Have you ever experienced this?
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Youāre saying something perfectly normal, and all of a sudden, either people look at you weirdly or they start laughing their heads off.
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At first you donāt understand, you might laugh along with them, but then you realise they are laughing at you šĀ
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āDid I say something funny?ā
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Yes, you did.
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Youāve just translated an expression. Literally. And believe me, you donāt realise the number of English expressions youāre using in a day until you are speaking another language all day long.
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Learning the expressions of another language is fun. But, they donāt always match.
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How can you express things like āthatās a no brainerā in French then? Because you are so USED to using it, you NEED an alternative.
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Let me help you and letās take a look at 5 common modern english expressions in French, so you never have to feel that way again (even if IT IS funny).
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Peachy š
Itās such a cute word. And, as a French native, I had a hard time understanding what it means.
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Because the english expression āpeachyā seems to have two meanings, right? And they contradict each other.
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But then, I realised. Itās not that there are two meanings. Itās just that the word is often used more sarcastically.
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And it is that characteristic that is important. More than the fact that āpeachyā is a cute word and refers to a peach.
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In French, you can use āsuperā or āgĆ©nialā, but only as is, and NOT as adjectives if you want to be sarcastic.Ā
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– Oh, jāai oubliĆ© de te dire. On est invitĆ© chez mes parents Dimanche midi.– Oh gĆ©nialā¦
Smart cookie šŖ
Yes, I like cute expressions. Peaches and cookies? Iām all in.
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A smart cookie is someone, smart right?Ā
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You use it within sentences.
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Heās such a smart cookie.ĀWhat a smart cookie!
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But in French, itās hard to find an equivalent:
- Il est tellement intelligent – doesnāt cut it. Youāre missing the fun part of the sentence.
- Comment tu es malin (maligne) – is an ok version, but still not exactly THAT.
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So hereās what I suggest you use instead: gĆ©nie.
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Because not only you can use it in pretty much all the place you would use smart cookie, but also, itās conveying the same idea with a sense of fun.
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Minus the origins of the word ācookieā here
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Cāest un gĆ©nie.ĀQuel gĆ©nie!
A go-getter šāāļø
This is a typical example of a word that only makes REAL sense in English, and especially in American English.
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Achieving is something that is HUGE in American culture, but not as important in French culture.
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We like to take things slow, and achieving something is not really the goal.Ā
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So a go-getter canāt have an exact translationā¦
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Thereās similar equivalents, but nothing quite the same:
- Une personne qui rĆ©ussit : is too long and not complete enough to really be a translation. Weāre missing the action driven part of a go-getter.
- Un fonceur / Une fonceuse : is someone who quite literally charges at something. But thatās only one notion of the word go-getter, right? Un fonceur does not necessarily succeed.
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However, I think un fonceur is probably the closest you could get from the word go-getter.
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Il part en Australie? Quel fonceur.
When life gives you lemons š
If you saying āquand la vie te donne des citronsā¦ā to a French person, I guarantee youāll make a confused person out of him or her.
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But itās such a handy phrase to say right?Ā
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A bit like āCāest la vieā.
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Although, itās impossible to translate if you want to keep the bitter partā¦
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The only equivalent I could think about is āContre mauvaise fortune, bon coeurā (lit. Against bad luck, good heart).
You down? š„
One of the particularities of the English language that I love is the use of small words like down, out, off, up,ā¦
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It makes the language alive.
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But it also makes is tricky to translate sometimes.
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You down?Ā is short, to the point, and does not come with details, but could:
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You down for a cinema tonight?
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So in French, we also need to use a short term.
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And the best one is partant (lit.Ā Leaving or Keen).
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You can use it in a sentence or on its own:
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Partant?
Partant pour un cinƩma ce soir?
