The Learn French thread

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 16 Jun 2006, 19:25

Because I keep making mistakes when Tom writes French

Le pinard = plonk (I guess) - ie cheap, nasty wine

Etre de Birmingham = To be from Birmingham = To be bored

(So says Bill Bryson anyway).
Ce n'est pas mes oignons = Its none of my business (?)
Les 400 Coups = To raise hell

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 16 Jun 2006, 19:36

Nice thread...

Yeah, le pinard is cheap wine. I water my plants with it (very efficient).

"Ce n'est pas mes oignons" isn't grammaticaly correct, but it's OK because some people say it that way. It should be "Ce ne sont pas mes oignons" (Literally: they aren't my onions).
Note that the "i" in "Oignon" should have been removed in 1991. However, due to some political changes, this spelling remains correct to this day.

Les 400 coups: a coup is a prank. "Faire les 400 coups" literally means "to do the 400 pranks" which could be translated as "Raising hell" I guess.

If anyone needs some translation, ask away.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 16 Jun 2006, 19:46

A mon avis = In my opinion

Cant think of any more idioms at the moment

I didnt know a coup was a prank BTW, not sure where they got "blow" from then

In the kids anime Pokemon - one of the gang is called Pierre in the French version. La pierre = stone or rock, Pierre likes rock Pokemon

The ancient Greek word for Peter and rcok was the same, hence how Christ reportedly made a pun when He said "Thou art Peter, upon this rock I build my church".

Un steak haché = hamburger (literally "minced steak"?)
Alloman = Phone operator (Hello, man)

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 16 Jun 2006, 19:57

Alloman = Phone operator (Hello, man)

Really, really not.

Un steak haché = hamburger (literally "minced steak"?)

Nope. Steak Haché isn't a hamburger.
A hamburger is a hamburger.
A steak haché is jut a steak.

A coup can also be a blow.
Literally, a coup is a sudden action (I guess you guys know about "coup d'etat/military coup").

I've got a funny french proverb for you:

You may or may not have heard of "Tant va la cruche à l'eau qu'à la fin, elle se brise" (When the jar goes to the well too often, it cracks).

In my region, we often say "Tant va la cruche à l'eau qu'à la fin, tu me les brises" (When the jar goes to the well too often, you crack my balls).
Which is a way of saying: "Stop annoying me with your stupid proverbs, you're getting on my nerves".

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 16 Jun 2006, 21:08

Yeah, I guess thats where we get the expression coup d'etat from.
Honestly, I'm sure I read somewhere about the made up word alloman in French, like how "telefung" is word borrowed from English in Mandarin (?) (telephone) and "Herkot" is Polish for "Haircut"

LOL, never heard of those french proverbs. If you ask for a sandwich do you say "deux tranches du pain avec quelque chose au mileu"?

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 16 Jun 2006, 21:35

About steak haché, you're right - it means "chopped steak" not "minced" so isnt a burger really.

s'eclater de rire = to burst out laughing.
baiser = to fuck

(Look at the film title "Baise-Moi")

Je n'ai pas le sou = I'm broke, literally "I don't have a penny"
Gueule de bois = A hangover

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 16 Jun 2006, 21:38

If you ask for a sandwich do you say "deux tranches du pain avec quelque chose au mileu"?

Nah, we say "Sandwich".

I'm sure I read somewhere about the made up word alloman in French, like how "telefung" is word borrowed from English in Mandarin ...

These ones are real:
Paquebot (ship) comes from Packet-Boat.
Redingote comes from Riding-Coat.

You guys have also borrowed stuff from french:
-Mail comes from Malles-Poste (the ancestor of the post-office).
-Management comes from Old French.
-Flirt comes from "Conter Fleurette" (Fleurette is pronounced just like "flirt").
-Chat comes from "La Tchatche" (still used in southern France).

Sometimes you end up with weird stuff, though:
-Un smoking = A tuxedo.
-Des baskets = Sport shoes.
-Un parking = A parking lot.
-Un pressing = A dry-cleaner.
And my favourite:
-Le catch = Wrestling.

baiser = to fuck

I don't think so. "To fuck" is too strong.
Baiser = To have sex.

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 16 Jun 2006, 21:52

Hey Tom. What's the french word for garage!?

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 16 Jun 2006, 22:01

Un garage.

In french, garage refers to both:
-a place where you can store your car.
-a auto repair shop.

As far as I know, Garage is a french word.
It comes from the verb "se garer" which means "to park".

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 16 Jun 2006, 22:26

Les Cendres du Temps = Ashes of Time

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 16 Jun 2006, 23:58

thelostdragon wrote:Les Cendres du Temps = Ashes of Time

The french DVD? Didnt they fuck that one up, or was it overblown by the fans for not being good enough?

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 17 Jun 2006, 00:06

[off-topic]It's cut.[/off-topic]

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 17 Jun 2006, 00:26

C'est cut!

Tom: here in Holland it's also called garage, both of those meanings.

What's toilet in French, Tom?
And what's the french word for Croissant?

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 17 Jun 2006, 01:00

What's toilet in French, Tom?

It's toilettes.

Though most of the time we call them "Vécés" (french pronunciation of WC).

what's the french word for Croissant?

You know croissant is french, right ?

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 17 Jun 2006, 07:59

The international title of Baise-Moi is "Rape Me", I thought it meant "F*ck me", sorry

An Englishman is "un rostbif" (sp?)

Kurgan · Post by **Kurgan** » 17 Jun 2006, 09:22

According to Eddie Izzard, it is

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 17 Jun 2006, 13:06

An Englishman is "un rostbif" (sp?)

Un rosbif, ouais.

On behalf of all frenchmen, I swear we'll stop calling you rosbifs when you stop calling us frogs.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 17 Jun 2006, 13:17

Gueule de bois = Wooden Mouth/Throat (I think)

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 17 Jun 2006, 13:20

Cul = arse/butt

Be careful as its pronounced almost the same as the "coup" in beaucoup I'm sure, so if you said "merci beaucul" to a French waitress you're in trouble.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 17 Jun 2006, 13:39

if you said "merci beaucul" to a French waitress you're in trouble.

Why ? I say "Thanks, beautiful butt" to them all the time.

Gueule de bois = Wooden Mouth/Throat (I think)

More like Wooden Jaw, I think.
But you guys don't have an equivalent for "Gueule".

Kurgan · Post by **Kurgan** » 17 Jun 2006, 17:44

Describe what/where the 'Gueule' is, for our edification then

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 17 Jun 2006, 18:55

Literally, "gueule" is an animal's mouth.

When used on a human, it can be quite offensive:
-Ta gueule = Shut up.
-Ferme ta gueule = Shut your trap.

It can also be used to describe a man's face:
-Il a une sale gueule = He's got an ugly face.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 17 Jun 2006, 19:42

You don't really compliment waitresses on their arses do you Tom?

Are any of them really that nice anyway?

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 17 Jun 2006, 22:36

Yi-Long wrote:The french DVD? Didnt they fuck that one up, or was it overblown by the fans for not being good enough?

Compared to the HK and USA DVDs it's amazing. The cuts are severe but at least it's watchable.

Oh wait wrong language

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 17 Jun 2006, 22:50

If vous pas parler français, vous need to get out of topic.