of French like native speakers from Québec?...
I’m happy to put up for sale today a new OffQc guide for you – Entendu au Québec: 99 questions and answers. This guide uses genuine examples of overheard language to challenge and guide you to say...
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“It’s just a coincidence.” How might you say this in French without using...
Mohammad asks about a word he heard while watching 19-2. This word is adon. He sent me the dialogue where it occurred. It went like this: Nick : C’est un adon. Ben : T’es sûr? Nick : Fie-toi sur moi....
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What does the word DINS mean in French? (#1083)
A little while ago, Joyce requested we look at lyrics by Bernard Adamus. So far, we’ve looked at the wording donne-moi-z-en here, and an informal pronunciation of the subject pronoun elle here, both of...
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What do you think a “téléphone d’enfer” is in French? (#1084)
I was reminded the other day of a French expression we looked at on OffQc almost one thousand posts ago and haven’t seen since: d’enfer. In #130, a teenaged character from a tv show said he was going...
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