Do the French really say that? (2024)

FAQs

Do French people actually say Ooh La La? ›

Unlike that phrase, though, French people actually do say Oh là là – a lot! It's one of those French stereotypes that's actually true! Just about every French person, regardless of their age, social status, background, geographic location, education, level of formality, etc., uses this expression.

It is one of the most widely-used French words, but not always in the way that English-speakers expect. Even people with an extremely limited grasp of the French language will have heard the word voilà. In English-speaking countries, we tend to assume that voilà is used to emphasise some spectacular action.

Sacrebleu! Sacrebleu is a very old fashioned French curse, which is rarely used by the French these days. An English equivalent would be “My Goodness!” or “Golly Gosh!” It was once considered very offensive.

Sacré in French means “sacred,” so taken together sacrebleu, literally means “Holy blue!” instead of sacré Dieu (“Holy God!”) Ball Memes. By 1805, sacrebleu, written variously as sacré bleu or sacre bleu in English, was used in writings by the British about French people.

MDR – Mort de Rire

It means “dying of laughter” – and while it may have more in common with LMAO or ROFL, it's the quintessentially French equivalent of typing lol.

"Voulez-Vous" (pronounced [vule vu] voo-lay-voo; French for "Do you want?") is a 1979 song by the Swedish group ABBA, written and composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus.

Voilà is the French-derived interjection meaning, literally, look there. In English, it's often used to call attention to a novel result or to something just completed. English speakers often pronounce the word wallah, resulting in various misspellings—including walla, wallah, wa la, and wa-la.

It is clear that the \v\ in the pronunciation of voilà is sometimes not heard, and this, combined with the mismatch between voilà's spelling and pronunciation, has led to a number of misspellings of the word based on its pronunciation.

feminine noun (informal) 1. (= grand-parent) granny.

French people tend not to visit unannounced or uninvited. To do so is considered rude. When invited to a dinner, it is common for guests to ask their hosts if they are required to bring something on the day.

What is the most used French swear word? ›

Putain (pu-tahn)

Even though its literal meaning is “prostitute”, today “putain” is without a doubt the most used French curse word and is used like English speakers use the F word.

Serrurerie

Brace yourself: The hardest French word to pronounce is the word for locksmith – “serrurerie“. It was the most commonly repeated response.

thank goodness an expression used to show that a person is glad that something is all right. Thank goodness it isn't raining. (Translation of Dieu merci ! from the PASSWORD French-English Dictionary © 2014 K Dictionaries Ltd)

interjection. heavens [interjection] an expression of surprise, dismay etc. Heavens!

Here is a list of some of the most common text abbreviations in France. MDR (mort de rire) – LOL (laugh out loud.

Bobo is a portmanteau word used to describe the socio-economic bourgeois-bohemian group in France, the French analogue to the English notion of the "champagne socialist".

What does it mean? Bah can mean 'I know everything' or 'I know nothing', it all depends on the delivery and context. Say it quickly and you can sound dismissively confident. However, you can also say it quickly to sound genuinely surprised.

Oh là là is mostly used for strong emotions, both positive and negative, and roughly translates to 'Oh my God' or 'Wow' in English. It can be used by anyone and everyone in French.

would you like to go to bed with me? French translation:voulez-vous coucher avec moi?

What does Hala wallah? ›

hala wallah

Translation: hi there! / welcome/ my pleasure. Dialect: Gulf. This phrase is widely common in the Gulf countries. It is said when you meet and greet your friends, when welcoming a guest to your home, and …

“Wah-Lah” should probably be pronounced, “V-wah-Lah” with a “V” sound at the start. For sure it would be spelled “voila” and not “Wa-La.”

They called it "HALLA WALLA" - which is Arabic slang for "Hi there!", and a common greeting around Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

Yes, I pronounce the /r/ in croissant, because I speak French and omitting it sounds really wrong to me, even in English. In English, I'll usually pronounce it as [kʰɹəˈsɑnt], which is one of the typical US English pronunciations according to Wiktionary . The standard French pronunciation is [kʁwa. sɑ̃].

Here the letters "-ent" are located at the end of a conjugated verb, the verb "manger" (to eat) conjugated in the 3rd person of the plural, so you don't pronounce them. It's not "ils mangeant"; it's "ils mangent." Very common mistake.

Originally, in Middle High German, the sound /f/ had been voiced in some dialects and was therefore written ⟨v⟩. Contemporary German has gone back to the unvoiced pronunciation, but idiosyncratically sometimes retained the medieval spelling.

pronoun. myself [pronoun] used as the object of a verb or preposition when the speaker or writer is the object of an action he or she performs. I cut myself while shaving. I looked at myself in the mirror.

