Jacques from 30 vies has just been insulted by a character named Morneau. Morneau accused Jacques of not being a man (t’es pas un homme), saying that he lost his job because of this. To say “your job,” Morneau said ta job. Job is very often feminine in spoken, informal Quebec French (une job). You’ll [...]
Archive for the ‘Entries #51-100’ Category
JOB: Masculine or feminine in Quebec French? (#100)
Posted in Entries #51-100, Quebec French on 19 January 2011 | 2 Comments »
Informal French: DU STOCK (#99)
Posted in Entries #51-100, Quebec French on 29 December 2010 | Leave a Comment »
In Les Parent, Louis plays the role of the father. In one scene, Louis is helping his teenaged son with his homework, but his son is having trouble doing it. Louis doesn’t see why his son doesn’t understand his homework because he thinks it’s below his son’s grade level. That’s when Louis gets frustrated. He [...]
Calling someone an idiot with the word CAVE (#98)
Posted in Entries #51-100, Quebec French on 29 December 2010 | Leave a Comment »
There are many ways to call someone an idiot in French, but let’s just stick to the way that uses the word cave here. Examples: Hé, le cave! Hey, idiot! C’est un gros cave! He’s such an idiot! Cave can also be used as an adjective. Example: Mais t’es donc* ben cave! You’re so stupid! [...]
What do people buy at the DÉPANNEUR in Quebec? (#97)
Posted in Entries #51-100, Quebec French on 29 December 2010 | Leave a Comment »
In a scene from Les Parent, Louis is talking to his wife. He’s telling her about his sons, who’ve asked him for money. What did the boys want money for? Pour aller s’acheter des cochonneries au dépanneur! To go buy junk food at the variety store, or the “dep”! Une cochonnerie is a junk food [...]
Informal expression: C’EST PLATE! (#96)
Posted in Entries #51-100, Quebec French on 29 December 2010 | Leave a Comment »
If someone says c’est plate in French, you can be pretty sure the speaker isn’t enjoying himself very much! Examples: C’est plate! How boring! I’m bored! C’est plate ici. It’s boring here. C’est plate ce soir. It’s boring this evening. What a boring evening. You may also come across the spelling platte. Sometimes the expression [...]
