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“I’d have liked to see you.” How might you say that in French? (#1085)
During a conversation, a man said to another: “I’d have liked to see you.” Can you guess how he said this in French? Before looking at the answer, let’s back up for a minute. Maybe you’ll remember a...
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“I’m gonna check this evening.” Can you guess how someone said this in French...
“I’m gonna check [that] this evening.” A man said an equivalent of this in French. Can you guess how? Make an attempt before reading on. Square Dorchester, à Montréal [février 2016]Did your attempt...
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“What do you want me to say?” Can you guess how someone said that in French?...
Imagine someone were complaining about a situation. You, unable to do anything about it and frustrated by the person’s complaints, might say to him in English in an indignant tone, “what do you want me...
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“He seems really friendly.” Can you guess how someone said this in French?...
Can you guess how a woman said “he seems really friendly” in French? Make an attempt, and then read on. Métro Saint-Michel, à Montréal [février 2016]Maybe your guess included the adjective gentil, but...
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“I’ll get back to you on that.” Can you guess how someone said this in...
During a conversation, one man told another in French an equivalent of: I’ll get back to you on that. Do you have any idea how you might hear someone say this in French? Église du très Saint nom de...
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“That’s so cute!” How do you think someone said this in French? (#1090)
Here’s more French pulled straight from a conversation. A guy said an equivalent in French of: That’s so cute! Do you know how he might’ve said this? To say it, he used the word cute, which, when used...
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“They’re talking nonsense.” How do you think someone said this in French?...
During a conversation, a man said in French an equivalent of: They’re talking nonsense. To say to talk nonsense, he used the expression dire n’importe quoi. Knowing this, can you now guess how he said...
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“How do you spell it?” Can you guess how someone said this colloquially in...
On 98,5 fm, there was a discussion about the spelling modifications that have taken place in French. The animator of the show brought up the example of the French word for onion, whose spelling has...
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“It’s confusing.” Do you know how to say that in French? (#1093)
Complexe Desjardins, à Montréal [février 2016]As a continuation from the last post about comment qu’on écrit ça? and oignon/ognon, let’s look at more language used by the same animator from the 98,5 fm...
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Do you understand the French on this postcard from Québec? (#1094)
Spotted this postcard in a Montréal bookshop (we saw others here and here from Tiguidou), where parked cars are depicted as being buried under snow: Tu trouves-tu ton char? Can you find your car? tu...
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“Calm down!” Can you say this in French without using the verb CALMER? (#1095)
You can of course say calme-toi! to someone you want to settle down; you can also say on s’calme! (from on se calme). But do you know of a way that doesn’t use the verb calmer? Stade olympique de...
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“Bring the gang along!” Can you guess how someone said this in French? (#1096)
There’s an ad running on the radio (from a restaurant, I think — I only caught part of it) where the speaker invites listeners to bring all their friends along. She says an equivalent of: Bring the...
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“I just got caught.” Can you think of a way to say this in colloquial French?...
Remember the verb pogner? Broadly speaking, the informal pogner means to grab, catch, nab, etc. It’s pronounced ponn-yé or, using IPA, pɔɲe. Pogner rhymes with the verb cogner. You can use pogner to...
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“Go early.” Can you say this in French? (#1098)
During a conversation, someone said an equivalent in French of go early. As an example, maybe you’d say go early to someone who needed to go to a walk-in clinic to see a doctor, and you wanted to...
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“He hasn’t changed one bit.” Can you guess how this was said in French? (#1099)
Here’s more French heard on the radio. A speaker, in reference to Lenny Kravitz, said an equivalent of this in French on air: He hasn’t changed one bit. Can you guess how? She used the word poil....
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“Everything good?” Can you guess how a waiter might ask this in French? (#1100)
Boulevard Saint-Joseph, à Montréal [mars 2016]Before we look at the question in the title, consider this situation: In a shop in Montréal, two customers left without buying anything. On their way out,...
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What does the French expression AU PLAISIR mean and when do you use it? (#1101)
Inside one of Montréal’s new métro trains (March 2016) In the last post, we saw how a saleslady in Montréal said: Vous avez rien trouvé à vot’ goût? She said this to two customers on their way out of...
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“No way!” Do you know how to say this in French? (#1102)
Les armoiries du Canada encastrées dans un mur, au centre-ville de Montréal Steve asks about a French expression: C’est pas vrai! Literally, of course, this means that’s not true. But it can be used...
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Examples of politicians swearing in French (#1103)
In a recent article in the Journal de Montréal, a journalist provided examples of swearing committed by politicians. I’ve listed the examples below, with a translation into English. Be prepared for...
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How do you use the expression CRISSER DEHORS in French? (#1104)
Buildings reflected in a wall of glass in Montréal Lindsey asks about the Québécois expression crisser dehors, which came up in the last post. You’ll remember that this expression (considered to be...
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