Those Little French Phrases

I spent a great deal of my life learning to speak, to speak my native language, to speak a foreign language, to speak to different people, to speak correctly, at the right place, the right time.

As you can see in my blog, i write in both English and Chinese, but never translate from one to the other. It is plainly impossible to translate my witticism from Chinese to English and vice versa.

As i am being severely warned by french friends, " you write about france, must write in french", i will attempt to use french in the next month or so. For now, let me share with you some of those little words that spice up the entire french civilisation and very often a relationship and a must for foreigners to master as they are a prelude to romancing the French.

1. Oh la la
It means one or more of the following depends on the context, the relative position of the interlocutors, the temperature, the motives and imagination.
A. I think You/another female is hot
B. I feel that someone is mean, fierce, "fort", out of line, strange, ....negative.
C. I found something so disagreeable.
D. I found it so hot/cheesy/sexy/over the top/sensational/controversial....positive.
E. I am too stuck up to comment, so this little "oh la la" will do for now, thank you very much.
F. I find it revolting.
G. The situation is getting serious. But I seem to like it.
H. The situation is getting serious. I don't appreciate it.
H. I do not agree with the behaviour of someone present and this "oh la la" is the only thing I will say about it as I am too well educated to say anything else.

The list goes on. Can mean anything and the opposite of it.


2. Ca va.
When a woman says, "oui, ca va." The boyfriend is in trouble. She wants something.
When a man says, "oui, ca va". He is also in trouble. His girlfriend/wife will assume something is wrong. It can be translated directly into "Fine" in English, depends on the woman's mood, it can mean one of the followings:

a. Something is wrong, but you are not telling me.
b. I suspect that you are seeing another woman.
c. Your mom has been saying something behind my back.
d. You are hiding something from me, and I am determined to find out what it is.
e. Fine. Nothing is wrong.

3. Mais non...
99% of sentences begin with "mais non...." but it does not mean "no". It often means "yes" or "I heard you, and here's my two-cents worth" or "I heard you, but I have a slightly different point of view". Or simply to get attention. My 6 -yr-old picked that up after one week at the French school.
"Do you want a gingerbread house?"
"mais non, mom, I want a gingerbread house". See?

4. Bah...oui
A very reluctant "yes". It means "qu'est ce que tu veux", which can be translated to "that's the way it is", "can't help it', "that's right, but don't blame me for it", "i am not responsible, it is not the best outcome I do agree with you", "y...e...s..., I didn't make the rules", "too bad", "take it or leave it", "can be worse, my dear". It is actually positive, so don't be too upset about the "bah" part, as long as it comes with a shrug of shoulders. (But then, what does not come with a shrug of shoulders?)

5. "Desolee"
It does not always means "I'm sorry". Very often it means the opposite: "grind and bear it", especially when it is followed by "c'est commes ca".


How to use these little words correctly? Need to use your whole body and emotion and passion and love when you speak French. Put your mind into it, sometimes words are just not enough. See pictures below.....