Translation of vous-même – French–English dictionary

Do it yourself!

dank (also: damp, humid, moist, moisty, steamy, wet, clammy) moisi {adj. m} dank (also: moldy, mouldy, musty)

It's not a sign of unfriendliness but simply a different way of conducting interactions. French people aren't unhappy or rude, they simply smile a little bit less than Americans tend to expect. In fact, Americans value smiles a lot more than many cultures.

What not to wear in France? ›

Embrace the French je ne sais quoi when it comes to apparel. Skip the baseball caps, white socks, sneakers, large colorful backpacks, and fanny packs. Instead, opt for dark skinny jeans, plain shirts without logos, and leather shoes.

The language with the most overall swear words is English. As the world's most spoken language, this comes as no surprise, but the number of people who speak the language comes twelfth overall. The languages with the politest language per speaker are Mandarin and Portuguese.

Fart, as it turns out, is one of the oldest rude words we have in the language: Its first record pops up in roughly 1250, meaning that if you were to travel 800 years back in time just to let one rip, everyone would at least be able to agree upon what that should be called.

(euphemistic) The word goddamn.

La pomme de terre. This may be the most common and strange compound word of the French language. Literally, it translates as “apple from Earth” or “apple of the Earth”, it actually means a mere potato. Weird, when we know that a potato is not a fruit but a root…

The shortest word is a. Some might wonder about the word I since it consists of one letter, too. In sound, a is shorter because it is a monophthong (consists of one vowel), while I is a diphthong. Both do consist of one letter in the English writing system, and in most fonts I is the narrowest letter.

Many find French hard to learn because of the complex grammar and linguistic nuances that don't exist in English, especially for those who have never studied another European language specifically Romance languages like Spanish or Portuguese. Spoken French can also be challenging!

It literally means “sacred blue,” but it comes from “sacré Dieu” or “sacred God.” “Bleu” was used by people to replace “Dieu” in order to avoid the blasphemy of explicitly using the name of God.

Bonjour : Hello, Good morning, Good afternoon. Bonsoir : Good evening. Don't underestimate the importance of starting a conversation by saying bonjour or bonsoir. Au revoir : Goodbye.

What does Sacre nom de Dieu mean? ›

Interjection. nom de Dieu. (blasphemous) bloody hell; Jesus Christ; goddammit (indicates surprise, anger, indignation, etc.)

'Sacré-Cœur' means 'Sacred-Heart' in English. This is a reference to the heart of Jesus, which is the representation of his divine love for humanity.

Mon ami (or mon amie in the feminine) means “my friend.” If there's a French character in an American movie, they basically have to say it at some point. Like in this scene of Beauty and the Beast.

1. Bien = adverb. Just like the English “Well,” Bien can be used as an adverb before a verb OR an adjective.

The French have an undeniable reputation when it comes to love and sex. They are passionate, enticing and simply irresistible. French people have a way with words and actions that's all about love. And when it comes to displaying their fairness in bed, they are said to be absolute sex gods!

Je t'aime passionnément – I love you passionately. Je t'aime à la folie – I love you like crazy. Je t'aime d'amour – I love you with true love.

The origin and the meaning of faux pas

Faux pas is a loan phrase from French that's been used in English since the seventeenth century—the 1670s, to be more precise.

An exclamation of surprise, sometimes with strong sexual connotations. The sexual connotation is an English addition, not present in the French version.

What does OOH mean from a girl? ›

used to express amazement, joy, or surprise.

oh → oh, hélas, ah, ah bon!, bof!, vraiment.

(used to express amazement, satisfaction, excitement, etc.) the exclamation “ooh.”

It's common in French to repeat the yes twice: “oui, oui…” Of course this cracks up our English friends, but it's common to double the yes to answer in a casual way in French. It doesn't have a specific meaning: it's just a way to speak and it's not like we say “oui, oui” all the time either.

Euh. Euh is the French equivalent of the English word “uh” or “um,” and the good news is that it's used pretty much the same way. Like in English, euh is generally used as a pause or a moment to think.

Salut is a casual French expression. There are pretty strict rules about when to use salut. This is an informal greeting and because it's considered so casual, salut should only be used as a greeting between close friends.

The traditional French greeting: la bise. La bise is a cheek kiss or a series of cheek kisses. This has been the typical way for French people to greet each other since at least the 1960's, and farther back for family members and close friends. In many situations, la bise is the quintessential French greeting.

Woohoo, it works! Ouah, ça fonctionne bien !

borrowed from Italian mammamìa, mamma mia, exclamation expressing annoyance, fatigue, fear, etc., literally "my mother!"

What does Ooh nice mean? ›

an expression of surprise, pleasure, approval, disapproval, or pain: Ooh, what a gorgeous dress! Ooh, yes, that would be nice!